500 words from Brian Stoddart

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 Brian Stoddart, an Australian academic who worked in Malaysia in the 1990s, talks about A Straits Settlement the latest in his Superintendent Le Fanu series of crime novels, set in the colonial-era of the 1920s, and published by Hong Kong based Crime Wave Press.

A Straits Settlement, the third book in the series, following A Madras Miasma and The Pallampur Predicament, both set in south India, sees Superintendent Le Fanu promoted to Inspector-General of Police, and broadens his geographical horizons across the Bay of Bengal into the British-controlled Straits Settlements, where for the first time he encounters Chinese and Malay cultures. As soon as he arrives he becomes entangled with Chinese secret societies and the British colonial intelligence services. Not to mention the mysterious Chinese woman who causes him to wonder about the British imperial future.

So, over to Brian…

The Sunday Post / Imprint Cover

The Sunday Post is suspended this week, but here is the cover of Imprint, the annual anthology from Hong Kong WiPS - see the previous post for details!

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.