Hachette India

When Sleeping Women Wake: a sweeping historical WW2 novel with female resistance at its heart

Emma Pei Yin

WINNER OF 2026 AUSTRALIAN INDIE BOOK AWARD FOR DEBUT FICTION

'A heart-breaking, moving, and soaring novel' NGUY?N PHAN QU? MAI
'Gorgeous and expansive' STYLIST

Hong Kong, 1941. Following the Japanese occupation of Shanghai, the wealthy Tang family flee to Hong Kong.

As the First Wife of the family, Mingzhu leads a sheltered - if lonely - existence overseeing her daughter Qiang and managing the household alongside her devoted maid, Biyu.

But when the Japanese army invade, the three women are scattered. Mingzhu is coerced into working for a Japanese captain. Qiang and Biyu escape the island, only to be forced into factory work then separated after an encounter with the East River Column Resistance fighters.

The longer the brutal occupation lasts, the more determined the women are to resist. And as war rages around the world, each is holding onto the hope that the other is alive.

Perfect for fans of Lisa See, Nguy?n Phan Qu? Mai and Kristin Hannah.

'A lushly romantic and impassioned story of women's agency and resilience' JUHEA KIM

'Compelling, beautiful, and deeply moving' WEINA DAI RANDEL

'A breathtaking, important story of family, love and endurance' WIZ WHARTON

Emma Pei Yin

Emma Pei Yin is an Australian-Chinese writer, editor and literary advocate. Her debut novel, When Sleeping Women Wake, has been published internationally and translated into multiple languages. The novel was longlisted for the ARA Historical Novel Prize (2025) and won the Australian Indie Book Awards in the Debut Fiction category (2026).

Emma is the founder of yinfluence, an agency supporting PoC, queer and neurodivergent writers by connecting them with editors and mentors who understand the stakes of telling stories from the margins.

She is an Author Advocate for Room to Read and an Ambassador for Chapters for Change.

Emma also co-hosts Served With Rice Poddy, a trans-Tasman literary and cultural podcast and visual series recorded across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand that centres conversations about books, publishing, identity and community through food-infused discussion.

She is currently working on her second novel with her extremely barky dachshund, Lady, by her side.