Shin to attend Brisbane Writers Festival

By Chung Ah-young

Celebrated author Shin Kyung-sook will participate in the Brisbane Writers Festival (BWF) slated for Sept. 7-11 in Australia.

Renowned for her landmark novel “Please Look After Mom,” which has been published in 28 countries, the 48-year-old writer is the only Korean author appearing in the festival.

BWF introduced her as “Korea’s national living treasure” and “one of South Korea’s most widely read and acclaimed novelists.”

“Please Look After Mom” is her first work to be printed in English. As an author Shin has won the Manhae Literature Prize, the Dong-in Literature Prize, and the Yi Sang Literary Prize as well as France’s Prix de l'Inapercu.

The festival’s website describes the novel as “compassionate, redemptive and beautifully written,” adding that, “‘Please Look After Mom’ reconnects us to the story of our own families and the forgotten sacrifices that lie at its heart.”

Initiated in 1962, the festival is an international event inviting prestigious authors and publishers from 30 countries.

Shin returned to Korea Aug. 25 after a four-month tour to seven cities in North America and eight in Europe to meet her fans of “Please Look After Mom.” The novelist will visit Japan next month.

First published in her native language by Changbi Publisher in November 2008, the novel has sold more than 1.7 million copies in Korea.