Published by Scribe Publications

The Near and the Far

New stories from the Asia-Pacific region

ed. David Carlin, Francesca Rendle-Short

From 21 of the best writers in the Asia-Pacific region comes a collection about finding connections where you least expect them.

It’s a sweltering night in Kuala Lumpur, and a journalist is protesting in a city on the edge of meltdown. It’s post-9/11 San Francisco, and a woman meets her foster child, who provokes painful reminders of her past. It’s contemporary Bangkok, and a writer’s encounter with ladyboy culture prompts him to explore gender boundaries. And high in Queensland’s Border Ranges, a boy prone to getting lost is having six tiny silver bells pinned to his chest …

The Near and The Far is what results when award-winning writers from Australia, Singapore, Vietnam, the Philippines, Myanmar, Malaysia, and Hong Kong share places, spaces, and ideas. Emerging from the Writers Immersion and Cultural Exchange program — a unique series of residencies, workshops, and dialogues between writers — this collection is a map of art and adventure, ideas and influences.

Featuring fiction and nonfiction from Cate Kennedy, Melissa Lucashenko, Maxine Beneba Clarke, Omar Musa, and many more, this collection bridges the distances between Asia, Australia, and the world. Every day is a border crossing, every story a threshold. Grab your passport and step beyond.

“The well-made story is back […] The Near and the Far compresses time and space in a way that forces new kinds of utterance. It creates a welcome revealing composite of our place and moment – an array of searching, sweaty, breath-stopping, boldly crafted exchange offerings.”

— Nicholas Jose, TEXT

“These stories – by some of the region’s brightest stars – burn so compellingly, you can almost feel heat from the pages.”

— Benjamin Law

“This meticulously curated mix of fiction, nonfiction, essays and poetry explore place, culture and identity in luminous and inventive ways […] The anthology attests to the important work that can result from writers immersing themselves in a place so unlike their home, where fresh collaborations are forged and new ways of thinking divulged.”

— Bookseller+Publisher