Tag: Cha: An Asian Literary Journal

on by

Following on from my conversation with poet, humanitarian and Afghan women’s rights advocate Shikha S Lamba that was published this week in Cha: An Asian Literary Journal, I wrote a short news piece for BUZZ on Shikha’s latest initiatives and how you can help! Thanks to BUZZ editor Robin Bradbeer for publishing.

https://hongkongbuzz.hk/2026/09/from-poetry-to-action-shikha-s-lamba-lights-the-way

You can read our conversation in Cha, Challenging the Patriarchy with Poetry & Prose here: https://chajournal.com/2026/09/19/shikha-s-lamba

on by

I’m spending more time conversing with Holly Sykes than her husband these days! This conversation, just published by The Hooghly Review, is called Judging Books Judging Us – Art, Memoir, And The Books That Read Us. It was inspired by Holly’s substack, Beyond the Book Cover firing rockets into my neurodivergent brain and getting me unhealthily fixated on the concept of books reading us. There is treatment, according to my psychiatrist, but it’ll cost me…

https://thehooghlyreview.com/sadie-kaye-and-holly-sykes-go-beyond-the-book-cover/

My other conversation with Holly about mapping loss and loneliness in a crowded city was one of two columns published by Cha: An Asian Literary Journal on Saturday and can be found here.

The Writer’s Gauntlet will be back in The Hooghly Review on Thursday (with a Friday reprint in Buzz.) Who will be the latest intrepid writer to brave my Gauntlet? This gets harder and harder to decide as there are now a mind-boggling number of subs to choose from!

Thanks to Ankit, co-editor of The Hooghly Review, for the kind comment on X.

on by

The second of my conversations with writers and artists to be published in Cha: An Asian Literary Journal last weekend was with irrepressible Afghan women’s rights advocate and poet Shikha S Lamba. She recently curated a powerful poetry collection to raise the voices of Afghan women in collaboration with The Candyman’s Trumpet.

Shikha credits Afghan-American author Nadia Hashimi (who recently braved my Writer’s Gauntlet) as the source of her literary inspiration. Thanks to Cha’s wondrous editor-in-chief Tammy Lai-Ming Ho for the double coverage!

https://chajournal.com/2026/09/19/shikha-s-lamba

https://chajournal.com/category/sadie-kaye

on by

My conversation with writer Holly Sykes was the first of two columns to be published by Cha: An Asian Literary Journal last weekend. Holly talks with insight and charm about how it feels to map loss and loneliness in a crowded city – and how loss overlaps with connection.

The story is illustrated with art and photography by Kasra Shroff, Rebecca Dandridge-Walker and Ricky Sadiosa. Thanks, as ever, to editor Tammy Lai-Ming Ho for the care and attention you put into each piece.

https://chajournal.com/2026/09/19/holly-sykes

on by

This week on The Writer’s Gauntlet with Sadie Kaye Art Witch and playwright Lindsey McAlister starts glitter-fuelled revolution in teen mental health! The vibes are immaculate but impossible to vacuum…

This is my second detour down memory lane (as an alumnus of the HKYAF) with local legend Lindsey. We were caught waving frantically at life in Cha in July!

https://thehooghlyreview.com/sadie-kaye-vs-lindsey-mcalister

The weekly reprint (with permission of The Hooghly Review) has just gone live in BUZZ:

https://hongkongbuzz.hk/2026/08/battle-of-the-wits-sadie-kaye-versus-lindsey-mcalister

on by

My latest conversation for Cha: An Asian Literary Journal with Lindsey McAlister took me on a wild joyride of liberation and nostalgia. Among her many, many achievements, Lindsey founded the Hong Kong Youth Arts Foundation, where I got my first taste of performing. (So if you want to blame anyone for the way that panned out, blame her!!)

Her passion and commitment to empowering young people through the arts have earned her an OBE. Her other accolades include Tatler Asia’s Most Influential (2021), a Woman of Power by Prestige (2025) and a finalist for the AmCham Women of Influence Awards (2026). This year she’s been taking the art world by storm with her solo fine art exhibition at Art Central and continued success of the pop art and lifestyle phenomenon Crafty Bitch! Big thanks to editor Tammy Ho Lai-Ming for the time and energy you put into publishing every piece! Enjoy crafty bitches!

on by

As Hong Kong dithers on whether to embrace the ‘pet economy’, my foodie poo Mojo is in Cha: An Asian Literary Journal with his review of a Hong Kong restaurant! I helpfully provided the English translation, being fluent in English, Cantonese, Mandarin, and, err, Woof. Thanks to editor Tammy Ho Lai-Ming for the editorial feedback, which Mojo really appreciated, and for publishing what is undoubtedly the silliest piece ever to appear in Cha in its 20 year history!

https://chajournal.com/2026/04/22/foodie-review/

https://chajournal.com/category/sadie-kaye

on by

My latest column for Cha: An Asian Literary Journal dives into the life and story of Indian-American artist Sai Pradhan and the inspirations for her exhibition, With Regard to Myths. It’s got geckos and dogs in it. What more could you want from art? I had the pleasure of attending Sai’s mythical preview tonight and you definitely don’t want to miss it!!!

Thanks so much Tammy Ho Lai-ming for the care and attention you put into making every piece pop! You can read my first conversation for Cha with fine artist George Tang Kwok-wing here.

https://chajournal.com/2026/03/18/sai-pradhan/

  • Screenshot