Jasper Fforde, a British author of mystery and detective fiction genre who was listed in the best-selling works of the New York Times for his book The Eyre Affair (2001) will have exchanges with readers in Hanoi and HCMC on May 8-9.

His trip to Vietnam, hosted by the British Council in Vietnam, is part of the fifth European Literature Days in Hanoi. He will attend as speaker at the book presentation and discussion ‘Mystery and detective fiction for children – An untouched land’ tomorrow at the Goethe Institute in Hanoi. The event will also feature local literary critic Dr. Pham Xuan Thach to create an open dialog and exchange about this genre of literature as well as its potential in Vietnam.

In the afternoon, Fforde will join Israeli writer Etgar Keret and Vietnamese writer Di Li to discuss “Contemporary society reflected in short stories and novels” at the same venue.  Fforde will also run a creative writing workshop with English learners at the British Council teaching center in HCMC’s District 1 and he will join junior high school students at Thuc Nghiem School in a creative writing workshop titled ‘Daydreaming with ink: Write the way you want to write’.

Born in 1961, Fforde spent his early career in the film industry. He is the author of several novels which cross over genres, and are a mixture of fantasy, crime thriller, and humorous fiction. They are noted for their literary allusions, wordplay and tight plots. He uses the internet to add a different level to the books themselves (http://www.jasperfforde.com), and to talk with his fans online. His next book, “Early Riser,” will be published in the UK and the U.S. in early 2016.