This week on The Writer’s Gauntlet with Sadie Kaye bearded enviable teacher Kev Harrison is expelled for promoting pagan rituals and blames his cat overlords!

His latest dark fiction novel, Pyres, is newly published by Northern Republic. His debut novel, Shadow of the Hidden, won the Independent Press Award for Horror 2025.

https://thehooghlyreview.com/sadie-kaye-vs-kev-harrison

BUZZ have been granted permission by The Hooghly Review to reprint my weekly column, The Writer’s Gauntlet with Sadie Kaye. They chose a different title for it though! Battle of The Wits is also the name of the affiliated podcast, which will be launching in all the usual podcast places (and some unusual ones!!!) mid-Sept. You can also follow our playlist of music from the IG posts of the columns on Spotify. Enjoy!

https://hongkongbuzz.hk/2026/06/the-hooghly-review-presents-the-writers-gauntlet-with-sadie-kaye-featuring-helen-lederer

I’m excited to share the ident for one of my two new podcasts! Thanks to artist Victoria Mae Martin, a creative dynamo so committed to her craft and our collaborations that she nearly lost a digit this week! But is it more comedy, more terror, or just more terrible comedy? No spoilers – you’ll have to dive in!

Comedy of Terrors is also the working title of a collection of my short stories and flash!

Couldn’t decide on a colour scheme so did 5 – that’s ADHD!

I will be a guest on Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Skyler Jett‘s Music for Global Change broadcast later this year! God only knows what the lead vocalist for the legendary Commodores wants with me (unless it’s Bake Fail tips?) but I’m excited to be a guest on his podcast! In case you are interested, our conversation went like this: “Hello? Is it me you’re looking for? Or have you made some catastrophic error?”

Unfortunately, the time difference sucks (2.30am interview on a Tuesday anybody??) and so we have yet to confirm a date. But I’m hoping to make it back to Blighty later this year so hopefully we can record it live!

Hear me roar on the irrepressible Ran Elfassy‘s Shooting It Raw podcast, where I will be his 101 guest. His podcast has an intriguing photography element. He’s also a fellow Sai Kunger. Convenient… But that’s not why I’m doing it. He won me over with the line, “Did you know that each time you write ‘sorry’ to me, a tiger cub gets horrible and explosive diarrhea? It’s true. It’s SCIENCE!” It sounds just as credible as the rest of the science being applied in HK. 🤪

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 each week! Each writer will read a short excerpt from their allegory. Don’t miss it!!!

Interview with Nathan Laurer and Chris Maden

https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/books/article/3107355/hong-kong-writers-circles-anthology-masking-city-uses

Crazy is a cheeky little fiesta of madness and the last episode of the first series of Mental Ideas so DON’T MISS IT!!! You can download all the episodes from this series here!

A HUGE thanks to all my mental guests: Mat Ricardo, Christina Yung, Larry Feign, Florence Wong, Ruben M, Josh Walters, Dan Davies, Kiki Wong, Jackie Chan, Philippe Joly, Eugenia Kim, Raffaello Degruttola, Ifat Hyndes, as well as to Nick Samuel for composing the mental music, Angie and Noz for all the support!

Mental Ideas will be back! Until then, you can catch me presenting my new humour column on RTHK Radio 3 from September 29! 

Crazy on RTHK Radio 3

Crazy on RTHK Radio 3

https://mentalideas.org

Crazy - Mental Ideas Podcast.jpeg

On this week’s episode Mat Ricardo reminisces about the time he was starting out as a street performer and a member of the public walked onto his pitch and took a dump. Left to raise the tone (uh-oh…) Trollywood actor Dan Davies gives a moving account of his own experiences with internet trolls. Only he has another word for them… and he uses it a lot…

Catch me LIVE on RTHK Radio 3 in about oooh 2 hours!!! You can now download all the podcasts in this series in one mental place!

Trolls Anonymous on RTHK Radio 3

Links!

Trolls Anonymous on RTHK

Dan’s website

Mat’s website

Mat Ricardo TEDx Talk

 

 

Trolls Anonymous on RTHK Radio 3

Brace yourselves for another “slightly strange” (yeah… thanks Noreen 🤣) episode of my Mental Ideas podcast on RTHK‘s 123 Show! This week my guest is the inspirational Christina Yung! She banks. She cares for her Mum. She writes books and takes magical photographs of Hong Kong old shops. She’s in tears twice during the interview and has the most infectious raucous laugh I’ve ever had the pleasure of developing tinnitus from!

Bit of an emotional rollercoaster this week as we discuss dementia and impact on mental health of the Hong Kong Protests among other topics.

On next week’s episode of Mental Ideas veterans Mat Ricardo and Dan Davies return and recount their most memorable experiences with internet trolls in Trolls Anonymous. Only Dan has another word for them – and he uses it a lot…

Catch me LIVE on RTHK Radio 3 in about… oooh… TWO HOURS!!!

The Depressed Banker - Mental Ideas Podcast

 

The Depressed Banker on RTHK Radio 3

Links!

The Depressed Banker on RTHK

Christina Yung’s website

Christina in the SCMP

https://mentalideas.org

I’m excited to be collaborating with the Hong Kong Writers Circle producing and presenting a podcast 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.