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Compiled by Alexandra Pearson and Lucy Cavender Beijing: Portrait of a City 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 two murder stories – one a genuine antique, the other a fictional contemporary. 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. The book interweaves its written work with a collection of wry and telling photographs of different aspects of the city, creating a compelling portrait of Beijing. The contributors – including Zhu Wen, Adam Williams, Roy Kesey, Ma Jian, Alfreda Murck, Tim Clissold, Catherine Sampson, Peter Hessler, Karen Smith, Paul French, Michael Aldrich, Hong Ying and Rob Gifford, all published authors and experts in their field – have spent many years living in Beijing and know it from the inside. Their individual contributions combine to leave a highly original and unforgettable impression of one of the world’s oldest and most fascinating cities. -
What do normal people in China look forward to when they get up in the morning? What is the mentor of Lang Lang like? What about the personal friend of Chairman Mao – and how does his granddaughter relate to him after the murderous Cultural Revolution? What do the numerous evangelical Americans really think of the Chinese? How does the One Country, Two Systems paradigm work for Hong Kong?
For the last 73 years, American Book Award winner Alex Kuo has travelled back-and-forth between America and China. These letters and essays portray the private China, and provide indispensable cultural information for anyone interested in the People’s Republic in the 21st century.
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Edited by Jason Y. Ng and Susan Blumberg-Kason
Published in association with Akashic Books
Akashic continues its groundbreaking series of original noir anthologies, launched in 2004 with Brooklyn Noir. Each story is set in a distinct neighbourhood or location within the city of the book.
Hong Kong Noir features brand-new stories by Jason Y. Ng, Xu Xi, Marshall Moore, Brittani Sonnenberg, Tiffany Hawk, James Tam, Rhiannon Jenkins Tsang, Christina Liang, Feng Chi-shun, Charles Philipp Martin, Shannon Young, Shen Jian, Carmen Suen and Ysabelle Cheung.
What will Hong Kong look like in five years, ten years, or thirty years when the “one country, two systems” promise expires? It’s impossible to foresee. Hong Kong’s future may be beyond our control, but some things aren’t. We can continue to write about our beloved city and work our hardest to preserve it in words.
When we asked our contributors to write their noir stories, we didn’t give them specific content guidelines other than to make sure their stories end on a dark note. What we received was a brilliant collection of ghost stories, murder mysteries, domestic dramas, cops-and-robbers tales, and historical thrillers that capture Hong Kong in all its dark glory. The result is every bit as eclectic, quirky, and delightful as the city they write about.
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A snapshot of Hong Kong as it is, as it was, as it could be, as it may never be again. From city to village, from meltdowns to mysteries, from doubts to resolve, migrants to escapees, despair to triumph; our writers present us with a feast of the senses, physical and otherwise, taking us down paths through a variety of mental landscapes, ideas and perspectives towards unexpected awakenings. Contributors: Joy Al-Sofi, Simon Berry, Reena Bhojwani, Gillian Bickley, Atom Cheung, Paul Clinton Corrigan, Ian Greenfield, Genevieve Hilton, Sarah Ho, Henrik Hoeg, Wilson Li, Chris Maden, Lisa Mandansari, Stewart McKay, Anjali Mittal, Andy Morrall, Emi Mulanto, Jason Y Ng, Edmund Price, Vaughan Rapatahana, Suci Resmiyati, Nifraz Rifaz, Laura Ruggeri, Dimple Shah, James Tam, Anni Juliana Tobing. -
Born when monster-men from the brave country stole nine dragons and one fragrant harbour from the kingdom at the centre of the world, Hong Kong couldn’t avoid allegorical analysis if it bundled itself into a car boot and headed north to assist with public security investigations. A long-suffering foster-child; the plague towns of Camus and Defoe; an unruly bird with golden eggs. Explore 16 unique visions not about Hong Kong, but about what Hong Kong is like. -
Fighting to survive on a police patrol launch during a typhoon, and investigating a murder by a Vietnamese gangster in a refugee camp. Battling riots during the Cultural Revolution, countering drug smuggling and pimping by the triads, and dealing with bank robbers in a hostage situation. These are just some of the stories told in this riveting compilation of personal experiences of former Royal Hong Kong Police officers.In 1997, Hong Kong returned to Chinese sovereignty after 156 years of British rule. This collection of no-holds-barred accounts by some 50 individual police officers, put together by three former colleagues, illustrates the last decades of the colony’s colourful history. This is what life was really like on the front line.
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With all manner of storms battering Hong Kong the past few years, what happens After the Storm? Set in Hong Kong and beyond, the 17th annual Hong Kong Writers Circle anthology delves deep into the aftermath of natural and human-made storms: joy, disappointment, humility, regret, and humour. Some of the storms are sudden and visceral; others take time to build; some are gentle and others are violent; some happen in a teacup, others across the solar system. Whether you want to immerse yourself in meditative poetry and creative non-fiction, or the fictional worlds of tycoon’s daughters and soup makers to dragons; aging boyband singers and emigrants to new lands; fatherless children and teenagers on the edge; reckless private investigators and secretive scientists; unfaithful lovers and grieving girlfriends, you will find hours of engaging reading with After the Storm. Contributors: Larry Feign, Sadie Kaye, Reena Bhojwani, Kristina C. Wilson, Jason Y. Ng, Karl M. Hurst, Dominic Sargent, Becky Baker, Ian Greenfield, Stewart McKay, Chris Maden, Andy Morrall, Lia Mandansari, Vaughan Rapatchahana, Tom K. E. Chan, Jervina Lao, Anjali Mittal, Paul Clinton Corrigan, Simon Berry, R. J. Verity, Suci Resmiyati, Joy Al-Sofi.
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The 18th annual Hong Kong Writers Circle anthology of fiction, essays and poetry. Yin or yang? Yes or no? Go or stay? Take it or leave it. Every choice and change divides the world in two. Make the cut again and again. Recognise yours as one among eight billion words. There goes another. If you're looking for meaning in such a place, you may as well throw in your lot with oracles and soothsayers. Here is a bundle of yarrow. Split the stalks and sort out their message. Here is a handful of coins. Compute the binary code you toss. Here is a quiver of pointy sticks. What possible world shakes out? Contributors: SCC Overton, Sadie Kaye, Holly Sykes, Julien Pants, Dominic Sargent, Kristina C. Wilson, Jan Chu, Michael Watson, Neil Frank Shastry, Reena Bhojwani, Stewart McKay, Paul Clinton Corrigan, Allan Westphall, Phoebe Siu, Suci Remiyati, Vaughan Rapatahana. -
Twenty-one years in the making, the Hong Kong Writers Circle proudly presents its 2026 Anthology, featuring the awkward moments, embarrassing encounters and innocence-ending revelations that define Coming of Age. With more than 30 contributors, this collection brings together short stories, poems and memoirs from Hong Kong and the wider diaspora of HK writers.
