Tag Archives: short stories

News December 2016

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Eastlit December 2016 Cover Picture: Lone Coconut Tree by Dave Hopkins. Cover design by Graham Lawrence. Copyright photographer, Eastlit and Graham Lawrence.As we head towards 2017 we have a number of interesting projects covering creative writing going on at Eastlit including one that could give a far larger audience to some writers.

But first, I would just like to say thank you to all of those who have contributed to or read Eastlit throughout 2016. Plus a special thank you to everyone who has worked on the editorial board this year and to those who have donated to help cover our costs.

And in January our ever popular annual list of what were the best read pieces in 2016 and all time will be out!

And having said that, lets move to the news.

Writing Mentoring

Eastlit now offers a full writing mentoring service to Asian focused writers. The service offered is as short or long as wanted and all rates are local Asian rates. So cost is low. We currently have several running and a couple complete, and are currently open to taking on a few more writiers. If you are interested contact Graham for information.

Writing Retreats

Eastlit is currently involved in discussions to set up writing retreats within Asia. These will be for local or distant writers focusing on Asian themes. The plan is that they will follow a typical writing retreat format but also include some of our unique Eastlit ideas. We will also be aiming at running at affordable prices.

This is at early days yet, but we are quite excited and hope to be able to offer something in 2017. Fingers crossed!

A Partnership with an ESL Site

Those of you who know me better know that I work within teaching English to speakers of other language. Within that field in the past I was quite active within the Ed-Tech side and maintain strong contacts with some leaders in the field.

One off-shoot of this is an offer to partner Eastlit with a top ESL websites in the world to supply some audio-story material for learners of English. We will be looking for short short-stories and flash fiction that Eastlit has previously published or will publish. Those selected will be read by actors and then used on the ESL website complete with downloadable material.

This is currently at planning stage but there should be no obstacles. The stories selected will also be guaranteed a far larger audience.

Bangkok Buckaroo by Steve Rosse

A few years back, Steve was a regular columnist on Eastlit with his How not to Write series. Now Steve has released his latest book: Bangkok Buckaroo. 

Steve is an old hand from South East Asia now living in the US, but here he is back writing about Bangkok.

You can also read a review of Bangkok Buckaroo in the Bangkok newspaper The Nation.

Good luck to Steve on the book from all of us at Eastlit.

Supporting Eastlit

And finally a reminder that if you support what Eastlit is doing you can provide support by liking and sharing this post, linking or generally passing the word on.

Or you can make a donation via PayPal (note: the PayPal e-mail is Eastlit1 at gmail dot com). For credit card donation after clicking the link below, scroll down to the credit card pictures and click continue.




 

Cheers

Graham

Popular Asian English Literature

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Popular Asian English Literature

Popular Asian English Literature: Eastlit April 2015 Cover. Picture: Pingyao in Winter by Xenia Taiga. Cover design by Graham Lawrence. Copyright photographer, Eastlit and Graham Lawrence.These are the new lists of popular Asian English literature found in Eastlit. Unfortunately time means these are getting later and later. Sorry for that. Eastlit includes all the popular Asian English literature including fiction, poetry, artwork and non-fiction of the most recent seven and thirty days. Eastlit’s all time list of popular Asian English literature has also been updated. Due to popular request, we continue to provide direct links to each piece in our lists.

All of this popular Asian English literature and artwork can be read from the links on this page or just make use of the links in the top menu. Eastlit’s archive can be used for navigation, too. Hopefully it will also give you an opportunity to read some of the less read pieces. After all, we all know well read does not always mean the best!

The next issue of Eastlit will be out around the end of April or start of May.

Please note that we have a policy of excluding all the covers, content pages, contributor lists etc from these statistics.

Popular Asian English Literature Last Seven Day:

  1. The Boy of Mt. Puh by Minglu Zeng (April 2015).
  2. Common Filipino Funeral Superstitions Rebutted by Reynold P. Macaranas (March 2013).
  3. The Puppet Tree Illustration by Vasan Sitthiket (October 2013).
  4. A Veil of Silk by Jared Angel (June 2014).
  5. Nights by M. D. Tahsin (April 2015).

Popular Asian English Literature Last Thirty Days:

  1. The Boy of Mt. Puh by Minglu Zeng (April 2015).
  2. On Meeting the 100% Perfect Gay Man One April Evening by Connla Stokes (April 2015).
  3. Tendai Mwanaka: An Eastlit Interview by Graham Lawrence (April 2015).
  4. Junko & Other Poetry by Yumiko Tsumura (April 2015).
  5. Caught by Anna Yin (April 2015).

Popular Asian English Literature All Time:

  1. Ishinomaki by Cesar Polvorosa Jr. (February 2014).
  2. The Foreign Man Is Prepared to Take Everything in His Stride by Connla Stokes (July 2014).
  3. Smoke and Mirrors by Sayantan Ghosh (April 2014).
  4. The Bicentennial by Cesar Polvorosa Jr. (June 2014).
  5. Going Back to Emerald Hill by Chew Yi Wei (April 2013).
  6. A Veil of Silk by Jared Angel (June 2014).
  7. The Puppet Tree by Andrew J. West (October 2013).
  8. Bluebird Island by Pauline Lacanilao (December 2013).
  9. A Descendant of Emperor Shang Tang by Minglu Zeng (December 2014).
  10. One Day Friends by Ralph Catedral (February 2014).

Year on Year Readership Change

  • + 46% December 2013 on December 2012.
  • +172% January 2014 on January 2013.
  • +161% February 2104 on February 2013.
  • +242% March 2014 on March 2013.
  • +64% April 2014 on April 2013.
  • +8% May 2014 on May 2013.
  • +69% June 2014 on June 2013.
  • +17% July 2014 on July 2013.
  • +33% August 2014 on August 2013.
  • +21% September 2014 on September 2013.
  • +2% October 2014 on October 2013.
  • +32% November 2014 on November 2013.
  • +26% December 2014 on December 2013.
  • +32% January 2015 on January 2014.
  • +11% February 2015 on February 2014.
  • +9% March 2015 on March 2014.

Top Ten Countries in Alphabetical Order:

  • China & Hong Kong
  • India
  • Japan
  • Malaysia
  • Philippines
  • Singapore
  • Thailand
  • United Kingdom
  • United States
  • Vietnam

Cheers and Enjoy.

Graham

Eastlit Live

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There are a couple of exciting new developments to mention today: The first Eastlit app for tablets and smart phones, and Eastlit Live.

Bracelets not War: Eastlit Live. Photograph by Graham LawrenceEastlit Live

Eastlit Live is an attempt to move beyond just written words. Now we are in the 21st century. That means multimedia and mobility. In an attempt to keep up with the world, we are introducing a new concept. We call this Eastlit Live. At Eastlit we want to introduce a multimedia approach to literature.

This approach though melds the new and traditional. We all know of poetry readings and storytelling. Both have a long history. Or maybe it should be something more modern limited only by the imagination of the creator.

Well now we have set up an Eastlit You Tube channel called Eastlitlive so that you can showcase your poetry reading, readings of your short stories, interviews or other artistic offerings. We want this to be a service for our contributors. And we see it as a way you can promote yourself. We accept anything that is within the normal guidelines. This means connected to or from East and Southeast Asia and not of an adult nature. On Eastlit Live channel we will host anything submitted that meets our guidelines.This is slightly different from the Eastlit Journal where we scrutinize everything. However, what we highlight in the actual journal will still go through this process. And we will be highlighting the best of what we receive every month.

We plan on launching this new initiative as soon as we can. That relies on you, though. So get your videos in now! Oh if you have questions, please feel free to ask through our contact form or by e-mail contact. I will let you know more as this develops. As there is nothing up yet, just subscribe to the channel if interested. We hope it will not be long before we have something for you.

How do you send them? Well just send me a link to a Dropbox file, Google Drive file or any other way you can think of. You can submit these links or files through the normal submission e-mail, or through our g-mail. Submissions will be put up as soon as possible on You Tube. Plus, every monthly issue of Eastlit will feature a page highlighting and embedding what our editors liked most.

Android App

I have been talking about this since the launch of Eastlit. And the app is another aspect of the Eastlit Live concept. Well, now it is in the Google Playstore. You can find it via the link in the heading. You can also go the Play Store and search Eastlit. It would be great if all of you Android users could give it a go and send me some feedback to the normal e-mails etc. The version out is a simple one, but with 3000+ android phones it has to be I guess. At the moment you can access the whole site. I am not sure if that is the way to go on a mobile though. However, I thought it better to await feedback. There are also possibilities of including extra more social aspects. In the end I decided it was better to await feedback rather than decide myself.

This version does have a small mobile adverts panel. It costs to add these developments to Eastlit, so I have little choice but to seek some ways of recouping a little of that cost. If there is interest in iPhone or Windows Phone apps, let me know. These can be created too. Development though for both is more expensive.

Anyway, I would appreciate any feedback on:

  • What you would like to see included.
  • What pages you would like to see removed.
  • Comments on design, aesthetics etc

Other News:

Anna Yin has sent a copy of her recent book Inhaling the Silence to be reviewed. Hopefully, that review will be in the September issue of Eastlit. Information on Anna’s book can be found at the site of Mosaic who published it.

Oh and of course don’t forget the next issue of Eastlit will be out on August 1, 2013.

Cheers.

Graham.

February

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The complete list of contents for the Eastlit February Issue is below. Please click on a link to go to the page. Eastlit Cover. Picture by Graham Lawrence. Design by Graham Lawrence. The cover shows buildings from Vientiene and provides the backdrop for the February 2013 issue of Eastlit. Editorial by Graham with a poem by Afzal Moolla. Hitoshi and the Orange Peel Mystery by Iain Maloney: This is an an extract from the novel Dog Mountain. Santubong Haiku by Colin W. Campbell. Going Home by Steve Rosse. Five Poems by Kislay Chuahan. The poems are: Afternoon Desert, An Old Age, Seashore Witness, Face of the Nature and Heart of Wood. Gip by Julien Headley. Two Poems by Terry Scott Niebeling. The poems are:Tender Thought and We See but We Don't (Easter Love). Flashing Police Lights Missing by Kersie Khambutta. Three Poems by Linda Woolven. The poems are: November Storm, Night Time Lovers and Laundry Day. Finding a Vein by Steve Tait. Contributors. An alphabetical list of all the contributors to the February issue of Eastlit complete with biographies of all the writers and poets. Note on Work. Please note that we publish work as received. We do not edit work for minor errors. We regard these as decisions made by the author. The one exception is that we may work with second language writers to help them say what they want to say. Subscribe to our newsletter for all the latest on upcoming issues, competitions, incentives, contributors and news in general.

In spite of being a smaller issue, the Eastlit February issue is getting a lot of views. The number of readers is increasing every month right now. Thank you to our readers. Thank you also to the contributors for the poetry and prose that is attracting people.

After three issues, it feels like things are settling down a little. The crazy rushed feeling of November through January has now gone. It is now a time when we can consider new developments. While we do this, we will stick to the current format. Hopefully we can keep a nice mix of poetry and prose and writers new and experienced while adding something new as we go.

March and April Issues.

These will continue in the slimmer format for now. We are taking submissions for both of these issues now, so send them in! Please read the submission guidelines before submitting. We encourage non-native writers to submit work and will give assistance where needed.

Photographs

If you have photos, pictures or artwork from or connected to the region, we are very interested in using it on our front covers. As usual you retain all rights, and just grant us a license to publish it by submitting to us. We would also consider publishing artwork or pictures linked to a story if authors want this.

Previously Published Writers

If you had work published by Eastlit in the December or January issue, you are clear to submit more for the March issue. Writers and poets published in the February issue can submit work for the April issue. You can send it in at any time as we mark it for the next issue you can appear in, so don’t delay!

Chinese New Year

We at Eastlit would like to wish everyone who celebrates it, a Great Chinese New Year, and a wonderful year of the snake.

Other February 2013 News

We are still working on getting more involvement from the few places that are yet to feature in Eastlit. Indonesia remains top of that list, and we may have a development for one of the next issues. Fingers crossed.

There are a few things we at Eastlit will now put more energy into. The first is the writers’ group. The others are the Eastlit app and the possible greater involvement of some of our more regular contributors. More news on these as they arise. If anyone wants to volunteer for anything from writers’ groups to editing assistance, let us know.

You can also get all this news from our newsletter. Sign up now to have the news sent to you.

Finally

I would like to say a personal thank you to all of you who have had contact. After three or four months and looking back, it has been a great experience from my perpsective.

Cheers.

Graham.

 

New Year

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We at Eastlit would like to wish all our contributors  readers and partners a very happy holiday season and a happy New Year. We wish everyone the best in 2013. In 2013 we hope that Eastlit will continue to bring readers an interesting variety of East and South East Asian based writing. We also hope we will be able to give an opportunity to new writers to establish a published foothold. Let’s hope 2013 is a good one for us all. Peace.

Eastlit New Year (January) Issue

The January or New Year issue will be out on 3rd January. We are very excited by this one. It includes more pieces from within the region. It also covers more countries and cultures. This issue will include fiction, non-fiction, poetry and at least one novel extract. We hope it will be as well received by our readership as the first issue of Eastlit. We also hope you enjoy the pieces as much as we did.

Writers Based Outside the Region

Eastlit will always consider writing from anyone based outside the region. We do, however, ask these writers to tell us how their work connects with the region. Please do this if submitting from outside East or South East Asia. As from 2013, we will not read or reply to  submissions not doing this. Eastlit is a monthly publication with few staff. Time to read, discuss, reply and decide is limited, so please help us in this case.

Photographs

Any photographers out there? We are accepting photograph submissions. These photos will be considered for our journal front cover. Copyright will remain with the photographer. You will just be granting us a non-exclusive licence to publish your photo when you submit it. Full credit will be given.

February Issue

We are now taking submissions for Eastlit’s February issue.  Please send them in over the New Year or after. We may though take a little longer to reply over the New year period.  Eastlit is also now looking for book reviews for this and later issues.

Remember

We now have an Eastlit newsletter. If you want news sent direct to you, Sign up for our free newsletter!

Finally

I would like to thank everyone again for the support they have given Eastlit. Have a great 2013

Cheers.

Graham.

 

Eastlit Issue One

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Eastlit Issue one is now out. Take a look. You can go the front cover. Then click the cover for the contents. You can also go to current issue at the top of each page.

We have eleven contributors for this issue. There are 9 poems and 8 pieces of prose.

We appreciate your feedback. Let us know what you think of it. You can go to the contact page or e-mail us.

Other News.

We are now listed on the writers resource site Duotrope. We also are in the poetry listing of Andromeda Rutgers. Plus we are on Litlist. It is nice to see referrals from these sites. It is nice to be listed.

We get asked if Australia is in our region. Technically it is not. But the connection between Australia and the region is strong. It is growing too. We welcome Australian based writers to send work in and if there is connection, we will consider it.

Don’t forget submissions for issue two are open. Visit our submissions page to send work in. Issue two is out in January 2013.

Anyway, today is not about news. Issue one is out. It is out one day early too! We hope you find something interesting. We did. You can find it here.

Cheers.

Graham.

Our Aim in the First Issue

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Our aim in the first issue is to bring you an interesting and varied collection. This will be short stories, poetry and flash fiction. It’s exciting that this is so close now. The first issue will be on its own new page. The rest of the site will stay as it is now. We have Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr pages set up. You can follow us on them to get updates if you want. Just click on the links, or the follow us button on the left. We will update you with what is happening regularly.

The first issue will appear on the site on December 1. We are working on East Asia time, so for most it should be up when you wake up. However, if you are in Australia or Japan, please be a little patient!

Other News on First Issue:

I am currently working on apps for mobile viewing. We hope to have an app before the first issue. More on that later.

Thanks for the support for the Facebook event.

Writers can still send us work. See our submissions page.

Please remember to bookmark or follow us. Check here for news. Check the site for the first issue.

Cheers

Graham