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.’