22 December 2023

Constance Gordon-Cumming’s memorable Christmas in Hong Kong, 1878

2023-12-22T20:16:57+08:00December 22nd, 2023|book excerpt, hong kong|0 Comments

This is an excerpt from Wanderings in China: Hong Kong and Canton, Christmas and New Year, 1878/1879 by Constance Gordon-Cumming, a Victorian traveller and artist who arrived in Hong Kong on Christmas Day in 1878. It's introduced and annotated by Paul French as part of his China Revisited series. Merry Christmas, one and all, 145 years later!     Care [...]

30 March 2023

Book signing: Hong Kong football legend Derek Currie

2023-03-30T03:25:25+08:00March 30th, 2023|authors, events, hong kong|0 Comments

When Scottish footballer Derek Currie was made an offer to travel to Hong Kong in 1970 to play against the one sportsman he had dreamed of meeting on the field, he couldn't say no. From apprentice printer in Glasgow to playing football against Pelé in the Far East, singing with Stevie Wonder and shadow-boxing with Marvelous Marvin Hagler, Currie enjoyed [...]

11 March 2023

The launch of “China Revisited”, a new series of rediscovered travelogues

2023-03-11T00:59:46+08:00March 11th, 2023|events, new books|0 Comments

China Revisited is a new series of extracted reprints of mid-19th to early-20th century Western impressions of Hong Kong, Macao and southern China. The series comprises excerpts from travelogues or memoirs written by missionaries, diplomats, military personnel, journalists, tourists and temporary sojourners. They came to China from Europe or the United States, some to work or to serve the interests [...]

26 January 2023

Murder on the Outlying Islands of Hong Kong! A book talk on January 28th

2023-01-26T22:28:42+08:00January 26th, 2023|authors, events, hong kong|0 Comments

For the next event at Vibe bookshop -- on Saturday 28th January at 2:30pm -- Patricia O'Sullivan will be discussing real-life Hong Kong murders from a century ago! Women carried out some of these crimes on Hong Kong's outlying islands like Cheung Chau and Lantau, as well as in the city. Patricia will also be signing copies of her newest [...]

26 January 2023

The Blacksmith Books story: a short film

2023-01-26T21:46:42+08:00January 26th, 2023|media attention, publishing|0 Comments

Nine River Films is a Hong Kong-based production company which makes feature films and short documentaries. I was pleased to be interviewed by them about the challenges and pleasures of book publishing. I picked a few of the books we have published over the years and explained what they tell us about Hong Kong's people and history. You can watch [...]

10 June 2022

Podcast: Mark Isaac-Williams, The Hong Kong I Knew

2022-06-10T00:51:24+08:00June 10th, 2022|authors, hong kong, media attention, new books|0 Comments

Returning to Hong Kong in 1947 after the Japanese occupation, seven-year-old Mark Isaac-Williams had the whole of Kowloon as his playground. Billeted with his family in the once-grand but now dilapidated Peninsula hotel, his life was full of adventure – from the rooftop to the basement, he knew the hotel’s every inch. Roller-skating and horseback riding in Kowloon’s streets and [...]

12 January 2015

Think of chopsticks as friends

2016-11-24T01:14:04+08:00January 12th, 2015|book excerpt, hong kong, new books|0 Comments

Fred Schneiter moved to Hong Kong in the 1960s and wasted no time in getting to know the food. Here’s a story and a recipe for Chinese broccoli with oyster sauce from his new book, The Taste of Old Hong Kong. If unaccustomed to chopsticks you’ll find the going easier—in initial encounters—simply by maintaining an affirmative attitude. Dismiss any thought [...]

21 December 2014

The Taste of Old Hong Kong: Suki’s clams

2016-11-24T01:14:04+08:00December 21st, 2014|book excerpt, hong kong, new books|0 Comments

Fred Schneiter moved to Hong Kong in the 1960s and wasted no time in getting to know the food. Here's a recipe (and a reminiscence) from the old Causeway Bay typhoon shelter. It appears in his new book, The Taste of Old Hong Kong. Living in one of the world’s major tourist destinations, the culinary epicenter of the China Seas [...]

17 November 2014

New Hong Kong memoir: Year of Fire Dragons

2015-07-13T01:23:26+08:00November 17th, 2014|authors, hong kong, new books|0 Comments

An American Woman’s Story of Coming of Age in Hong Kong n 2010, bookish 22-year-old Shannon follows her Eurasian boyfriend to Hong Kong, eager to forge a new love story in his hometown. But when work sends him to London a month later, Shannon embarks on a wide-eyed newcomer's journey through Hong Kong – alone. She teaches in a local [...]

17 September 2014

The Taste of Old Hong Kong

2016-11-24T01:14:04+08:00September 17th, 2014|authors, hong kong, new books|0 Comments

Look at the picture. That's our author Fred Schneiter and his children, on their arrival in Hong Kong at Chinese New Year in 1964. Fred has written a combination of cookbook and memoir that includes 70 of the best recipes he collected over his three decades roaming the China coast, with a mix of adventurous and nostalgic stories thrown in. [...]

11 May 2012

New book: Walking the Tycoons’ Rope

2016-11-24T01:14:15+08:00May 11th, 2012|authors, china, hong kong, media attention, new books|16 Comments

Author Robert Wang spoke about his new book on Radio 3 yesterday, and you can now listen to the interview online. Hear how he fled from civil-war Shanghai in 1949 and took a perilous journey to Hong Kong, jumping from the train when it came under attack. Robert's memoir of his incredible life, Walking The Tycoons' Rope, is Dymocks' book [...]

15 August 2011

Eating Smoke hits the shops — now watch the book trailer!

2016-11-24T01:14:22+08:00August 15th, 2011|authors, book excerpt, hong kong, new books|3 Comments

Chris Thrall's Eating Smoke, his memoir of a wild year spent in the gritty underbelly of Hong Kong -- a true story of drugs, crime and psychosis --  is now on the shelves of local bookshops! Chris Thrall left the Royal Marines to find his fortune in Hong Kong, but instead found himself homeless and hooked on crystal meth. Soon [...]

14 June 2009

Monthly book giveaway — June

2016-11-24T01:14:45+08:00June 14th, 2009|book giveaway|2 Comments

This month we're giving away three copies of Wing Chun Warrior by Ken Ing. The book has just been reviewed by Kent Ewing at Asia Times Online, who says: The story of Duncan Leung — childhood friend of Bruce Lee and disciple of Wing Chun master Yip Man — is valuable not only for the insights it offers into Chinese [...]

19 May 2009

Book excerpt: King Hui

2019-06-16T18:35:20+08:00May 19th, 2009|book excerpt, hong kong|1 Comment

One of our bestselling titles from last year — King Hui: The Man Who Owned All The Opium In Hong Kong, by Jonathan Chamberlain — was chosen by Dymocks Booksellers last month as one of their 100 great reads of the decade. Below we print the first few pages of the book. Introduction This is the story of a man’s [...]

3 May 2009

The Eurasian Face: a photographic project

2016-11-24T01:14:47+08:00May 3rd, 2009|authors, hong kong, new books, publishing|6 Comments

Once shunned as the result of forbidden liaisons, and confined to set roles in society, Eurasians are now celebrated as models and actors, and find themselves ideally placed to take advantage of the growing commercial and cultural exchanges between Asia and the rest of the world. You might call it a Eu-turn in fortunes. Kirsteen Zimmern is a Hong Kong-born [...]

25 March 2009

The ongoing popularity of kung fu

2016-11-24T01:14:49+08:00March 25th, 2009|authors, hong kong, media attention, new books|1 Comment

It’s interesting how a new book can single-handedly open up a new section of the market. We always publish in the Asian niche, but the publication of Wing Chun Warrior has suddenly brought interest from a host of Chinese-language bookshops that we’ve not previously sold through. The key to this was an appearance by author Ken Ing on RTHK Radio [...]

18 March 2009

Dislocated Voices: the Hong Kong Literary Festival

2017-10-05T21:21:41+08:00March 18th, 2009|authors, events, hong kong, publishing|1 Comment

On Saturday I attended a very enjoyable event at the Hong Kong International Literary Festival: a panel of three authors, Rana Dasgupta, Xujun Eberlein and Nam Le discussing the art of the short story. Moderator was Chris Wood of the Asia Literary Review. Thankfully not all the panellists agreed with one another, so there was an element of back-and-forth which [...]