Welcome to Blacksmith Books
– an independent
Hong Kong publisher presenting the works of Asia-based
authors and artists to a
global readership. In line with our purpose, we offer fast worldwide shipping for all our titles
– free within Asia. Please use the links to
explore.
AUTHOR EVENTS Alain Robert, the Human Spider
Flamboyant French climber Alain Robert comes to Hong Kong for two events
on Monday April 14th. The daredevil author of
With Bare Hands will be signing books at
lunchtime and then speaking at a literary dinner in the evening. Click
on the picture for more...
NEW CHANNELS Amazon availability for 2008 Blacksmith Books
celebrates the Year of the Rat by announcing that many of our fiction
and non-fiction titles are now available on Amazon's international
network of websites, amongst others. Look below the shopping cart
buttons on each book's page to see a list of alternative sources.
AUTHOR
EXPLOITS China lifts ban on French Spiderman Just months after he was expelled from China for
climbing Shanghai's tallest building without permission, a daring French
climber is preparing to scale another Chinese peak — but this time at
the invitation of the government. Alain Robert,
dubbed the French Spiderman for his ascents up some of the world's
tallest buildings without climbing gear, will scale one of China's best
known mountains in the northern province of Hunan on Nov. 18.
Read on...
NEW
BOOK Have you ever wondered... What would it be like to own all the opium in Hong
Kong? Not just a little bit, a fair share, or a large portion... but the
whole darn lot?
NEW
ART Sketches of
Sai Kung The Sai Kung
Peninsula is Hong Kong’s back garden – a place where people go to swim,
hike, eat seafood alfresco, and otherwise escape the city. But besides
the popular beaches and waterfront restaurants, there is an abundance of
hidden attractions, and Lorette Roberts has discovered them for her
new book! Join us at
launch events to celebrate this enchanting new
publication.
AUDIO ADAPTATION Saudi is Spoken
Spy thriller
Saudi Match Point is now available as a downloadable audio book.
View the details, and listen to an audio sample, at this link: Saudi Match Point.
BOOK LAUNCHES Hong Kong On Air
We launch Hong
Kong On Air at Bookazine, 3/F, Prince's Building, Central, at 6:30pm
on Friday 14th September, with wine and cheese from Wineshop.hk.
Join us! We then take Hong
Kong On Air to Macau, our sister SAR, on Tuesday 18th September. Details
here.
NEWSPAPER INTERVIEW Have Camera,
Will Backpack TheShanghai Daily
interviewed China photojournalist Tom Carter on 29th August. Read the
story
here.
AUTHOR APPEARANCES
Ten Years On
Blacksmith Books author Muhammad Cohen will be speaking at
Yale Club event
Hong Kong 10/166 -- a panel discussion looking into the past and
future of the SAR, on 4th September at the Hong Kong Club.
Cohen will also appear on
Bloomberg TV with Bernard Lo at 8:50am on Friday 31st August, and on
RTHK
Radio 3 with Phil Whelan from 11am on Monday 3rd September.
NEW
BOOK
Working Mothers, Happy Kids
Liberation was meant to expand women's opportunities, not to limit them.
This illustrated title shows you 21 ways to forge closer bonds with your
children.
Read more...
AUTHOR
EXPLOITS
Three-year photo quest ends in Hong Kong
American photojournalist Tom
Carter today announced the completion of a ground-breaking journey
throughout all 33 Chinese provinces and autonomous regions, and took his
place amongst the few living Westerners able to make the claim. With
limited Chinese language skills and an even more limited budget, Carter
backpacked alone across the vast Middle Kingdom, visiting over 200
cities and villages. Read all about
it!
EVENTS
Hong Kong Book Fair
Looking for quality books at discounts of up to 40%? Such bargains can
be yours if you visit our IPHK stand at this year's HK Book Fair: booth
GHF06 in the Grand Hall. Read more...
AUTHOR
EXPLOITS
Spiderman in Shanghai!
Excited spectators gathered with their camera phones on 31st May to
watch daredevil Alain Robert scale the Jin Mao Tower in Shanghai. The
420-metre ascent ended in arrest for the fearless Frenchman, but he took
it in his stride: having climbed the world's three tallest buildings
barehanded, he wasn't about to let the fourth-tallest pass him by. Alain
Robert's autobiography -- With Bare Hands -- is
soon to be published by
Blacksmith Books. Join our mailing
list to find out when!
NEW
BOOK
Sun, Sand and... Sabotage?
Can the Chinese secret services foil an American oil grab in the Gulf?
Can the daughter of a radical cleric escape an arranged marriage? And
will a young China expert betray his country to avert a military
showdown? Besides international intrigue, Saudi
Match Point contains moonshine-mongering Hash House Harriers, double
agents and cross-dressing kung fu masters. Put this book on your beach
reading list this summer!
NEW FEATURE
Look Inside the Book!
We're offering a sneak peek inside Blacksmith Books titles. Just click
on the links on each book's page to see sample pages pop up in pdf
format! Try it now by going here.
OVERSEAS
EXHIBITION
London Calling
We're showing our Hong Kong publications at the London Book Fair from
April 16th-18th 2007. Come and see us at Booth Q934.
DINING
DEALS Good times: here again!
December sees the launch of Good Times, an entertainment
membership book that offers thousands of dollars worth of 2-for-1 and
50%-off discounts. In its 2nd edition, Good Times serves up loads of
offers at first-rate restaurants. Part of the proceeds raised through
the sale of the book are donated to non-profit and charitable
organizations.
NEW
PUBLICATION Easy Money?
To research Whispers and Moans, author Yeeshan Yang spent a year
on the streets and in the clubs of Kowloon, interviewing nearly 50 street
walkers, hostesses, pimps, mama-sans and transsexual prostitutes. The
resulting stories offer rare first-hand insights into Hong Kong's vast
but often hidden sex industry.
NEW
BOOK
Shimmering Southside
The new illustrated book from bestselling
artist
Lorette Roberts is in Hong Kong
bookshops. Covering a swathe of the glimmering Southside from Repulse
Bay through Stanley to Shek O, Lorette uses her distinctive style to
uncover more of Hong Kong's hidden gems.
TIMELY
PUBLICATION Hong Kong Volunteers in Battle
To mark the 60th anniversary of the end of war in the Pacific, a new
edition of Hong Kong Volunteers in Battle has been issued. This publication
marks the only time Evan Stewart's first-hand account of the defence of
Hong Kong has been made available to the public. The book was featured
on RTHK Radio 3's Hong Kong Heritage. Read about it here.
BOOK EVENTS Come and join us
Separately and in partnership with other publishers, Blacksmith Books
holds launch parties and other events to introduce authors directly to
readers. Join our mailing list
to be kept informed of launch events and new releases, or keep in touch
by checking the events page.
NEW
PUBLICATION Business Republic of China
“I have been teaching in China since 1993, and a book about China would
have to be pretty darn good to get my attention. This is that book!
Businesspeople planning a China project will ignore this book at their
peril.” Read more...
NEW
PUBLICATION Beijing Portrait of a City Portrait of a City brings China’s capital to life in the
year that it hosts the summer Olympic Games. The book is the shared work of some of
the city's finest writers who lead us through hutong alleys, antique
markets, artists' communities, gay bars, parks and the nostalgic streets
of memory. They beguile with poems, amuse with camel anecdotes and
thrill with murder stories. They take us back to the often-ignored Mongolian
roots of the city and project forward to ask whether spectacular modern
architecture will suffice to return Beijing to what it sees as its
ancient place at the centre of the world.
Read more...
NEW CHILDREN'S
BOOK The Dragon's Back Fung shui tells us there is a dragon inhabiting every green
valley, protective of the mountains and its route to the sea. Hiking
into the hills of Hong Kong one weekend, Siu Ming and his
parents suddenly find their path blocked by a forest fire. What should
they do? Read on...
AUTHORS IN THE NEWS
Hong Kong On Air... on air Click the play buttons to watch TV right here!
NEW
FICTION
Hong Kong On Air
As the Hong Kong handover boom fizzles into the Asian economic bust, a
young American couple's marriage and careers tumble into a maze of
television news, betrayal, high finance, and cheap lingerie.
TV news veteran Muhammad Cohen's
hilarious novel captures the mood ahead of the July 1997 handover when
the territory reigned as the centre of the universe, a multicultural
melting pot bubbling with pure gold -- before mainland China emerged
from the Asian crisis, eclipsing Hong Kong. Stay with us as we delve
into the backstage secrets of TV news.
FILM
ADAPTATION
Reel Life
Yeeshan Yang’s investigative book Whispers
and Moans has been brought to the big screen as
性工作者十日談 by Hong Kong
filmmaker Herman Yau. Starring Athena Chu Yan, the movie
premiered at the 2007 Hong
Kong International Film Festival, where Yau was honoured as Director in
Focus.
MULTIMEDIA
Picture Preview
We've finally worked out how to use Youtube, so you can watch and hear
an audio slideshow of the first few pages of My Rooftop, an
illustrated story book, by clicking the Play button on
this page!
AUTHOR EVENT Signing in Stanley
Come and meet celebrated local artist Lorette Roberts as she signs copies of Sketches
of Stanley in Dymocks bookshop. Sunday 25th March in Stanley. Details here.
AUTHORS EVENT Books + Cha
Independent Publishers of Hong Kong presents BOOKS +
CHA, an evening of
great books and great tea, plus the launch of electronic book NOON TO
MIDNIGHT, 12 HOURS OF HONG KONG. The event is in collaboration with Lock
Cha Teahouse, Hong Kong Arts Centre, Mackie Study and Pumpernickel Cafe.
The event draws on the long cultural connection between books and tea in
Chinese culture: for centuries, the teahouse was a meeting place for
writers and visual artists.
6:30 – 8:30pm, Saturday 17th March 2007, at the Hong Kong Arts Centre, 2
Harbour Rd, Wanchai, Hong Kong. Free entry.
CITY FESTIVAL 2007 The Making of a Book in 12 Hours
Stop by the Fringe Club on Saturday 13th January and help us make a book
in 12 hours. Click here for more details!
NEW
BOOK Bright Lights My Rooftop tells the story of a boy who lives in a typical Asian
city. Every day he visits his rooftop to watch
the world around him. But one day, a new tower begins to block his view. How
should he deal with this unwelcome change? This beautifully illustrated
book comes with a CD featuring original music and narration.
PRESS NEWS Independents' Day
Blacksmith Books has become a founder member of IPHK:
the Independent Publishers of Hong Kong. The new body is exhibiting
its diverse creations at various book fairs locally and overseas. Come and see us!
LITERARY
EVENT Readings at the Cathedral
Blacksmith Books author Sayed Gouda was amongst several writers reading
on the theme of families at a special event at St. John's Cathedral,
Central. This formed part of the Man Hong Kong International
Literary Festival.
BOOK REVIEW Five stars
for Soho
This beautiful title received top marks from HK Magazine's book review team.
The book is figuring in the bestseller list at Bookazine, Dymocks and other
local bookstores, and is already in its second printing. Join Lorette Roberts on a rainbow-hued
journey of Hong Kong's bohemian Soho District: from the Mid-Levels Escalator to
hidden temples, from the trendy restaurants of Staunton Street to the
traditional rice and lantern shops, and all the markets, boutiques and people inbetween. Third in a series of
bestselling books by this well-known artist, Sketches of SoHo is the
perfect gift item for residents and visitors alike.
MEDIA WATCH Press coverage
Author Sayed Gouda was
interviewed for the South China Morning Post features section. This
follows the success of a tour of Egypt by Hong Kong based writers, which
he led in April. In addition, the author was interviewed by RTHK radio
presenter Phil Whelan. Details here.
BOOK LAUNCH
Cairo Book Party Please join us at Bookazine in Prince's Building as we celebrate the launch of local author Sayed Gouda's
novel, Once Upon a Time in Cairo. Free entry, all welcome. Details here.
OUTDOOR BOOK FAIR Literature in the Park
Blacksmith Books and IPHK will be exhibiting at the second phase of the
Wan Chai Book Festival: an open-air event in Victoria Park, Causeway
Bay, on the weekends of 17-19 Nov and 24-26 Nov 2006. Free entry. Find us at booth
P2B. More info at the official
website.
AUTHORS
EVENT
Press Party
Central's Club 71 was full to capacity for our third joint
event. It was good to see so many people
interested in the works of independent presses. Nine attendees won book prize giveaways
from the nine publishers involved. Join our mailing list to hear about
our next event.
BOOK
PURCHASES
How to buy our
publications Our titles are available from all good Hong
Kong and Macau booksellers, and also by mail -- all across the world -- directly from this
website. All popular methods of payment are accepted. Go to this
page for details.
Blacksmith Books is an imprint of Blacksmith Media Limited
Tel: (+852) 2877 7899 // Fax: (+852) 2522 6691 //
5/F, 24 Hollywood Road, Central, Hong Kong
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