War stories are often famously told by the victors. But what of the stories of civilians caught up in the conflict? These themes intersect in World-War-II-era Hong Kong in AWC graduate Emma Pei Yin’s debut historical novel, When Sleeping Women Wake – and in this episode she shares her inspirations, the book’s themes and the publishing process, including a fascinating connection with the cover designer.
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Links mentioned in this episode
- WIN The First Time I Saw Him by Laura Dave
- Buy So You Want to be a Writer – the book!
- Facebook group for So You Want to be a Writer
Writer in residence: Emma Pei Yin
Emma Pei Yin is an Australian-Chinese writer and editor. Her debut novel, When Sleeping Women Wake, has been published globally, translated into multiple languages and was longlisted for the ARA Historical Novel Prize (2025).
She is also the founder of yinfluence editorial, an agency that works with PoC, queer and neurodivergent writers, connecting them with editors and mentors who understand the stakes of telling stories from the margins.
She has been featured in The Canberra Times, The Australian, Mekong Review, Being Asian Australian, The Hong Kong Review, Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar & more.
Emma is working on her second novel with her extremely barky dachshund, Lady, by her side.
You can also meet Emma on our blog.
Follow Emma on Instagram.
Follow Hachette Australia Books on Twitter and Instagram.
This podcast is brought to you by the Australian Writers' Centre and our course Creative Writing Stage 1.
Find out more about your host, Valerie Khoo (@valeriekhoo on Twitter and @valeriekhoo on Instagram).
