Writing in Asia Series

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Writing in Asia Series was a series of books of Asian writing published by Heinemann from 1966 to 1996. Initiated and mainly edited by Leon Comber, the series brought attention to various Asian Anglophone writers, like Shirley Geok-lin Lim, Western writers based in Asia like Austin Coates and W. Somerset Maugham and modern and classic stories and novels in English translation from the Malay, Indonesian, Thai and more. The series is also credited with contributing prominently to creative writing and the creation of a shared regional identity amongst English-language writers of Southeast Asia.[1][2] After publishing more than 110 titles, the series folded after Heinemann Asia was taken over by a parent group of publishers and Comber left.[3]

History[]

Inspired by the successful and pioneering African Writers Series, Leon Comber, the then Southeast Asian Representative of Heinemann Educational Books Ltd., founded the series as its general editor in 1966 in Singapore. Comber thought a similar series focussing initially on Southeast Asia was worth pursuing to "give a tremendous boost to creative writing in English...which was still regarded then as something of a cultural desert". He also wanted to publish the "tremendous body of local writers writing in their local languages" across the entire Asia in English translation "to make it available to a wider reading public" as he felt that existent publishers only focussed on their individual countries.

Buoyed by the profits made from textbook publishing, the series first published in 1967. The anthology, whose stories were edited and mainly translated into English by with a foreword by Han Suyin, sold moderately, but Ly was to be detained without trial shortly after by the Singapore authorities under the Internal Security Act for supposed "Chinese chauvinism".

The series met with commercial success a decade later when two reprinted Austin Coates books in the series, (1977, c.1968) and (1977, c.1960), became bestsellers. The former was also serialised by the BBC, broadcast on Radio Hong Kong and had its film rights sold, while the latter was adapted into a play at the 1978 . Other commercially successful titles were 's autobiography (1972), which sold over 25,000 copies, and Catherine Lim's short-story collection Little Ironies: Stories of Singapore (1978), which sold 8,000 copies.[4] By 1988, about 15 titles in the series were used as supplementary textbooks in Singapore schools, guaranteeing sales in the thousands.[5][6]

Significantly, as part of the series, Australian Harry Aveling translated Pramoedya Ananta Toer's novel (Perburuan) (1975, c.1950) and Iwan Simatupang's novel (Ziarah) (1969) from the Indonesian to English. The Pilgrim is considered the first modern Indonesian novel and won the first for the novel in 1977. The series also met with critical acclaim when Shirley Geok-lin Lim's debut collection (1980) won the Commonwealth Poetry Prize, a first both for an Asian and for a woman. The series also published the debut titles of pioneering Singapore poets like Edwin Thumboo and Lee Tzu Pheng.

In 1982, however, , the then General Manager of Heinemann Educational Books, confirmed that the series had stopped publishing poetry because of poor sales.[7][8] In 1985, after publishing more than 70 titles, Comber left the series after Heinemann Asia was taken over by a parent group of publishers. In retrospect, Comber notes that in business terms, Heinemann made "very little" from the series, though it neither lost much, with textbook publishing sales subsidising the series.[9] The series continued until around 1996, resuming publishing poetry and diversifying its focus beyond literary fiction to ghost stories.

Some Writing in Asia series titles have since been republished by other companies, like Lloyd Fernando's novel Scorpion Orchid (1976) by Epigram Books in 2014.[10]

List of authors and books in the Writing in Asia Series[]

No. Author Year Title and Details
1 , ed. 1967 . Anthology translated from the Mandarin Chinese by Ly Singko and Leon Comber with a foreword by Han Suyin.
2 Lloyd Fernando, ed. 1968 . Anthology. Contributors include Siew Yue Killingley, Goh Poh Seng and Stella Kon.
3 Iwan Simatupang 1969 (Ziarah). Novel translated from the Indonesian by Harry Aveling. Winner of the 1977.
4 W. Somerset Maugham 1969 . Edited and with an introduction by Anthony Burgess.
5 Leon Comber, trans. 1972
6 1972 . First part of autobiography. Rendered into English in collaboration with Austin Coates.
7 Wang Shifu 1973 The Romance of the Western Chamber. Translated and adapted by T. C. Lai and Ed Gamarekian, with a foreword by Lin Yutang. Originally published in 1200.
8 1974 . Short stories and a novella.
9 1974 . Second part of autobiography. Rendered into English in collaboration with Austin Coates.
10 , ed. 1975 . Translated from the Thai and with an introduction by Jennifer Draskau.
11 Pramoedya Ananta Toer 1975 (Perburuan). Novel translated from the Indonesian by Harry Aveling, originally published in 1950.
12 1975 . Third and final part of autobiography. Rendered into English in collaboration with Austin Coates.
13 & Duncan Mackintosh, trans. 1976 . Originally published in 1974.
14 Edwin Thumboo, ed. 1976 . With an introduction by Edwin Thumboo. Contributors include Ee Tiang Hong, , Wong May and Arthur Yap.
15 W. Somerset Maugham 1976 . Selected by .
16 Lloyd Fernando 1976 Scorpion Orchid. Novel.
17 Goh Poh Seng 1976 . Poetry.
18 Raden Adjeng Kartini 1976 . Translated by , edited and with an introduction by Hildred Geertz and with an introduction by Eleanor Roosevelt. Originally published in 1912.
19 Ee Tiang Hong 1976 . Poetry.
20 Harry Aveling, ed. 1976 . Translated from the Indonesian by Harry Aveling.
21 Lin Yutang 1977 . Originally published in 1935.
22 Jan Knappert 1977
23 Austin Coates 1977 . Memoir, originally published in 1968.
24 Robert Yeo 1977 . Poetry.
25 Edwin Thumboo 1977 . Poetry.
26 Arthur Yap 1977 . Poetry.
27 Goh Poh Seng 1977 The Immolation. Novel.
28 Syed Waliullah 1978 Tree Without Roots. Novel. Originally published in 1948.
29 Robert Yeo, ed. 1978 . With an introduction by Robert Yeo and notes by Tan Swee Kheng. Contributors include Catherine Lim, Gopal Baratham and Goh Sin Tub.
30 1978 . Poetry.
31 Cecil Rajendra 1978 . Poetry.
32 Edith L. Tiempo 1978
33 Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai 1978 Chemmeen: A Novel About India. Translated by Narayana Menon, with an introduction by Santha Rama Rau. Originally published in 1964.
34 , ed. 1978
35 Iwan Simatupang 1978 (Drought). Novel translated from the Indonesian by Harry Aveling, originally published in 1972.
36 Danarto 1978 . Short stories translated from the Indonesian by Harry Aveling.
37 Catherine Lim 1978 Little Ironies: Stories of Singapore
38 Ediriwira Sarachchandra 1978 . Novel.
39 Edwin Thumboo 1979 Ulysses by the Merlion. Poetry.
40 Yasmine Gooneratne, ed. 1979 . With an introduction by Yasmine Gooneratne.
41 Shahnon Ahmad 1979 . Novel translated from the Malay by Harry Aveling. Originally published in 1973. Winner of the 1970.
42 Yasmine Gooneratne, ed. 1979
43 1979 . Novel.
44 , ed. 1979 . Translated from the Chinese by Stanley R. Munro. Contributors include Ba, J., Bing, X. and Ding, L.
45 1979 . Novel. Rendered into English in collaboration with Austin Coates.
46 Hwang Sun-Won 1980 . Translated from the Korean and with an introduction by Edward W. Poitras.
47 1980 . Translated from the Korean by Richard Rutt.
48 Arthur Yap 1980 . Poetry.
49 , trans. 1980
50 Shahnon Ahmad 1980 . Translated from the Malay by Harry Aveling.
51 Umar Kayam 1980 . Translated from the Indonesian by Harry Aveling.
52 1980 . Novel.
53 Ishak Haji Muhammad 1980 (Putera Gunung Tahan). Translated from the Malay by Harry Aveling.
54 F. Sionil José 1980
55 Jan Knappert 1980
56 Lee Tzu Pheng 1980 . Poetry. Winner of the 's Book Award for English Poetry 1982.
57 , ed. 1980
58 Linda Ty-Casper 1980 Dread Empire. Novella.
59 Catherine Lim 1980 Or Else, the Lightning God & Other Stories
60 Shirley Geok-lin Lim 1980 . Poetry. Winner of the Commonwealth Poetry Prize.
61 1981 . With a foreword by C. Sircar.
62 Robert Yeo, ed. 1981 . Anthology. Contributors include Gopal Baratham, Stella Kon and Rebecca Chua.
63 Lloyd Fernando, ed. 1981 . Anthology with an introduction by Lloyd Fernando.
64 A. Samad Said 1981 (Sungai Mengalir Lesu). Novel translated from the Malay by Harry Aveling. Originally published in 1967.
65 1981 . Novel.
66 & 1981 . Originally published in 1973.
67 Rebecca Chua 1981
68 1981
69 K.S. Maniam 1981 . Novel.
70 1981
71 1981
72 1982
73 Oh Yong-su 1985 . Translated from the Korean by Marshall R. Pihl.
74 1985
75 1985
76 1986 . Novel.
77 Arthur Yap 1986
78 Robert Yeo 1986 . Novel.
79 Goh Sin Tub 1987 . Originally published in 1986 as .
80 Catherine Lim 1987
81 Goh Sin Tub 1987
82 Ediriwira Sarachchandra 1987 . Novel.
83 Nalla Tan 1989 . Short stories.
84 Goh Sin Tub 1989 . Novel.
85 1989
86 1990
87 Goh Sin Tub 1990 . Short stories.
88 Othman Wok 1991
89 1991 . Novel.
90 1991 . Short stories.
91 Goh Sin Tub 1991 . Short stories.
92 1991
93 Lin Yutang 1992 . Originally published in 1937.
94 1992
95 1992 . Originally published in 1974.
96 & 1992
97 , ed. 1992 . Contributors include Gopal Baratham, Arthur Yap and Nalla Tan.
98 Catherine Lim 1992 Deadline for Love and Other Stories
99 Catherine Lim 1992 . Poetry.
100 1993
101 Goh Sin Tub 1993
102 1993
103 Catherine Lim 1993 . Short stories.
104 Robert Raymer 1993 Lovers and Strangers. Short stories.
105 1993
106 1993 . Novel. Originally published in 1992.
107 Goh Poh Seng 1994 If We Dream Too Long. Novel originally published in 1972. Winner of the 's Fiction Book Award 1976.
108 1994 . Short stories.
109 Goh Sin Tub 1994
110 1994 . Novel.
111 1994 . Novel.
112 1994
113 1995 . Novel.
114 1996

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Patke, Rajeev S.; Holden, Philip (2009). The Routledge Concise History of Southeast Asian Writing in English. Routledge. p. 81. ISBN 9781135257620. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
  2. ^ "Behind the Book". Singapore Press Holdings. Straits Times. 28 February 1982. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  3. ^ Comber, Leon (1991). Asian Voices in English. Hong Kong University Press. pp. 79–86. ISBN 9622092829. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
  4. ^ "Behind the Book". Singapore Press Holdings. Straits Times. 28 February 1982. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  5. ^ Chia, Helen (13 August 1988). "Bookends: Charles Cher". Singapore Press Holdings. The Straits Times. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  6. ^ Chua, Rebecca (6 September 1986). "So you want to be an author". Singapore Press Holdings. The Straits Times. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  7. ^ John, Alan (30 August 1982). "Behind the awards". Singapore Press Holdings. The Straits Times. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  8. ^ "Book honours for two poets". Singapore Press Holdings. The Straits Times. 4 September 1982. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  9. ^ Comber, Leon (1991). Asian Voices in English. Hong Kong University Press. pp. 79–86. ISBN 9622092829. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
  10. ^ "Scorpion Orchid". Epigram Books. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
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