Bio

Alexandra Pearson

Founder of The Bookworm

Age: 42

Born: Elmsworth, Hampshire, UK

Educated:

Clayesmore School, independent school in Dorset

University of Westminster (joint honors degree in Chinese language and Chinese and English literature)

Central Conservatory of Music, Beijing

Career:

Entrepreneur and management trainer since the early 1990s

Founded The Bookworm in Beijing in 2005 and The Bookworm International Literary Festival in 2007.

Awarded an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) for relief efforts following the Sichuan earthquake in 2008.

Book: Three Sisters by Bi Feiyu, Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks and Under the Skin by Michael Faber

Music: Schubert and Haydn string quarters. "What is missing in Beijing is good chamber music."

Film: "I have only ever been to the cinema twice in my life and I have never had a television."

Food: Jiaozi , Chinese dumplings, and hot pot. "I am a real northern Chinese person when it comes to food."