Member Spotlights Member Spotlight: Xi Xu July 17, 2026 Share on Twitter (opens in a new tab) on Facebook (opens in a new tab) on Linkedin (opens in a new tab) via email Why is writing important to you and why do you think it’s an important medium for the world? Language reflects our mind and writing means an engagement with language and reading. Reading is not just a quick swipe to the next online whatever on an app. It requires focus, attention, true engagement with the content, and the ability to exercise critical faculties. I write because it means books to be read of the world I’ve witnessed and reflected on deeply to make the books I’ve published. What are your tried and tested remedies to cure writer’s block? Housework! Chores! Clean up your mess, attend to your life and then your imagination (and time) frees up to fly. What is your favorite time to write? Pre-dawn and early morning, which I’m privileged to do now that I’m mostly retired from other work. HOWEVER, when I earned a living with a grueling 70 to 80 hr work week that included extensive travel, I taught myself to write whenever I could snatch a little time, including on board flights (which I hate writing on). If you NEED to write, you make the time, and don’t simply indulgently wait for your favorite time. What’s the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever received and would like to impart to other writers? My MFA advisor once asked me, what kind of book are you really trying to write? There I was, pretending to be literary, while churning out crappy genre. I understood immediately that whatever you write is a CHOICE that the writer makes. It became my own teaching philosophy for years afterwards. What excites you most about being a writer in today’s age? Nothing stands still anymore. On the one hand, it’s frustrating to recognize the gross incompetencies of AI; on the other hand, it’s exciting to recognize how much literature and publishing will change because of AI, social media, shortened attention spans. It’s the grand challenge all writers and creatives face in the 21st century, and it’s up to us to invent that future. Xi Xu’s Horizon Hong Kong: Selected Stories is out now with Gaudy Boy LLC.
