This is a post that I should have written in November, only I was travelling in Australia and never quite got around to it. But it is very exciting news!

My book, The Singapore I Recognise: Essays on home, community and hope, now exists in Traditional Chinese as 《我所認識的新加坡：一位在地記者的參與及觀察》, published by SpringHill Publishing in Taiwan.

This is really quite a thrill; even while I was writing the book, a friend had been encouraging me to think about having it translated into Chinese so it can be available to an ever wider audience. Of course, at the time it seemed like a very distant goal—I was too preoccupied with getting to the finish line with a manuscript in the first place! Once the book was out, though, I started to ruminate on the possibility and eventually reached out tentatively to a few Taiwanese publishers. I’m so glad that SpringHill decided to pick it up. 🥰🥰🥰

I’ve so far read about half (or maybe two-thirds?) of this translation. It’s quite surreal to read it in a different language; it’s like my writing and not my writing at the same time. I left some notes for the editor here and there but ultimately had to admit that my own command of Chinese—literary or otherwise—is just not strong enough to be much of an authoritative voice on the quality of the translation. 😅 But what I’ve seen is great and Taiwanese readers have assured me that it reads smoothly and clearly, so I’m really grateful to the translator, who I hope to meet and thank in person one day!