Olivia & Sophia: Launch

Olivia & Sophia, my own new historical novel, which examines Raffles' life through the eyes of his two wives, has its Asian launch at the Singapore Writers Festival tomorrow - Sunday November 1. (It will be publishing in the UK in March 2016.) If you happen to be in Singapore, and you'd like to come along: great! The launch is 5.30 - 6.30 at The Arts House.  

Olivia & Sophia is available from Amazon here.

Day 1: Singapore Writers Festival

Asian Books Blog is based in Singapore. During the Singapore Writers Festival, (SWF) which is on now, and runs through until November 8, daily posts will offer a flavour of events on offer in the Lion City.

So: an update on the launch...

Q & A: Yeow Kai Chai

Lit-wise, Hong Kong and Singapore are both busy at the moment.  The Hong Kong International Literary Festival started on Monday, October 26, and runs through until November 8. Meanwhile, The Singapore Writers Festival starts today, October 30, and also runs until November 8.  (The two Festivals often overlap; when last year I asked why, I was told it enabled authors travelling long distances from the West to visit both Hong Kong, and Singapore.)

Yesterday, Phillipa Milne, Programme Manager, Hong Kong International Literary Festival answered questions.  Today, it’s the turn of Yeow Kai Chai, Festival Director, Singapore Writers Festival. (SWF)

So: over to Kai Chai…

Q & A: Phillipa Milne

Lit-wise, Hong Kong and Singapore are both busy at the moment.  The Hong Kong International Literary Festival started on Monday, October 26, and runs through until November 8. Meanwhile, The Singapore Writers Festival starts tomorrow, October 30, and also runs until November 8.  (The two Festivals often overlap; when last year I asked why, I was told it enabled authors travelling long distances from the West to visit both Hong Kong, and Singapore.)

Today, Phillipa Milne, Programme Manager, Hong Kong International Literary Festival, answers questions.  Tomorrow, it will be the turn of Yeow Kai Chai, Festival Director, Singapore Writers Festival.

So: over to Phillipa…

Ubud Censorship / Upcoming Festivals

The Ubud Writers & Readers Festival starts today, and runs through until November 1. The start of the Festival has been marred by censorship. This year is the 50^th anniversary of communist repression and killings in Indonesia, in 1965. Ubud Writers & Readers Festival had planned to mark the anniversary – but the authorities had other ideas.

David T. K. Wong by Lee Li Ying

Author and philanthropist David T. K. Wong is an elder statesman of Asian letters. Here, Lee Li Ying, one of his editors at Epigram Books, the Singapore-based publisher of Adrift, the first part of his multi-volume family memoir, reveals him to be a man who knows his passion, purpose and priorities.

Q & A: Chantal Jauvin

Chantal Jauvin co-authored, with Dr. Amporn Wathanavongs, The Boy with A Bamboo Heart, an account of Dr. Amporn’s life.

Dr. Amporn, the founder of the Foundation for Rehabilitation and Development of Children and Family (FORDEC), is today one of Thailand's most generous benefactors – but he didn’t have an easy start to life. Orphaned at six, he scrambled for survival in the markets of Surin.  At fifteen, he became a boy soldier, trekking through the Cambodian jungle. His tumultuous experiences left him prone to self-loathing, but through learning to accept the kindness of others he surmounted his self-destructive tendencies. After a spell as a Buddhist monk, he was able to follow his true vocation, and, eventually, to save the lives of over 50,000 street children.

Asian Review of Books / More Catching-up

See the Asian Review of Books for ever-interesting discussion. Here is a list of reviews, excerpts, letters, essays, and round ups published whilst I was away:

The Sunday Post / Catch-up

The Sunday Post usually offers a rojak* of items from the previous week, but since I’ve been away, this one covers the last fortnight…

But One Last Thing....

Also, this is the cover of my new novel, Olivia & Sophia.  I hope you like it.

Olivia & Sophia is a fictionalised account of the adventures of Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, the founder of Singapore, as seen through the eyes of his two wives.

It's in paperback, from Monsoon Books, publishing Nov 1 in Asia and Australia, and next year in the UK.  I'll post more about it when I'm back...

Closing Until October 25

I will be travelling in the States for the next 2 weeks, so I'm closing Asian Books Blog for the duration.  It will resume with The Sunday Post on October 25. Until then: happy reading!

Svetlana Alexievich WinsThe Nobel

Alexievich at the Nobel ceremony

The Nobel Prize in Literature for 2015 has been awarded to the Belarusian author Svetlana Alexievich "for her polyphonic writings, a monument to suffering and courage in our time."

Lion City Lit: New Books From Ethos

Asian Books Blog is based in Singapore. Lion City Lit explores what’s going on in the City-State, lit-wise. Local publisher Ethos Books has recently launched a slew of new books, and will be launching several more at the upcoming Singapore Writers Festival, SGWF, which will run Oct 30 - Nov 8.  Click on the highlighted link to explore  a selection of what Ethos is offering...

This Week in Asian Review of Books

See the Asian Review of Books for ever-interesting discussion. Here is a list of its newest reviews, excerpts, letters, essays, and round ups:

Holy Ghosts: The Christian Century in Modern Japanese Fiction by Rebecca Suter reviewed by Todd Shimoda
China and Cybersecurity: Espionage, Strategy, and Politics in the Digital Domain, edited by Jon R. Lindsay, Tai Ming Cheung and Derek S Reveron reviewed by Nicholas Gordon
Aa Maratheyum Marannu Marannu Njan: And Slowly Forgetting That Tree by KR Meera, translated by J. Devika reviewed by Jane Wallace
The Iran Nuclear Deal: A Definitive Guide by Gary Samore, et al. reviewed by Francis P Sempa
Princess Bari by Hwang Sok-yong, translated by Sora Kim-Russell reviewed by John W. W. Zeiser
Changing Chinese Cities: The Potentials of Field Urbanism by Renee Y. Chow reviewed by Simone van Nieuwenhuizen
Tor Aman and Mehr Gul by Salman Rashid

The Sunday Post

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

500 Words From Nick Wilgus

500 Words From...is a series of guest posts from Asia-based, locally-published authors, in which they talk about their latest books. Here Nick Wilgus, who is now based in the USA, but who lived and worked in Asia for many years, discusses The Curious Corpse, the latest title in his Father Ananda murder-mystery series, published by Hong Kong-based Crime Wave Press.