16 June 2013

“My Private China” in Time Out

2016-11-24T01:14:10+08:00June 16th, 2013|china, hong kong, media attention, new books|2 Comments

Time Out Hong Kong magazine reviews our latest book, My Private China: When you sit down with Alex Kuo, you're instantly put at ease. The acclaimed Chinese American author has a calming influence, an elegantly mannered way of speaking and a carefully relaxed tone. And that, to us, is pretty surprising. Here's a man who's just launched his latest book, [...]

20 May 2013

Book launch: Unsavory Elements — Stories of foreigners on the loose in China

2016-11-24T01:14:10+08:00May 20th, 2013|authors, china, events, hong kong, new books|0 Comments

Join us at the Hong Kong launch of Unsavory Elements: a riveting anthology of vivid stories and essays from some of the most celebrated writers to have ever lived in China. "Westerners are flocking to the PRC in increasing numbers to chase their dreams even as Chinese emigrants seek their own dreams abroad. Life as an outsider in China has [...]

14 May 2013

Book launch: My Private China, by Alex Kuo

2016-11-24T01:14:10+08:00May 14th, 2013|authors, china, events, hong kong, new books|0 Comments

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 [...]

27 April 2013

Hong Kong Noir

2017-10-05T23:23:31+08:00April 27th, 2013|book excerpt, hong kong, new books|0 Comments

Our newest book, Hong Kong Noir: Fifteen true tales from the dark side of the city, has been on the South China Morning Post’s top five bestseller list since Christmas. Author Feng Chi-shun has been interviewed by RTHK Radio 3 and HK Magazine, and the book has been reviewed by Susan Blumberg-Kason, the SCMP and Asia Times, which said: Who [...]

5 April 2013

Putting together a Yunnan cookbook

2016-11-24T01:14:11+08:00April 5th, 2013|authors, china, new books, publishing|1 Comment

We've just spent three days cooking, shooting and eating over 70 dishes from Yunnan province, the most diverse in China for both food and people. Linda has brought some hard-to-find ingredients from the province; we've been to various shops and markets in Wan Chai; and Linda has cooked up the dishes with Annabel in her Hong Kong kitchen. See a [...]

19 February 2013

Pam Shookman and the Hong Kong Cancer Fund

2016-11-24T01:14:11+08:00February 19th, 2013|authors, hong kong, new books|1 Comment

From Peter Wood, husband of author Pam Shookman: At the beginning of September 2009 Pam was diagnosed with Stage 4 bladder cancer. That afternoon we stumbled out of the urologist’s office into the unreal bustle of Central and headed straight for the Joel Robuchon café. There was only one possible response to cancer, Pam announced: cakes from the café and [...]

9 February 2013

Guung hay fart choy! And here are some other New Year greetings

2016-11-24T01:14:11+08:00February 9th, 2013|china, hong kong, new books|0 Comments

Here's some Chinese New Year greeting advice from our new book Hong Kong Unveiled: Bye neen, 拜年, praise the year; shake your fist enclosed in your other hand (it doesn’t matter which hand is on the outside) as a greeting while saying something auspicious to family members and all you meet during Chinese New Year. Auspicious sayings: Guung hay fart [...]

21 January 2013

Download a free study guide for Bhutan memoir “Dragon Bones”

2016-11-24T01:14:12+08:00January 21st, 2013|authors, publishing|1 Comment

From Murray Gunn, author of Dragon Bones: Two Years Beneath the Skin of a Himalayan Kingdom: I tried very hard to allow the Bhutanese people in Dragon Bones to tell their own stories and to minimise the bias created by my beliefs, my mood and other aspects of my life. I knew it was an impossible task before I began [...]

15 January 2013

“Kowloon: Unknown Territory” – photo exhibition at the FCC

2016-11-24T01:14:12+08:00January 15th, 2013|authors, events, hong kong, publishing|0 Comments

The Foreign Correspondents' Club in Hong Kong is holding a wall exhibition of Ira Chaplain's photos from Kowloon: Unknown Territory. "In my 19 years spent in various parts of Hong Kong, I have never lived in Kowloon. Before I took this assignment, like so many in this city, my life existed largely on Hong Kong side. I never knew the [...]

19 November 2012

Nov 26: Come to the Blacksmith/Bookazine Booksigning Extravaganza!

2016-11-24T01:14:12+08:00November 19th, 2012|authors, book giveaway, events, hong kong, new books, publishing|0 Comments

As we count down the final four weeks to Christmas, come and get your Hong Kong gift books signed at Bookazine. We’ve brought together 14 Blacksmith authors who have all written about Hong Kong. Come and meet them over a festive glass of wine, and get your books signed by: Jonathan Chamberlain, author of King Hui: The Man Who Owned [...]

1 November 2012

Book launch and photo exhibition, Nov 7th — Kowloon: Unknown Territory

2016-11-24T01:14:13+08:00November 1st, 2012|authors, events, hong kong, new books|0 Comments

What do "deep water pier", "nine dragons city" and "mandarin's lake" have in common with "Wong Tai Sin", the name of a Taoist deity? They're all districts in Kowloon. This new book is an exploration of what is often seen as Hong Kong's shadow-side, from the viewpoints of community, consumerism, art, food, fashion and sex – 15 years after the [...]

15 October 2012

How Asia got its grin back: Ancient comedy tradition is being revived, says Nury Vittachi in new book

2016-11-24T01:14:13+08:00October 15th, 2012|authors, new books|0 Comments

Asians have a powerful sense of humour with a long history, a study says. But the region lost its ability to laugh 60 years ago and is only now regaining it. Self-deprecating humour, associated with Jewish and British comedy, existed in Asia for more than 1,000 years. In ancient China, aristocrats kept comedians in their homes, and in India, taxpayers [...]

5 October 2012

Busy busy

2016-11-24T01:14:13+08:00October 5th, 2012|publishing|0 Comments

Sorry for our recent silence on the blog -- we're working on getting 12 books out by the end of November, our busiest season ever. Half of these are reprints, and that's good news for publishers! Look out for updates on the new books in the next few weeks.

19 July 2012

Mainland mothers in Hong Kong

2016-11-24T01:14:14+08:00July 19th, 2012|book excerpt, china, hong kong|9 Comments

The issue of mainland Chinese mothers coming to Hong Kong to give birth is much in the news lately, with some people hoping new chief executive Leung Chun-ying will take steps to limit the number of beds available to mainland mothers. I thought it was a good time to excerpt this story from Yeeshan Yang’s book Whispers and Moans — [...]

18 June 2012

Money for Nothing

2016-11-24T01:14:14+08:00June 18th, 2012|authors, hong kong, media attention|5 Comments

Robert Wang spoke about Hong Kong's tycoons on RTHK Radio 3's "Money for Nothing" programme. The show's name is a nice reflection of something top tycoon Li Ka-shing once said to the author: "Robert, there is so much money lying on the ground, I don't have the time to bend down and pick it all up." Photo courtesy of RTHK. [...]

20 May 2012

Online Q&A with author Jonathan Chamberlain

2018-03-07T00:53:10+08:00May 20th, 2012|authors, events|0 Comments

Goodreads is hosting a readers' Q&A with Hong Kong best-selling author Jonathan Chamberlain. message 1: by A.F. Please welcome Jonathan Chamberlain to our Q and A discussions. He is a writer who has been hijacked by life. When his daughter, Stevie, exploded into his life with all the problems she had to cope with, he ended up founding two charities [...]