Welcome!
The world is looking at the Asia-Pacific region with new interest. Blacksmith Books publishes non-fiction about Hong Kong, China and the wider region – mostly in the fields of biography, business, culture, current affairs, food, history, photography and travel. And through bookshops in Asia, the US, Canada, Australia and the UK, we present the works of our local and expat authors to a worldwide readership.
From this website, we deliver books all over the world. Delivery within Hong Kong, Macao and other parts of China is free of charge.
Please use the links to explore. And thanks for reading.
Recent publications
What people are saying about our books
“Tom Carter is an extraordinary photographer whose powerful work captures the heart and soul of the Chinese people.”
“Through Carter’s journey of self-discovery, we end up discovering a little more about ourselves — and a land so vast, so disparate, that 638 pages of photos barely manage to scratch the surface.”
“The recipes are clear, with many dishes illustrated with mouth-watering pictures and, best of all, they work. This is a valuable contribution to the Chinese culinary scene.”
“It’s that sense of commonality that makes Street Life Hong Kong by its end a celebration of our city and the spirit of the people who inhabit it.”
“Hui’s story gives us glimpses of a Hong Kong – the opium dens, the pool halls, the nightclubs, the casinos and the girls, girls, girls – not adequately reflected in official histories of the city.”
“Year of Fire Dragons is not only a riveting coming of age story, but also a testament to the distance people will travel for love.”
“Jason Y. Ng is back with a new book of insights after casting his perceptive gaze over the good, bad and ugly side of city life.”
“Hong Kong for Kids is an invaluable resource for helping us design fun, wonderful learning activities for our students all over Hong Kong.”
Recent blog posts and news
Zoom talk by Paul French: “Destination Peking – Revisiting the City”, March 2
In this online talk to the Royal Geographical Society, well-known historian, raconteur and author Paul French talks of the Chinese capital, telling numerous true stories of fascinating people who visited the city in the first half of the 20th century. From Bolsheviks and Nazis to artists and bank robbers, to English aesthetes, to transplanted New [...]
As we welcome the Year of the Ox, which animal of the Chinese Zodiac are you?
Sarah Brennan is the author of the Chinese Calendar Tales series. She writes... People are always asking me “Which Chinese calendar animal am I?” So here’s a handy reference so you can work out what animal you are in the Chinese zodiac! Beside each animal is the name of the animal in beautiful Chinese calligraphy, [...]
A new book of true stories from Paul French: Destination Peking
Bestselling author Paul French returns to the Chinese capital in Destination Peking to tell 18 true stories of fascinating people who visited the city in the first half of the 20th century. From the ultra-wealthy Woolworths heiress Barbara Hutton and her husband the Russian emigré Prince Mdivani, to the poor “American girl” Mona Monteith who [...]
Published today – Women, Crime and the Courts: Hong Kong 1841-1941
Kwan Lai-chun was sick of being made to feel second-class by her husband’s concubine; sick of her mother-in-law’s endless carping about the money she spent; sick of the whole family. Late one sticky, humid night, something snapped in her – and she grabbed the meat chopper. Within minutes, three people were dead: the concubine with [...]
Watch this video book talk from Yunnan by author Colin Flahive
This year has been the age of book launches by Zoom! Click the video below to watch a book talk from Salvador's Coffee House, Kunming, by Colin Flahive. Flahive is the author of Great Leaps: Finding home in a changing China. In the book, and in this talk, he explains how he discovered China as [...]