Fynn Jamal at Silverfish

Silverfish Books and  Sang Freud Press presents Fynn Jamal at  Silverfish Books, 58-1, Jalan Telawi, Bangsar Baru, 59100 Kuala Lumpur (Tel: 228 448 37) at 5.00pm on Saturday, 13th of  November, 2010

Fynn Jamal is an English lecturer in Lim KokWing University of Creative Technology Cyberjaya. Although she holds a Bachelor Degree in Human Sciences majoring in English Language and Literature, she prefers to write and perform in Malay. She is active in the local indie art scene and has been for more than 4 years. Her work is distinct thanks to her linguistic studies. Her skill at impromptu poetry is looked forward to by her followers, as is her bold and nonchalant persona on stage. She is an expressionist.

Fynn Jamal is a story teller --but she never names any characters in her writings, she writes on behalf of everyman, and she believes that anonymity is significant as it makes her audiences relate her stories better. She refuses pompous and bombastic vocabulary. She loves simple, yet abstract, pieces.

Silverfish Pulp

Book launch of 21 Immortals by Rozlan  Mohd Noor on Saturday, the 25th of September 2010 at 5.30pm at  Silverfish Books, 58-1 Jalan Telawi, (map) Bangsar Baru, 59100 Kuala Lumpur, Tel: 228 448 37. Admission is free.

Pulp fiction has been defined as 'Novels written for mass consumption, often emphasizing exciting and titillating plots'. Exciting, it most certainly is; tittilating, you decide. 21 Immortals: Inspector Mislan and the Yee Sang Murders is an explosive debut from the quietly talented Rozlan Mohd Noor, an ex-police officer, which explains why he knows so much about police work and inside stories. This is a true Malaysian high-tech crime thriller with good cops, bad cops (and badder cops) and triad members, with insights into the workings of the local CSI, and forays into the world of hackers and their viruses, sleeper programs, trojans, ulat, spybots, hound dogs and their link to crime, including murder

Rozlan Mohd Noor was an officer with the Royal Malaysian Police for 11 years before opting for a carrer in human resource management at several major corporations and multinationals and, eventually, opening his own HR and security consultancy. Even after leaving the force, the evolution of crime fighting techniques and the introduction of technology continues to fascinate him. He wrote crime stories to entertain his friends. Later, encouraged by them, he started working on novels.

Parables, Prophets and Pillocks

Corrigendum: This event will be the Malaysian launch of Cecil Rajendra's latest book Parables, Prophets and Pillocks (which has already been launched in the UK). This is not to be confused with the readings (of his older works) by him on the 16th of September at Leonardo's Wine Loft in celebration of Malaysia Day 2010.

Reading by Cecil Rajendra on Saturday, the 18th of September at 6.00pm at Silverfish Books, 58-1 Jalan Telawi, (map) Bangsar Baru, 59100 Kuala Lumpur, Tel: 228 448 37, in commemoration of Malaysia Day, the first time it is being celebrated with a holiday since Malaysia was declared in 1963. (Crazy but true.) Admission is free, but do come early if you have any idea how a Cecil Rajendra event attracts people (including some you might not recognise).

Parables, Prophets and Pillocks is Cecil Rajendra's 20th collection of poetry and marks over 40 years of creative writing. His first collection, Embryo, was published in London in 1965 while he was still a student reading law at Lincoln's Inn. His poems have been published in over 50 countries and have been translated into many languages including German, French, Japanese, Malay, Tamil, Tagalog and Swahili.

On his return from London, Rajendra initiated Malaysia's first rural legal aid centre in a remote village offering pro-bono legal advice and assistance to farmers, fishermen and factory workers. In 2005, Cecil Rajendra became the first receipient of the Malaysian Humanitarian Award.

Malay movies

120 Malay Movies (HB) by Amir Muhammad (Matahari Books -- 2010) RM60.00

Book talk with video by Amir Muhammad at Silverfish Books, 58-1 Jalan Telawi, Bangsar Baru, 59100 Kuala Lumpur on Saturday, 21st August 2010 at 5.00 pm. (Amir says the first edition won't go to the chain bookshops! Yay.) The event will finish before buka puasa. (Admission is free.)

120 MALAY MOVIES is a romp through the films that were made in Singapore and then in Kuala Lumpur from 1948 to 1972. (120 represents about a third of all Malay-language films during that period, and this book features most of the famous titles as well as some overlooked gems.) Malaysian writer and filmmaker Amir Muhammad watched them in chronological order and responds to the stories in his own contemporary context. How was the world depicted in those films different from the one we live in today? This book is a serio-comic interrogation into how the iconic fantasies of the past might have unexpected reverberations in the present. This hardcover book also contains hundreds of photographs, and the first edition is not sold in the chain bookshops. View three sample chapters here!

Readings with Rock n roll

Sang Freud Press and Silverfishbooks present Akustika 1 by Mohd Jayzuan, the author of 28 Hari: Jurnal Rock n' Roll. This first, in a series of readings with music, will be held at 4.00pm on the 24th of July, 2010 at Silverfish Books, 58-1 Jalan Telawi, Bangsar Baru, 59100 Kuala Lumpur and will include:

Theatre activist: Fazleena Hishammudin dan Fared Ayam
Musicians: Beeha dan Keladak
Author: Mohd Jayzuan dan kawan-kawan dari kolektif Jargon.
Film maker: Razaisyam Rashid

Sang Freud Press dan Silverfishbooks mempersembahkan Siri Baca Akustika 1 - 28 Hari: Jurnal Rock n' Roll. Sempena penerbitan buku Mohd Jayzuan, kami akan mengadakan Siri Baca Akustika, yang merupakan sesi baca-bersembah-bermuzik akustik. Siri bacaan untuk kali ini akan diadakan di Silverfishbooks dan menampilkan:

Aktivis teater: Fazleena Hishammudin dan Fared Ayam
Pemuzik: Beeha dan Keladak
Penulis: Mohd Jayzuan dan kawan-kawan dari kolektif Jargon.
Pembikin Filem: Razaisyam Rashid

Book Launch at KLAB

Without Anchovies, a collection of previously unpublished short stories by Chua Kok Yee will be launched at the KLAB at the (Central Market) Annexe on Saturday, 12th of June 2010 at  1.00pm

An excerpt
“ ... In my thirty years of teaching, I have seen many of my former students grow up and take on unexpected roles in life; star athletes have ended up working as illegal car jockeys, mediocre students have become millionaires, and perfectly decent boys are now politicians.”

as said by Cikgu Preetam in Perfect Prefect

Heart-rending, hilarious, irreverant, fantastiscal, macabre and one hundred per cent Malaysian, all at the same time, these twenty-two stories by Chua Kok Yee explore what it is like to live in this bizarre country. And the message is all about hope.  These are stories of Malaysians, by a Malaysian, for Malaysians. No apologies asked for, or given.


Chua Kok Yee is an old-fashioned yarn-spinner with a thoroughly modern sensibility, and many of the tales in Without Anchovies would make great short films.

Amir Muhammad

Writer and independent filmmaker

Shirley Geok-lin Lim Creative Writing Workshop

On Beginnings and Endings. One day workshop on Sat July 17th from 10.30 am to 4.30pm at Silverfish Books, 58-1, Jalan Telawi, Bangsar Braru, 59100 Kuala Lumpur. Tel: 603 228 448 37. Email: info@silverfishbooks.com. Website: http://www.silverfishbooks.com

A two-part workshop that covers generating ideas, drafts, and short forms before turning to ways to develop, structure, and revise a competed short story or one-act play. The morning workshop will focus on producing "short shorts"--first drafts of selected poetic forms and flash fiction to be shared, reviewed, and revised. The afternoon workshop will examine models of longer forms--one-act plays and short stories--and focus on writing exercises that  encourage practice and experimentation with structures of narrative development. Participants will be invited to submit  selections of their previously written poems, stories, and one-act plays to include interactive revising and rewriting work.

Cost for one the day workshop is MYR200.00 per person. This workshop will be limited to 20 participants, and registration will be strictly on first-come-first-served basis. Shirley Lim is a very good teacher and her workshops are enormously popular. Please register (with full payment) early to avoid disappointment. (Many were, the last time she ran a workshop here.)

Pre-activity for workshop

As a pre-activity for the workshop, participants may send a copy of their work -- limited to ONE piece only of no more than 5-6 pages in length -- for Prof.  Shirley Lim's assessment  on the 'polish'/structure part,  BEFORE Monday, 12th July 2010'. She will deliver her comments at the workshop. An email link will be provided to all registered participants to send the attachment.

Book talk by Tunku Halim

There will be a book talk by Tunku Halim on the writing and researching of his latest book, History of Malaysia, on Saturday, 29th of May, 2010 at Silverfish Books, 58-1 Jalan Telawi, Bangsar Baru, Kuala Lumpur at 5.30pm. Tel: 228 448 37 Email: info@silverfishbooks.com

Tunku Halim has written numerous collections of short stories, two novels, a biography and is the author of the very popular A Children's History of Malaysia. His latest effort is the History of Malaysia: a Children's Encyclopedia, a handsome hardbound volume that will educate not just children. Most of the buyers so far have been adults -- many are expatriates who want to educate themselves a little more about the country they currently live in. Books on Malaysian history have become quite embarassingly scarce in the country and this is a welcome addition, not the least for its willingness to take some sacred cows by the horn.

Tunku Halim went to school at St John's in Kuala Lumpur before attending Cheltenham College, Sussex University and The City University in England. He has a Masters Degree with Distinction and is a Barrister of the Inner Temple. He has been admitted as a solicitor in Malaysia and in New South Wales.

Strategic Information and Research Development Centre (SIRD) cordially invites you to the launch of the book No Cowardly Past in Petaling Jaya. On our distinguished panel of speakers are well-known personalities, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, Jomo K.S. and Dominic Puthucheary.

No Cowardly Past: James Puthucheary - Writings, Poems, Commentaries (Second Edition). Edited by Jomo K.S. and Dominic Puthucheary

Informed by a profound understanding of history and convinced by the need to construct a sustainable future for his country, Puthucheary spent a lifetime engaged with the most pressing problems of the day. The new edition of No Cowardly Past brings together some of his most important essays on political economy, the struggle for a progressive politics and the character of university education, as well as his lyrical and pungent poetry.

'Time past and time future are both contained in time present', wrote James Puthucheary in an honest and provocative letter from prison more than y years ago. Informed by a profound understanding of history and convinced by the need to construct a sustainable future for his country, Puthucheary spent a lifetime engaged with the most pressing problems of the day. e new edition of No Cowardly Past brings together some of his most important essays on political economy, the struggle for a progressive politics and the character of university education, as well as his lyrical and pungent poetry. The essays are written in a forthright style that makes his work so accessible and with an unusual candour about the di culties of transforming a rapidly changing society. Together with half a dozen commentaries that throw light on his personal life, political career, intellectual impact and literary output, No Cowardly Past o ers the most comprehensive introduction to one of Malaysia’s greatest public intellectuals.

Date: Monday, 22 March 2010
Time: 8.00pm -- 10.00pm
Venue: Auditorium, MBPJ Civic Centre, Jalan Yong Shook Lin, Petaling Jaya
Programme:
Welcome by Ismail Gareth Richards
Speakers
Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah - The Malaysia We Want
Jomo K.S. - Half a century later: The relevance of the Merdeka generation for us today
Dominic Puthucheary

Discussion
Official Book Launch and Presentation
Light refreshments will be served
Book sale and signing

Beyond the postcolonial

Talk by Dr Emma Dawson

The changing face of global Anglophone writing

From Nigeria to Kenya to India to Malaysia, Anglophone writing is changing. This talk will look at the thesis of being 'beyond the postcolonial' and the changing face of Anglophone writing. Please come along for interesting debate on this topic on Tuesday, 26th Jan 2010, 8.05 pm (after dinner, over coffee) at Silverfish Books, 58-1 Jalan Telawi, Bangsar Baru, 59100 Kuala Lumpur. The discussion will be led by Dr. Emma Dawson (Keele University, UK)

Bio
Dr Emma Dawson, works at the intersection of postcolonial writing, pedagogy and the emergent field of World Englishes literature. Her recent study addressed the teaching of World Englishes literature in schools in England. As an editor for CCC Press (UK) she is managing a project which is set to publish 8 anthologies of new writing in English from around the world. Cameroon and Nigeria (Nov 2009, Jan 2010) are out, Uganda and Kenya will follow. Malaysia, Singapore, India and a Caribbean nation will be published in 2010/2011.

Call for Submissions (from Malaysian writers):

CCC Press is showcasing new writing in English from around the world in their new series of country anthologies. Anthologies of short stories from Cameroon, Nigeria, Kenya and Uganda are already underway. 'The Spirit Machine' and Other New Short Stories From Cameroon' was published in July 2009 and the Nigerian anthology is due to be published by the end of 2009. The anthologies focus on the production of new writing in English which is newly sourced, edited and presented with a critical introduction. This is a call for the projected collection from Malaysia.

Submission Guidelines For Short Stories
- Word count: 3000 - 8000 words
- There is no theme, only 'Malaysia'.
- This is adult fiction (in the sense that it is not 'children's fiction').
- The work must be written in English (i.e. not translated from another language) and must be written by a resident of Malaysia (this is not a collection of diaspora writing).
- The story must be 'new' in the sense that it is 'unpublished in book form' - this makes life much easier in terms of 'rights'. (We can accept submissions which have been previously published in magazines if necessary.)
- Please send submissions by email to worldlits@googlemail.com, attached as a Microsoft Word document (saved as a 1997-2003 version please) and formatted as follows

- Name of author (Times New Roman, 12pt, bold, left justified).
- Contact address, telephone number and email (Times New Roman, 12pt, bold, left justified).
- Title of short story (Times New Roman, 14pt, bold, centered, underlined).
- Body text (Times New Roman, 12pt, justified, 1.5 line spacing, black).
- Page numbers and name of author on every page please.
- Word count at the end of the story (Bold, left justified)

- Maximum of two entries per person please.
- Please submit by January 31st 2010 (The closing date has been extended to 28 February 2010)

Dr Emma Dawson
Series Editor
World Englishes Literature
CCC Press
www.cccpress.co.uk
email: worldlits@googlemail.com