Hong Kong Publishing Professionals Society has announced the list of awardees of the 2023 Hong Kong Publishing Biennial Award. Three books published by the Chinese University of Hong Kong Press are on the list.

Late writer Xi Xi’s Carnival of Animals: Xi Xi’s Animal Poems (Bilingual Edition) is awarded “Best Publication”. It is also the “Distinguished Publication” in “Literature and Fiction”. Botanical Illustrated Guide to Hong Kong Native Plants and Cantonese: Since the Nineteenth Century are awarded “Distinguished Publication” in “Lifestyle and Popular Science” and “Language Learning” respectively.

Edited by Ho Fuk-yan and translated by Jennifer Feeley (winner of the American Literary Translators Association’s Lucien Stryk Asian Translation Prize), Carnival of Animals: Xi Xi’s Animal Poems features Xi Xi’s new works written during the past few years. 27 people, including professional artists, retired civil servants and children, were invited to contribute to the book by producing their own artworks. With each poem accompanied by different illustrations, readers can enjoy a unique reading experience that combines text and pictures.

An acclaimed Hong Kong and national literary icon, Xi Xi has won numerous awards including the Newman Prize for Chinese Literature and Cikada Prize. She is the first Hong Kong writer to win an international poetry award. In 2022, the Hong Kong Arts Development Council presented the “Lifetime Achievement Award” to Xi Xi to honour her significant contribution to literature and arts development.