Irene Wu has dedicated years of her life to researching the invasion of Nanking, China. Through the winter of 1937, the Japanese Imperial Army led a horrific campaign through the streets of China's capital, an event that has been left unknown and untold to the world. Irene is on the brink of releasing her research when her publisher voices doubts about the book.
Marjorie Chan's gripping narrative intertwines the past and the present, transporting the reader between Irene and a small group of unlikely heroes caught in the invasion. Scrambling to create a refuge from the horror, the band's struggle to survive binds them in a promise that will span the ages of time, while Irene struggles to reveal the truth despite her publisher's conservative worries. a nanking winter brings the horror and endurance of a nation's history into stark focus with breathtaking clarity and brutal honesty.
Marjorie Chan is an acclaimed theatre artist, librettist, and playwright based out of Toronto. Her play China Doll was nominated for Outstanding New Play and Outstanding Production at the Dora Awards, was a finalist for the 2005 Governor General’s Literary Award, and was performed in Hong Kong as part of Festival Canada Hong Kong. Her other works include The Madness of the Square, Sanctuary Song, Persephone Calling, Mother Everest, and in the garden, two suns, an adaptation of Hisashi Inoue’s celebrated play about Hiroshima. Marjorie has been playwright-in-residence for Theatre Direct Canada as well as playwright-in-residence and associate artistic director for Cahoots Theatre Projects. In addition to her writing and performing, Marjorie runs Crossing Gibraltar, a theatre training and outreach program for youth from refugee backgrounds. She is a graduate of George Brown Theatre School.