Booksmith is excited to host Winnie M Li for her debut novel Dark Chapter, and her first San Francisco reading—please join us!

Winner of The Guardian's Not The Booker Prize in the UK, this UK bestseller - inspired by true events - is a unique crime novel for the #MeToo era.

Vivian is a cosmopolitan Taiwanese-American tourist who often escapes her busy life in London through adventure and travel. Johnny is a 15-year-old Irish teenager, living a neglected life on the margins of society. He has grown up in a family where crime is customary, violence is a necessity, and everything -- and anyone -- can be yours for the taking.

As Vivian looks to find her calling professionally, she delights in exploring foreign countries, rolling hillsides, and new cultures. And as a young, single woman, she has grown used to experiencing life on her own. But all of that changes when, on one bright spring afternoon in West Belfast, Vivian’s path collides with Johnny and culminates in a horrifying act of violence.

In the aftermath of the incident, both Johnny and Vivian are forced to confront the chain of events that led to the attack. Vivian must struggle to recapture the woman that she was and the woman she aspired to be, while dealing with a culture and judicial system that treats assault victims as less than human. Johnny, meanwhile, flees to the sanctity of his transitory Irish clan. But when he is finally brought to reckon for his crimes, Vivian learns that justice is not always as swift or as fair as she would hope. Inspired by true events, Dark Chapter is a riveting novel about the chance encounters that can irrevocably determine the shape of our lives.

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“Crime writers have long insisted that their genre tackles societal issues better than any other, and Winnie M Li proves that claim beyond a doubt. While the story centres around a horrific crime, it’s the exploration of the aftermath and the cruelty of the justice system that sets this book apart. A fine debut from an exceptional talent, and an important study of the human cost of violence.” — Stuart Neville, award-winning author of The Ghosts of Belfast and So Say the Fallen

"That Li was able to write this novel, as both personal catharsis and public service, speaks volumes about her inner strength. Li's novel is both a valuable social document and a riveting page-turner." — Kirkus Reviews

"A heart-wrenching depiction of a dreadful crime and its horrifying aftermath. Brave, raw and strikingly original, it is a story that will resonate for many years." — Daily Mail (UK)
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Winnie M. Li is a writer and producer, who has worked in the creative industries on three continents. A Harvard graduate, she has written for travel guide books, produced independent feature films, programmed for film festivals, and developed eco-tourism projects. After graduating with Distinction in Creative Writing at Goldsmiths (where she was shortlisted for the Pat Kavanagh Prize 2015), she now currently writes across a range of media (including a column for The Huffington Post), runs arts festivals, and is a PhD researcher in Media and Communications at the London School of Economics. She was Highly Commended for the CWA Debut Dagger 2015 and also shortlisted for the Emma Humphreys Memorial Prize. She lives in London yet is somewhat addicted to travel. Dark Chapter is her first novel.

If you can't attend but would like a signed copy of Dark Chapter, order with the following link and put your request in the Special Field: http://www.booksmith.com/book/9781943818624.