2 January 2010

Sketches of Singapore: Lorette Roberts on TV

2017-10-05T21:35:47+08:00January 2nd, 2010|authors, media attention, new books|1 Comment

Singapore's beautiful Raffles Hotel hosted the launch of Lorette Roberts' latest book: Sketches of Singapore. (Thanks to the hotel for the complimentary Singapore Slings!) Razor TV filmed a three-part interview with Lorette, which includes lots of illustrations from the book. Watch below or directly at the Razor TV site. The book has been reviewed by Time Out Singapore and Expat [...]

30 November 2009

Mike Rowse appears at bookshops in December

2016-11-24T01:14:41+08:00November 30th, 2009|authors, events, hong kong|0 Comments

If you were unable to attend the FCC launch of Mike Rowse's tell-all book No Minister, have no fear -- the former civil servant will be signing copies at two Hong Kong bookstores in early December. Mike will first be at Dymocks in Prince's Building, Central, at 1:00 pm on Thursday 3rd; and he follows this up with an appearance [...]

21 November 2009

Graham Earnshaw on Urbanatomy

2019-07-12T02:17:56+08:00November 21st, 2009|authors, china, hiking, media attention|0 Comments

Veteran Hong Kong and China journalist Graham Earnshaw -- who is currently engaged on a series of walks from Shanghai to Tibet, picking up each time from the place he left off -- was interviewed this week for Shanghai Urbanatomy's Why I Write column. His latest book, The Great Walk of China, will appear in early 2010. Graham will also [...]

14 November 2009

Colm Tóibín in Hong Kong

2009-11-14T20:22:29+08:00November 14th, 2009|authors, events|0 Comments

If you're in Central on Monday lunchtime, you could spend half an hour queueing up with the office drones for a bowl of instant noodles. Alternatively you could drop into Bookazine on the third floor of Prince's Building, where prize-winning Irish author Colm Tóibín will be signing books including his latest novel Brooklyn. Tóibín has been short-listed for the Man Booker [...]

26 October 2009

Return to Macau

2016-11-24T01:14:42+08:00October 26th, 2009|authors, china, new books|0 Comments

The first time I visited Macau was to find a smuggler. Nothing as exciting as opium, gold or indentured coolies, three Macau exports before it became a gambling emporium, of course. No, my flat mate in Hong Kong wanted to bring his treasured Burmese cats into Hong Kong and he could not abide being separated from them for the six-month [...]

16 October 2009

Jack Leblanc on China Radio International

2016-11-24T01:14:43+08:00October 16th, 2009|authors, china, media attention|0 Comments

CRI reporter Dominic Swire talks to Belgian entrepreneur Jack Leblanc about his 20 years in China, and how he turned from a physics teacher into a successful businessman. Listen to the radio interview online. Leblanc recalls several anecdotes from his recent book Business Republic of China, along with explaining the importance of guanxi, and how the shortest route between A [...]

21 August 2009

Authors in the SCMP

2009-08-21T20:13:28+08:00August 21st, 2009|authors, media attention|0 Comments

Two Blacksmith Books authors were featured in the South China Morning Post this week, and as the newspaper's website is behind a paywall, we reproduce their interviews here for overseas readers. Xujun Eberlein spoke about her book Apologies Forthcoming in the Asia Specific column, while Bernd Hagemann revealed how he collected the photographs for Sleeping Chinese in the Life section.

12 August 2009

Sneak preview: Diamond Hill, Memories of Growing Up in a Hong Kong Squatter Village

2017-11-05T19:33:18+08:00August 12th, 2009|authors, hong kong, new books|6 Comments

This memoir of a native son of a Kowloon-side squatter village – the first book ever on Diamond Hill, in either Chinese or English – is a revelation. Shocking in places, wistful in others, it presents the early days of a life shaped by a now-extinct community. Penned by a high-achieving Hong Kong professional, Feng Chi-shun’s sharp recollections of his [...]

14 July 2009

Hit Me Again! book launch, July 16th

2020-06-24T18:19:00+08:00July 14th, 2009|authors, events, new books|0 Comments

A crippling fear of public speaking has probably shorted out more promising careers than any other single factor. In today’s high-stress environment, top performers are expected to be able to address shareholder meetings, do real-time podcasts and live TV, take part in panel discussions and speak to groups of all sizes, whether in key pitches or at large [...]

4 July 2009

Hit Me Again: it’s July’s book giveaway

2022-07-22T23:58:49+08:00July 4th, 2009|authors, book giveaway, events, new books|0 Comments

Has it ever occurred to you that at practically every conference you attend almost all of the speakers are terribly boring? When you yourself made your last presentation did people come up to you afterwards to talk to you? Are you sure you made an impression? The irony is that almost all speakers have probably been advised or trained to [...]

30 June 2009

China: Portrait of a People — a lesson in how to travel

2009-06-30T02:36:27+08:00June 30th, 2009|authors, book excerpt, china|10 Comments

Some years ago now, I crossed the border from Kazakhstan into Xinjiang in China's far northwest, and found myself stuck in Urumchi with the equivalent of US$50 and no onward tickets. It wasn't a problem; saving my cash for food, I 'hitch-hiked' on China's trains by boarding them at small-town stations and then jumping off before the ticket collectors reached [...]

23 June 2009

Sleeping Chinese: a sleeper hit?

2016-11-24T01:14:45+08:00June 23rd, 2009|authors, china, new books|4 Comments

Mild-mannered photographer Bernd Hagemann tiptoes around Shanghai with his camera. He has to keep quiet to avoid waking his snoring subjects. But despite his low profile, his photo website Sleeping Chinese has been getting a lot of attention from media as far afield as Apple Daily and La Repubblica. Britain's Daily Telegraph reports: "Bernd Hagemann moved to the Far East [...]

2 June 2009

Spiderman reaches the top down under

2017-10-05T21:35:08+08:00June 2nd, 2009|authors, events, media attention|1 Comment

From Australia's National Nine News this afternoon: A Frenchman with an apparent aversion to lifts has been arrested in Sydney after climbing one of the city's skyscrapers. A female office worker who stopped to watch after a morning meeting said it was thrilling to see someone climb the building. "I think it's really important for people to push the limit," [...]

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 [...]

26 April 2009

Tibetan tales: the making of a novel

2016-11-24T01:14:48+08:00April 26th, 2009|authors, new books|1 Comment

Hong Kong movie star Francis Ng Chun-yu (吳鎮宇) is more than an award-winning actor… he’s also a director, scriptwriter and now the author of Tibetan fairy tale Pelma’s Tears. What led city-born Francis to write about people and events on the far-off Tibetan plateau? The idea came to him when a visit to monasteries and orphanages in the region was [...]

23 April 2009

Jack Leblanc: a China success story

2019-07-12T02:07:52+08:00April 23rd, 2009|authors, china, media attention|1 Comment

"Successful negotiations in China require great reserves of the most precious commodity of all: Time. The ability to squander it as if you had a lifetime to wait will earn you the goodwill of your Chinese partners." Jack Leblanc's Business Republic of China has been recommended by the China Economic Review, Inside-Out China and, most recently, James Chau, newsreader at [...]