KARAOKE opens today, one week only

I am watching tonight!

Anda bagaimana?

I have a blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo, but in case you were blinking, here it is!

This is the 13th title from Matahari Books, and the last for the year. Launch party 5 December :-)

Launching here, there ....

Later today, Insya-Allah, I will be leaving for Seoul. Because this Sunday at 7pm, Yasmin Ahmad's Films will have a Korean launch as part of a conference on Asian cinema at the Korea National University of the Arts. Gubra will be shown the day before, and also my documentary The Last Communist. (Those of you who have seen both will know why these two are paired.)

Then on the evening of 9 December, it will have an Indonesian launch as part of the Jakarta International Film Festival, right before the screening of Talentime.

On the evening of Saturday, 19 December, the Singapore launch takes place at a cosy shop called BooksActually:



Sometime in late January (I don't have the exact date yet), I will also talk about the book at the Pompidou Centre in Paris, which is having a focus on the films of Singapore and Malaysia, from the studio era to the present.



The Pompidou might be the toughest for me because the last time I was there, I was with the Filipino film critic Alexis Tioseco, as well as his girlfriend Nika. They were brutally murdered in September in Manila. I remember the date especially because I started writing this book later the same night. Why? Because we always talked about the books we would write; this was my way of keeping in touch with this good, gentle soul.

So if you are in any of those cities during any of those times, do drop by.

The Malaysian launch on Wednesday was fun! Although it was raining heavily, we still managed to fill up the hall. It was especially nice to see many people who were involved in Yasmin's life and films there: family, friends, colleagues ... but those distinctions seemed to evaporate, because she had a way of making many people, even those she'd met recently or infrequently, feel like part of a raucous family.

You can read a report of the launch, complete with video, at the blog Running With Passion. I am very much open to more events such as these in colleges and so on; do contact me if you have suggestions!



The book will be in most bookshops only in December, but if you want it right now, you can get it from:

Silverfish - online and physical bookshop in Bangsar
Da Huang Pictures - online shop
Kinibooks - online shop

YASMIN AHMAD'S FILMS : Malaysian launch & pre-order

My book Yasmin Ahmad's Films will be launched!

Wednesday
18 November
3:00 - 4:30pm
Level 4, Sunway University College

All are welcome.

Why did I choose this college? Because Yasmin had given a talk there in the last weeks of her life, where the people really loved it. And I knew a college venue would somehow be the most appropriate for this book.



We will also be showing the first video she made for MERCY Malaysia; it is 17 minutes long and I am sure you haven't seen it. (My royalties from the first edition of 3,000 copies will go to the MERCY - Yasmin Ahmad Fund for Children.)

This book has pretty much preoccupied me for the past 2 months. We just sent it to the printer a few hours ago, after making the very last changes. It's sad to let it go, but I am also very curious to know how people will react to it. After all, it's not the most conventional of books. This was the first article to ever appear about it:


If you can't make it to the launch but would like us to post you a copy, you can order by emailing info@mataharibooks.com before 18 November. The price is RM30, with free delivery anywhere in Malaysia. If you want it autographed, let me know who to address it to :-) The books will then be posted on the morning of 18 November.

Right after the Malaysian launch, the book will also have launch events in Seoul (the Korean National University of the Arts), Jakarta, Paris and Singapore. Alhamdulillah!

The full cover

Have a good weekend :-)

Penyertaan untuk antologi ORANG MACAM KITA

ORANG MACAM KITA
Karya-karya Tentang Seksualiti Alternatif di Malaysia
Disunting oleh Azwan Ismail dan Diana Dirani
Diterbitkan oleh Matahari Books

Kami ingin menerbitkan sebuah antologi seperti Body 2 Body: A Malaysian Queer Anthology dalam Bahasa Malaysia.

SYARAT-SYARAT PENYERTAAN:

1. Karya haruslah mengenai seksualiti alternatif di Malaysia.

2. Genre pilihan: cerpen, kisah benar, esei, memoir, petikan novel, skrip teater atau filem. Walaubagaimanapun, puisi tidak diterima.

3. Kategori seksualiti alternatif: homoseksual, biseksual, transeksual, transgender dan dwikelamin. Ini termasuklah gay, lesbian, tomboy, mak nyah dan khunsa

4. Cadangan topik: jatuh hati, pecah lobang, cinta terlarang, kembali ke pangkal jalan, curi makan, homofobia, halangan keluarga, prejudis dan hak asasi.

5. Penyertaan terbuka kepada semua warga dunia asalkan menulis dalam bahasa Malaysia. Penulis tidak semestinya gay.

6. Setiap karya wajib dalam Bahasa Melayu, ataupun sudah diterjemahkan ke dalam Bahasa Melayu. Penulis mesti bertanggungjawab terhadap terjemahan karya masing-masing jika menulis dalam bahasa lain.

7. Penulis perlu menggunakan nama sebenar. Nama pena diterima hanya bila penulis sudah dikenali ramai dengan nama tersebut, contohnya Mama Juwie atau Keris Mas.

8. Anda digalakkan menghantar karya antara 1,000 - 4,000 patah perkataan dalam format Word.

9. Tarikh tutup penyertaan ialah 28 Februari, 2010. Tarikh tutup adalah muktamad.

10. Buku ini akan diterbitkan pada pertengahan tahun 2010.

12. Sila hantar karya beserta butiran penulis ke matahari.books@gmail.com dengan tajuk emel "Orang Macam Kita"

13. Penulis-penulis karya yang terpilih akan menerima royalti dan naskhah buku percuma.

BIOGRAFI PARA PENYUNTING:

Azwan Ismail lebih merupakan seorang penyair. Karya-karya beliau pernah diterbitkan di beberapa antologi tanahair, salah satunya ialah ‘Aweks KL’ terbitan Stormkitchen. Beliau juga ada menulis mengenai muzik untuk majalah frinjan Elarti.

Diana Dirani ialah seorang penulis bebas. Buku terbaru beliau, ‘Dua Lauk’, kini telah berada di pasaran. Selain itu beliau ada menulis di beberapa antologi dan majalah, serta skrip teater.


PENERBIT BUKU:

Matahari Books ialah sebuah syarikat penerbitan, ditubuhkan oleh penulis dan pembikin filem Amir Muhammad dengan pengkhususan dalam buku-buku bukan-fiksyen tentang Malaysia. Semua buku-buku Matahari dijual di kedai-kedai buku utama Malaysia dan juga di Amazon.com. Antara buku terkini terbitan Matahari Books ialah Body 2 Body: A Malaysian Queer Anthology (2009).