Celebrated Hong Kong author Xi Xi dies aged 85

In 2019, Xi Xi (centre) became the first Hong Kong writer to win the Newman Prize for Chinese Literature, hosted by the University of Oklahoma's Institute for US-China Issues. Photo: Newman Prize for Chinese Literature

Hong Kong author Xi Xi, whose whimsical tales became a defining portrait of a city transitioning away from British rule, died on Sunday, according to a publisher she co-founded. She was 85.

One of the most beloved names in Sinophone literature, she published more than 30 books of fiction, poetry, non-fiction and screenplays in a career spanning six decades.