Anna read from The Chop House, her autobiography and a work in progress, at The Salthouse Gallery on Sunday 11th May 2008.

Anna Chen Website

Anna Chen Blog

Born and raised in Hackney, east London, Anna had her first poetry published at 14 and remained unbeaten at Chess in tournaments with the boys' school. Cut to 1994 when she took her groundbreaking one-woman comedy show, Suzy Wrong - Human Cannon, to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, making her the first British-born Chinese comedienne to do so. This was followed by her other solo shows, I, Imelda and Taikonaut: How To Save The World, Part I. She was the first British Chinese comic on TV with her BBC2 debut in Stewart Lee's Fist of Fun in 1996.

Anna took time out from her performing career in order to organise the press operation for the anti-war movement in the aftermath of the events of September 2001 and during the build up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Her ten-part BBC Radio 4 series on the history of the Chinese in Britain, is repeated in two omnibus programmes at 9pm on Friday 16th and 23rd May 2008. She wrote and narrated the Radio 4 play Red Guard, Yellow Submarine; and will be presenting the upcoming BBC Radio 4 programme on Anna May Wong (approx TX Feb 2009). She has often been heard on BBC radio talking about Chinese matters and current affairs.

She presents live events such as the Chinese City Showcase (2006 and 2008), and China Late at the British Museum for the 2008 First Emperor exhibition.

Anna currently writes a quarterly column for New Internationalist and contributes to SL Magazine.

Right now she is trying to finish The Chop House, an autobiography which centres around her upbringing by Chinese communists in Hackney from the Swinging Sixties, when she had Beatlemania screaming in one ear and Red Guards in the other, to her life as an early punk when she hung out with various cultural reprobates and had her first catsuit made by Vivienne Westwood. Her excuse for being in St Ives is that it affords her the opportunity to buckle up, knuckle down to work and get the damn book writ. But there's the beach, the Arts Club, the night life, her mates (old and new) and, of course, the literary festival ...

Anna's transgressions can be found at her blog:
http://madammiaow.blogspot.com/

Press for Anna Chen:
"Charming, witty and sophisticated ... I am entranced, won over."
The Sunday Times

"Hard hitting and often hilarious ... arresting ... engrossing and provoking."
The Scotsman

"... sensitive, intelligent ... insistent and illuminating."
The Herald

"A charismatic and attractive performer, original, amusing, rude and rousing."
Manchester Evening News

"It's the stuff of brilliant satire ... riveting."
The List

"Very witty."
Graham Norton

"I'm taking you shoplifting."
Jenny Eclair