A rojak* of items that caught my
eye this week…
Seen elsewhere
17,000 islands of imagination: discovering Indonesian literature. The Observer / UK
Downtown Yangon building that once housed socialist propaganda newspaper is in line to become a writers’ hub. The Myanmar
Times / Myanmar
Journalist lauded for keeping Filipino literature alive. UCA News / Asia-wide
This week in Asian Review of
Books
See the Asian Review of Books for
ever-interesting discussion. Here are links to its newest reviews, excerpts,
letters, essays, listings, translations, news items, and round ups:
New in paperback: Re Jane: A Novel by Patricia Park reviewed by Jill Baker
Review round up: India and WW2
Japan at Nature’s Edge by Mark L. Clifford
Blue Skies Over Beijing: Economic Growth and the Environment in China by Matthew by E. Kahn and Siqi Zheng reviewed by Nicholas Gordon
Review round up: India and WW2
Japan at Nature’s Edge by Mark L. Clifford
Blue Skies Over Beijing: Economic Growth and the Environment in China by Matthew by E. Kahn and Siqi Zheng reviewed by Nicholas Gordon
Lion City lit notes
Asian Books Blog is based in
Singapore. Our regular column Lion City Lit explores in-depth what’s going on
in the City-State, lit-wise. Lion City lit notes provide quick updates between
columns. By Lucia Damacela
Asian Women’s Writing Festival
2016 and Short Story Competition: The First Asian Women Writers Festival, organised by India
SE Media, will take place in Singapore on July 1 and 2, at the Mochtar Riady
Auditorium, Singapore Management University. The event’s theme is ‘Parity for
Women.’ This will be discussed at two panel sessions with writers from
Singapore, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Malaysia and the Philippines. An Asian
Woman Writer of the Year Award carrying a monetary reward will be also
conferred. Additional information is available at the Facebook page of this ticketed event. Meanwhile, the organisers have launched a short story competition, open to
writers 16 years and older, irrespective of gender and nationality. Only one
entry is allowed per participant. The story can be of any theme, as long as it
is not offensive, explicit, discriminatory or gratuitously violent. Stories
must be written in English, up to 1,500 words long, unpublished, and entirely
the original work of the writer. Entries should be emailed to info@indiasemedia.com with the subject line ‘Short Story
Writing Competition-Asian Women Writers’ Festival 2016.’ The deadline is June
6. The winning story will be published in Indian Se magazine. For detailed
guidelines, visit the Facebook page.
Asian Festival of Children’s
Content: Singapore hosts the annual Asian Festival of Children’s content, which this year closes today, and where it has been announced that a new Asian Children’s Book Award worth SGD30,000 will reward translators
and illustrators as well as authors. Click here for coverage in The Straits
Times / Singapore. Meanwhile, Singaporean-Indian Aditi Krishnakumar won the Scholastic
Asian Book Award, worth SGD10,000, for her manuscript Codex: The Lost Treasure
Of The Indus. Click here for coverage in The Deccan Times / India
Twitter spot
Each week I make a suggestion of
an interesting Twitter account you may like to follow. This week, @DinahJefferies. Dianh Jefferies
is the best-selling author of #TheTeaPlantersWife and #SilkMerchant.
*A rojak is a Singaporean salad. Like Asian Books Blog on Facebook, or follow it on Twitter.
