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Generate story ideas with Wai Chim as she shares how her background has underpinned her writing and leads students to engage with their own.
Inspired by Wai’s own father’s journey, her book Freedom Swimmer (Allen & Unwin) is an incredible tale about two boys who swim from mainland China to Hong Kong in search of freedom from poverty and oppression.
Wai Chim is a first generation Chinese-American from New York City. She grew up speaking Cantonese at home and absorbing Western culture through books, TV and school. She spent some time living in Japan before making Sydney, Australia her permanent home. Her previous books include the Chook Chook series for middle-grade readers, and Shaozhen set in the drought stricken province of Henan in 2014. Wai also wrote Freedom Swimmer, a YA novel inspired by her father’s desperate swim to Hong Kong to escape Mao’s China in the 1970s. In addition to writing, Wai works in digital marketing and website production and enjoys fine dining, pretending to do yoga and ogling puppies.
