SAVE THE DATE: A Book of Changes will launch on the closing night of the 2023 Hong Kong International Lit Fest March 12 upstairs at the Fringe! I will be reading an extract from my short story Toot, a chocolate horror. Join me and the Hong Kong Writers Circle for a hotpot of short stories, poetry and debauchery from 7pm! You can get tickets here!
My dystopian short story Toot has just landed on on Amazon! It was published in the 2022 Hong Kong Writers Circle anthology, A Book of Changes. The anthology officially launches at the 2023 Hong Kong International Literary Festival March 12, but you can download it as an ebook or order in paperback on Amazon or from Bookazine now!
The story behind this year’s HKWC anthology, A Book of Changes, has been a lot more dramatic than anything you are likely to read inside! Hats off to the editors who have somehow kept their sanity. My chocolate horror story, Toot, is a bit of a departure from the usual stuff I write and I am excited to see it in print! The anthology doesn’t officially launch until the 2023 Hong Kong International Lit Fest in March 2023 but will be uploaded to Amazon shortly before. Sneak peak of the cover art below!
Also launching in March 2023 is the Women in Publishing Society‘s anthology Imprint 21, which will be held at the Foreign Correspondents Club. A couple of my humorous short stories are buried deep inside, like splinters of smashed Heiniken bottles nestled amongst precious emeralds…
More anthology news TBA Nov 18!
Usually, I steer away from committees, assuming I will be a liability, but last month I decided to commit to a minor role as Critique Group Coordinator on the Hong Kong Writers Circle‘s committee. This is my first experience of being on a committee and my second experience of being committed. In case you’re wondering ‘how is that possible?’ I was committed to a psychiatric hospital for a month in 2011. I’m hoping my experience on a psych ward will stand me in good stead for this demanding role. Question 1 to anyone interested in joining a critique group: ‘Do you know why you’re here?’ Nope? Good! Me neither.
I took part in my first lit fest last weekend reading an excerpt from my absurdist short story Shitstorm at the 2021 Hong Kong International Literary Festival! Shitstorm is one of many short stories and poems published by the Hong Kong Writers Circle in their 2021 anthology After The Storm.
The book is now available to buy as an ebook and in paperback on Amazon, in Bookazine and (from next Friday) in my local indie bookstore, Kidnapped in Sai Kung! Even though I had a slight brain fart moment in the Q&A bit, nobody seemed to notice (Brain Fart is my default setting) and I had an absolute blast reading to a live audience, instead of to myself in a poky little studio, imagining the groans of RTHK listeners! Still not sure how I managed to poke myself in the eye with the mic though… At least that‘s never happened in the studio before.
Thanks to Hong Kong Buzz for their little plug of the event and to the Writers Circle for introducing me to some of the best people in Hong Kong and making it all happen! If you’d like to join our Circle, click here! And if you’d like to support the HK Lit Fest by sponsoring an event or becoming a patron, click here!
Catch me reading an excerpt from my short story Shitstorm in the Hong Kong Writers Circle‘s 2021 anthology After The Storm at a Hong Kong International Literary Festival event at the Hong Kong Fringe Club Nov 12! Admission is free, but you do have to book as space is limited. The anthology will be published the same day or shortly after (definitely in time for Christmas!) and available to buy from booksellers, including Bookazine and Amazon. Bring on the festive fun! (Halloween feels more of a trick than a treat now you have to wear two masks!!)
One little hit of dopamine I experienced last year was winning a place in the 2020 Proverse Poetry Prize Anthology for my first bash at writing a poem! War of Voices is my little rant on social media, populism and propaganda. The anthology, called Mingled Voices 5, will be published by Proverse and Chinese University Press as an ebook and in paperback THIS WEEK (April 22), but is already available for preorder on Amazon!
I’m also writing a humorous short story for the Hong Kong Writer’s Circle‘s 2021 anthology. This year’s theme is After The Storm. I seem to have been mentioned in the same sentence as ‘storm‘ quite a bit recently, which is either profoundly disturbing or deliciously serendipitous. If I don’t blow myself out, the anthology will be launched at the HK Lit Fest and published in Nov!
Thanks to Hong Kong Buzz for publishing this piece on my Mental Ideas Podcast‘s AIB Awards nomination, film Transference‘s release (available NOW on Apple, Amazon and loads of other indie film platforms!), Proverse Poetry Prize anthology place and other happenings in the buzzy month of November!
In this preview of a series of podcasts I am making about Hong Kong Writers Circle, I interview HKWC Chairman Chris Maden and Nathan Laurer, Chief Editor of the Circle’s 2020 anthology, Masking the City: Hong Kong in Allegory. The anthology (which has just received a rave review in the SCMP) is being launched at a Hong Kong Literary Festival event at the Hong Kong Fringe Club this Friday (Nov 13). It’s free to attend so check it out!!! The anthology is now available to buy at Bookazine and on Amazon!
For the next few weeks, up until Christmas, I’ll be posting an interview with a different author from the Writer’s Circle each week! Each writer will read a short excerpt from their allegory. Don’t miss it!!!
I’m excited to be collaborating with the Hong Kong Writers Circle producing and presenting a brand new strand of podcasts exploring the timely theme of ‘Masking The City: Hong Kong in Allegory‘!
Writer Unblocked showcases original short stories, poetry and humor to unlock and unblock Hong Kong’s creative art and soul. While some lucky writers and artists have been feeling creatively inspired by the protests, lockdown and surreality of social distancing, others have been left feeling disoriented, emotionally locked and creatively blocked.
Join me, familiar and debut voices from the Hong Kong Writers Circle as we attempt to ease the ‘blockdown’. The series will be recorded Sept/Oct 2020 and tie in with the publication of the HKWC’s 2020 anthology in November! The first episode will be recorded Sept 14 and feature Chief Editor Nathan Lauer and HKWC Chair Chris Maden.
RTHK's Miss Adventure 香港電台冒險小姐 