The best of the 2011 Shanghai International Literary Festival

This year, 85 authors will gather at M on the Bund for the annual Shanghai Internaitonal Literary Festival. How to pick and choose among them?

To help you draw up your itinerary, we asked some bookish Shanghailanders for their picks.

1. Kathleen Lau, "accidental" restaurateur and author

Shanghai International Literary Festival pick: David Wang and Lynn Pan's talk on Eileen Chang’s experiences in Shanghai
When: Saturday, March 19, 11 a.m

Shanghai International Literary Festival pick: The Great FT Debate: "Is Globalization of Culture a Force for Good?"
When: Sunday March 13, 3 p.m.

"As someone who is fortunate enough to have their business in one of Shanghai’s most important 1930s building, the Shanghai Art Museum, I am drawn to stories of that era. When I walk through the building, up the wide stairwell with its cast iron horse heads, I can imagine the shadows of all the guests who danced through the ballrooms during the era that Eileen Chang wrote about."

When I walk through the building, up the wide stairwell with its cast iron horse heads, I can imagine the shadows of all the guests who danced through the ballrooms during the era that Eileen Chang wrote about.— Kathleen Lau, Shanghai author

"The Great FT Debate is my second pick. Shanghai is going through that right now. Anyone living here is a witness to the most rapid transformation of a city and lifestyle that has already deeply affected the residents of this city.”

2. Lisa Movius, journalist and author

Shanghai International Literary Festival pick: Zhao Chuan and Xhingyu Chen's “Shanghai Art Histories -- Cracked Open”
When: Wednesday, March 16, 7 p.m.

“For the Lit Fest, I am most excited (read: terrified) for own talk with my fellow “Shanghai Walks” book authors on March 13, but if I had to pick another session, it would be Zhao and Chen's. They are among some of the only critics and historians really keeping track of what is happening in Shanghai's contemporary cultural evolution."

3. Toby Skinner, editor of "Time Out Shanghai"

Shanghai International Literary Festival pick: Craig Silvey
When: Saturday, March 5, 2 p.m

“I'm really keen to see young Australian writer Craig Silvey. I recently read his second book, Jasper Jones, which I loved -- it's just a deceptively simple but beautiful piece of storytelling about growing up, with great characters, really funny dialogue and some great moments. It also manages to touch on some real issues while never taking itself too seriously."

"I'm also keen to see him because he wrote his highly-rated debut, 'Rhubarb,' when he was only 22 years old. I want to ask him -- a bit enviously -- about how you go about writing a brilliant novel at that age.”

Joanne Yao is a writer and editor based in Shanghai.

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