Hi, I am coming at you from St. Louis, Missouri at the Realm Makers writers’ conference. Today my friend Anna is revealing the cover for the Anthology she edited and helped publish. The title is a Spoonful of Malaysian Magic. If you’re curious why, then it would help to know that all the authors in the anthology, along with Anna herself, are from Malaysia. I think the title and the cover reflect that perfectly. See for yourself:
A Spoonful of Malaysian Magic: An Anthology
A burong descends from Tansang Kenyalang in the midst of a dire catastrophe. A shapeshifter frees Kedah from the dreaded Raja Bersiong only to uncover a darker secret. A woman learns to channel her family’s food magic. A young huntress of supernatural creatures charts her own path of love.
This anthology of short stories offers fresh takes on Malaysian folklore and fairy tales, adds enchantment to the ordinary, and bursts with new, wonderful flavours. Stir a little spoonful of magic into your tea, whether you’re from these shores or from far away.
Stories by:
Collin Yeoh · Hamizah Adzmi · Ilnaz A. Faizal · Ismim Putera · Joni Chng · Joshua Lim · Julia Alba · Rowan C · Sharmilla Ganesan · Stuart Danker · Syazwani Jefferdin · Zufar Zeid
Release date: 23 November 2023
Published by: Teaspoon Publishing
Print ISBN: 978-967-19634-6-3
Ebook ISBN:
Add the book to GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/168405034-a-spoonful-of-malaysian-magic
Amazon pre-order link: https://www.amazon.com/Spoonful-Malaysian-Magic-Anthology-ebook/dp/B0C6PQ878V
Ebook preorder price: $2.99 [Full price: $4.99]
Teaspoon Publishing store: https://teaspoonpublishing.com.my/shop/spoonful-of-malaysian-magic/
Paperback pre-order price: RM50 [Full price: RM60]
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Collin Yeoh has wanted to be a writer all his life, and indeed has been writing professionally for 17 years. At some point, he remembered that advertising copy wasn’t what he wanted to write growing up as a lonely bookworm kid. He now finds writing things that have plots, characters, themes, genres, and that won’t be subject to notes like “please include more product benefits” a lot more fun. He lives in Kuala Lumpur.
Hamizah Adzmi is a storyteller and currently works as the Knowledge Mobilization Programme Officer for Musawah, an international women’s rights NGO. She pursued a MA in Creative Writing under the Chevening scholarship in 2016/2017, where she focused on writing fiction revolving around Malaysian women. Previously, she was in the media industry and taught Creative Writing in universities. Her interests include books, writing, and feminism. https://www.twitter.com/omgthisbook
Ilnaz A. Faizal enjoys writing stories that cross between the genres of horror, fantasy, and romance. She also writes poetry and screenplays. Her favourite authors are Sarah Dessen and R.L Stine. When she’s not writing, she can either be found reading, embroidering cartoon characters, or sleeping. https://twitter.com/Ilnaz_Faizal
Ismim Putera (he/him) is a poet and writer from Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo. His works can be found in online journals as well as anthologised in To Let the Light In Anthology of Life and Death, Instinct: Asian Speculative Poetry 2021, Colours of Tapestry 2: Stories from Asia, Unsaid: An Asian Anthology, and recently in The Big Book of Malaysian Horror. His poem “Durian Blossoms” won third place in the 7th Singapore Poetry Contest (2021) and “Jantina” was longlisted for the Malaysian Poetry Competition (2021). https://twitter.com/ismimputera
Joni Chng is a writer and photographer based in Malaysia, born and raised in Kedah. She draws a lot of inspiration from diverse cultures around the world, particularly from the Far East and Southeast Asia, with speculative elements of her own invention thrown in for good measure. Her work has appeared in several anthologies and magazines, including The Big Book of Malaysian Horror Stories (Fixi Novo, 2022), Night Terrors: Vol. 21 (Scare Street, 2022), Tainted Love: Women in Horror (Twisted Wing productions, 2021), and NANG 3: Fiction (2017).
https://twitter.com/jonichng | https://www.instagram.com/jonichng/
Joshua Lim writes stories that reimagine the world around him. His fantasy short story “Generation Game Night” was shortlisted for the Malaysian Short Story Writing Competition 2022, and his other works have appeared in Fixi Novo’s anthologies KL Noir: Magic (2021) and The Big Book of Malaysian Horror Stories (2022). He is currently a medical student who finds time in between classes to write fiction and overthink his future.
A medical officer and quality manager by profession, Julia Alba has been writing fiction since she was a teenager. She loves a great story no matter the genre or the medium, whether it’s a book, a video game, an anime or a movie. Her bad habit is her inability to resist buying too much Harry Potter merchandise. She lives in Perak with her husband and daughter. https://twitter.com/joo_leeyah
Rowan C is 22 years old and currently studying accounting, which inspired the title of this work. They’re also heavily inspired by the D&D games they play, and they’ve always looked up to Neil Gaiman and the late Terry Pratchett. They hope, through their work, these interests of theirs can be shared with all of you.
Sharmilla Ganesan is a radio presenter, writer, and culture critic based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. She was with The Star newspaper for over a decade; currently, she is attached to BFM 89.9, where she hosts shows on current affairs, the arts, books, and film. She has also written for The Atlantic, South China Morning Post, NewNaratif, and ArtsEquator.
https://twitter.com/sharmillag | https://www.instagram.com/sharmillag/
Stuart Danker is a Malaysian author who’s spent a decade writing across multiple genres and mediums, and that’s after plying his trade in various industries such as hairdressing and accounting. His first novel, Tinhead City, KL, debuted in 2021. Find him at www.stuartdanker.com.
https://twitter.com/stuartdanker | https://www.instagram.com/storystuey/
Syazwani Jefferdin is currently a 24-year-old PhD in English student at Nottingham University Malaysia. She has been writing since she was 9 and has been writing fantasy fiction since high school. Currently, she’s working on her PhD creative work titled God’s Eyes, a novel that will explore the Fantasy genre with Malaysian elements embedded alongside classic western Fantasy elements.
Zufar Zeid lives in the morgue and tries to give a voice to the dead. In his free time, he pretends to write but is actually just daydreaming his life away.
https://twitter.com/Lv80Necromancer | https://www.instagram.com/zufzeid/
ABOUT THE EDITOR
Anna Tan writes fantasy stories and fairy tales, and helps people publish books at Teaspoon Publishing. She also wrangles writers and deadlines for the Malaysian Writers Society (MYWriters) and Penang Art District.
Anna has an MA in Creative Writing: The Novel under a Chevening scholarship and is the current President of MYWriters. She can be found tweeting as @natzers and forgetting to update annatsp.com.
https://facebook.com/annatansp | https://twitter.com/natzers | https://instagram.com/annatsp
TEASPOON PUBLISHING
Just like a teaspoon of sugar sweetens your tea, Teaspoon Publishing adds a dash of something special to your words. Whether it’s getting a dose of magic in your fiction, working magic with your words, or helping you find that magical balance of trad/indie/ hybrid publishing, we hope you’ll find what you’re looking for here!
It’s as simple as a TSP:
Traditional: where we source and publish fantasy works as a micro-press
Services: where we provide writing-related freelance services such as editing, proofreading, and copywriting.
Publishing Hub: where we hold your hand(s) and let you decide how we can help you fulfil your publishing dreams.
Talk to us at info@teaspoonpublishing.com.my or check out our website at teaspoonpublishing.com.my.https://facebook.com/teaspoonpublishing | https://twitter.com/teaspoonpub | https://instagram.com/teaspoonpublishing
C. O. Bonham 