Women in Publishing Hong Kong by Sarah Merrill Mowat

Women in Publishing (WiPS) is an international organisation working to promote the status of women working in publishing and related trades by helping them to develop their careers. Sarah Merrill Mowat is vice president of the Hong Kong chapter, and also coordinator of Imprint, HK WiPS’ annual anthology of members’ writing.  Here Sarah talks about the advantages of joining WiPS, and the latest issue of Imprint, which was published in April.

Lion City Lit: Me Migrant by Mohammed Mukul Hossine (transcreated by Cyril Wong)

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. Here Bhavani Krishnamurthy reports on the launch of Me Migrant, a collection of poetry from Mohammed Mukul Hossine, who was awarded a degree in the social sciences in his native Bangladesh, but who now works in Singapore as a construction worker by day, and as a poet by night. Cyril Wong, the established Singaporean poet, was the transcreator. Me Migrant was published on May 1, International Labour Day, by Ethos Books.

The Sunday Post

A rojak* of items that caught my eye this week…

500 words from Mike Stoner

500 words from...is a series of guest posts from authors writing about Asia, or published by Asia-based, or Asia-focused, publishing houses, in which they talk about their latest books. Here UK-based Mike Stoner talks about his novel Jalan Jalan, set in Indonesia. He initially self-published, but after Jalan Jalan was noticed by the prestigious UK newspaper, the Guardian, and awarded its monthly prize for the best self-published novel, it was picked up by the conventional publisher, Tuttle, which specialises in books linking East and West.

Lion City Lit: Softblow

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. Here Lucía Damacela launches an occasional series highlighting Singapore online literary magazines. She’ll be talking to founders and editors about the workings of their respective magazines: In this first installment, her focus is on Softblow.

The Sunday Post

A rojak* of items that caught my eye this week…

Indie spotlight: Victor Cunrui Xiong

Indie Spotlight is our monthly column on self-publishing. This month Siobhan Daiko interviews Victor Cunrui Xiong, Professor of History, with a special interest in Asian history, at Western Michigan University, USA, and author of the historical novel Heavenly Khan.

Heavenly Khan is based on the story of Li Shimin (also known as Tang Taizong), the second emperor of the Tang dynasty, and arguably the greatest sovereign in Chinese history.  He grew up in a world of devastating upheaval that tore China apart, and he found himself thrust into the role of a military commander in his father’s rebel army while still a teenager. He proved himself to be a great military genius, vanquishing all his enemies on the battlefield. As emperor, ruling from 626 to 649 CE, he was open-minded. He encouraged critical suggestions by his court officials, which he often adopted, and he lent support to Buddhism, Daoism, and Christianity. The international prestige he won for Tang China was so high that the states of Central and North Asia honored him with the title of ‘Heavenly Khan.’

500 words from MJ Lee

500 words from...is a series of guest posts from authors writing about Asia, or published by Asia-based, or Asia-focused, publishing houses, in which they talk about their latest books. Here MJ Lee, a Briton who has lived in London, Hong Kong, Taipei, Singapore, Bangkok and Shanghai, and who now splits his time between the UK and Asia, talks about his Inspector Danilov series.  These crime novels, set in the Shanghai of the 1920s and 1930s, feature as the sleuths Inspector Pyotr Danilov, a Russian, and his half-Scottish half-Chinese sidekick, Detective Sergeant Strachan. Martin chose to set his novels in Shanghai, between the two world wars, because it was in his opinion, the perfect location for any murder - a city of shadows, where death, decadence and debauchery stalked the art deco streets.

The Sunday Post (Shakespeare edition)

Shakespeare is surely the world's most global playwright? Yesterday, Saturday, April 23, marked the 400th anniversary of his death, and so all this past week I've been posting and sharing relevant links,with a focus on Shakespeare in Asia. Today, in the last of the week's posts, a round-up of coverage of the anniversary from the UK press, plus the final daily Shakespeare Twitter spot.

Shakespeare week: Sat April 23

Shakespeare is surely the world's most global playwright? Today, Saturday, April 23, marks the 400th anniversary of his death, and so all this week I've been posting and sharing relevant links,with a focus on Shakespeare in Asia. Today, though links to sites from leading Western libraries and from the British Council. All are well-worth clicking around.

Shakespeare week: Friday

The Taming of the Shrew staged in Korea

Shakespeare is surely the world's most global playwright? Tomorrow, Saturday, April 23, marks the 400th anniversary of his death, and so all this week I've been posting and sharing relevant links - with a focus on Shakespeare in Asia. 

Shakespeare week: Thursday

A Midsummer Night's Dream staged in Beijing

Shakespeare is surely the world's most global playwright? Saturday, April 23, marks the 400th anniversary of his death, and so all this week I'm posting and sharing relevant links - with a focus on Shakespeare in Asia. Today, Shakespeare (Shashibiya) in China, a competition, and the daily Shakespeare Twitter spot.

Shakespeare week: Wednesday

Shakespeare is surely the world's most global playwright? Saturday, April 23, marks the 400th anniversary of his death, and so all this week I'll be posting and sharing relevant links - with a focus on Shakespeare in Asia. Today, two books on the influence of Shakespeare on Japanese theatre traditions, and a competition inspired by the Goodreads Shakespeare week.

Shakespeare week: Tuesday

Shakespeare is surely the world's most global playwright? Saturday, April 23, marks the 400th anniversary of his death, and so all this week I'll be posting and sharing relevant links - with a focus on Shakespeare in Asia. Today, a fantastic online video and performance archive from The Massachusetts Institute of Technology: MIT Global Shakespeares.

It's a really interesting site to explore. 

For India click here.

For East and Southeast Asia click here.

Daily Shakespeare Twitter spot
I can't find any Twitter accounts linked to MIT Global Shakespeares, so today's suggested account is #Shakespeare.

Shakespeare week: Monday

Shakespeare is surely the world's most global playwright? Saturday, April 23, marks the 400th anniversary of his death, and so all this week I'll be posting and sharing relevant links - with a focus on Shakespeare in Asia. But to kick off, here are three UK-based websites you may enjoy exploring, plus a Twitter hashtag:

The Royal Shakespeare Company - click on the button "about Shakespeare."

Shakespeare Birthplace Trust - take online tours of Shakespeare's family homes.

Shakespeare's Globe - click around to discover more about the rebuilding  of Shakespeare's iconic theatre.

Daily Shakespeare Twitter spot
#Shakespare400 - Shakespeare themed tweets from around the world.

The Sunday Post

Asian Books Blog is based in Singapore. Usually The Sunday Post is a rojak - a Singaporean salad - of items that caught my eye the previous week. Today, though, I’m pushed for time, so things are a bit scanty. Apologies.  Hope you find the links interesting.

Seen elsewhere

Why did India’s ambitious globaltranslations project, die prematurely? From Scroll.in (India)

Tough times for translators inBurma. From Frontier (Myanmar)

To Get More Voices Published inEnglish: Translation as Activism. From Publishing Perspectives (USA)

Twitter spot

Each week I make a suggestion of an interesting Twitter account you may like to follow.  This week, the SOAS China Institute, the account of the forum for Chinese-related research at SOAS, University of London, @SOAS_CI.

500 words from Ray Hecht

500 words from...is a series of guest posts from authors writing about Asia, or published by Asia-based, or Asia-focused, publishing houses, in which they talk about their latest books. Here Shenzhen-based American Ray Hecht talks about his new novel South China Morning Blues, published by Blacksmith Books based in Hong Kong. Ray’s earlier books were The Ghost of Lotus Mountain Brothel and Loser Parade. He currently writes for Shenzhen Daily, the only daily English-language newspaper in the south of mainland China.

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, announcements, news items, and round ups:

Marrow by Yan Lianke reviewed by Nicholas Gordon
Daughters of the Samurai: A Journey from East to West and Back by Janice P Nimura reviewed by John D. Van Fleet
The Unquiet Frontier: Rising Rivals, Vulnerable Allies, and the Crisis of American Power by Jakub J Grygiel and A Wess Mitchell reviewed by Francis P Sempa
The Revolution Will Not Be Televised: Protest Music After Fukushima by Noriko Manabe reviewed by Nicholas Gordon
Announcement of the inaugural Hong Kong History Book Prize 
Quixotica: Poems East of la Mancha: A call for submissions 

Q & A: Anne Elizabeth Moore

Graphic novels are wildly popular in Asia, but how about comics journalism?  This mingles the techniques of graphic novels with those of investigative journalism.  Chicago-based Anne Elizabeth Moore is one of its leading proponents.  In May, she will publish Threadbare: Clothes, Sex & Trafficking, a collection of reporting, research, and art, exploring, amongst other things, how the darker side of the global fashion industry has roots in Asia.

The Sunday Post

A rojak* of items that caught my eye this week…