Short Fiction
Set in Hong Kong and beyond, After the Storm delves into the aftermath of natural and human-made storms: joy, disappointment, humility, regret, and humor. Some of the storms are sudden and visceral; others take time to build; some are gentle and others are violent; some happen in a teacup, others across the solar system.
The anthology opens with Jason’s story, “Five Stages of Grief in Nishiaizu,” about a Japanese man who sought refuge in Hong Kong from the 2011 Fukushima disaster, only to find himself on the run once again a decade later.
Details
ISBN: 978-988-16859-7-1
Paperback, 282 pages
MASKING THE CITY—HONG KONG IN ALLEGORY (2020)
A long-suffering foster child; an adulterous affair; the plague-towns of Camus and Defoe; an unruly bird with golden eggs. Co-edited by Chris Maden, Masking the City reflects and refracts Hong Kong in the critical light of plausible deniability. The collection of sixteen stories presents unique visions, not about Hong Kong, but about what Hong Kong is like.
In Jason’s story, “The Visits,” a foster child's reunification with his biological parents proves disastrous and ultimately beyond remedy.
Media attention
“[A] range of often clever and sometimes very funny strategies for indirectly addressing contemporary life and its changes in Hong Kong.” —South China Morning Post
“In many ways, [Ng’s story is] an allegory for Hong Kong. How could [the protagonist] re-adapt to a place, a people, a language, and a lifestyle he is supposed to call ‘home’?” —Hong Kong Review of Books
Details
ISBN: 978-988-16859-5-7
Paperback, 192 pages
HONG KONG NOIR—AKASHIC NOIR SERIES (2019)
Akashic Books continues its award-winning series of original noir anthologies, launched in 2004 with Brooklyn Noir. Each book comprises all new stories, each one set in a distinct neighborhood or location within the respective city.
Co-edited by Jason and Chicago-based author Susan Blumberg-Kason, Hong Kong Noir features Jason’s short story “Ghost of Yulan Past,” which opens the collection and is followed by 13 other never-before-published dark tales by Xu Xi, Marshall Moore, James Tam, Feng Chi-shun, Shannon Young and others.
Media attention
“Hong Kong, once a fishing village, encompasses piracy, the opium trade, prostitution, corruption, espionage and revolutionary plots. [The city provides] grist for the 14 dark tales in Hong Kong Noir.” —BBC
“Akashic has assembled a delightfully dark collection of fiction from Hong Kong, a city where talk is cheap and cash is still king.” —Ritz Carlton magazine
“Ng and Blumberg-Kason's Hong Kong is a city on the brink, haunted by its past but facing an uncertain future. Readers can feel lucky to have such a collection.” —Kirkus Reviews
Details
ISBN: 978-161-77567-2-6
Paperback, 256 pages
The 15th anthology of fiction and poetry from the Hong Kong Writers Circle offers a snapshot of Hong Kong as it is, as it was, as it could be, as it may never be again. From city to village, from meltdowns to mysteries, from doubts to resolve, migrants to escapees, despair to triumph; our writers present us with a feast of the senses, physical and otherwise, taking us down paths through a variety of mental landscapes, ideas and perspectives towards unexpected awakenings.
In Jason’s story, “Fiddler on the Deck,” a musician finds redemption on a short ferry ride.
Media attention
“Encompassing plurality not only linguistically but also culturally, this anthology shows the full spectrum of the diversity of Hong Kongers. From the overwhelming crowdedness experienced by expatriates, the class and gender stereotypes that haunt the locals, to the psychological dilemma and alienation suffered by migrant workers, Come to our Senses shows the true and multiple colors of Hong Kong.” —Hong Kong Review of Books
Details
ISBN: 978-988-16859-3-3
Paperback, 303 pages
HONG KONG HIGHS AND LOWS (2018)
Co-edited by Chris Maden, Lilla Csorgo and Dominic Sargent, Hong Kong Highs and Lows features 21 short tales about a city of “Peak mansions and tiny cage homes, jet-setting billionaires and homeless vagrants.”
In Jason’s story, “Points of Inflexion,” a disgraced trader finds redemption by becoming an anonymous YouTube tutor.
Media attention
“Author Jason Ng takes a break from his usual political writing with Points of Inflexion, a story with a wonderful sense of humanity.” —Joyce Lau, The South China Morning Post
“Another stunning collection of stories that capture social, cultural, and political realities of contemporary Hong Kong.” —Emily Chow, Hong Kong Review of Books
Details
ISBN: 978-988-16859-1-9
Paperback, 250 pages
HONG KONG 20/20: REFLECTIONS ON A BORROWED PLACE (2017)
Two decades after Hong Kong reverted to Chinese rule, the real impact of the sovereignty change is just starting to register: the city’s near-total economic integration with the mainland, a massive influx of Chinese visitors, simmering cross-border tensions and a rapid erosion of freedoms. To mark the 20th anniversary of the Handover, PEN Hong Kong invites some of the city’s most prominent literary and creative minds to reflect on its post-colonial development, in a definitive compendium of essays, poems, fiction and artwork.
Co-edited by Jason, Tammy Ho, Mishi Saran, Sarah Schafer and Nicholas Wong, the anthology features Jason’s short stories “Castaway,” which ends the collection with an allegorical tale about a man who survives a shipwreck and must fight for his life with everything he’s got—not unlike the dire straits Hong Kong is in.
Media attention
“Hong Kong is one of the world’s greatest cities. It will be at the centre of some of the political and intellectual arguments of the century ahead. My own bet is that the success of Hong Kong’s pluralist citizenship will come out on top whatever the challenges. Reading many of the contributions in Hong Kong 20/20 confirms me in that view.” —Chris Patten, the last governor of Hong Kong
“Seldom before have so many of the clearest-eyed observers provided such a broad set of essays, poems, short stories and cartoons about Hong Kong’s evolution. Anyone passionate about the city’s future, or even just curious, should read it.” —Keith Bradsher, The New York Times
“Hong Kong 20/20 is a journey, both bleak and invigorating, through one of the world’s most extraordinary political experiments twenty years after the handover. It is opinionated, combative, energizing, and unlikely to be available in a Xinhua bookstore near you.” —Tom Phillips, The Guardian
Details
ISBN: 978-988-77927-6-5
Paperback, 400 pages
HK24: TWENTY-FOUR HOURS OF HONG KONG STORIES (2017)
The 2017 anthology published by the Hong Kong Writers Circle contains 20 unique and dynamic stories, all set within a single, frenzied day in the city. Some of the characters within these tales see their past in this present, others look to an uncertain future. Others still are reminded why they remain in such a beguiling and bewildering city as Hong Kong.
Co-edited by Stewart Mckay, Nathan Bridgeman and Joy Al-Sofi, the anthology features two of Jason’s short stories “00:05” and “23:55,” which bookend the collection and follow the events that unfold during the 24-hour layover of a man who returns to Hong Kong and wonders whether the city will live up to his expectations and whether he will live up to its.
Details
ISBN: 978-988-16858-9-6
Paperback, 215 pages
HONG KONG FUTURE PERFECT: ONE CITY, TWENTY VISIONS OF WHAT IS TO COME (2016)
The 2016 anthology published by the Hong Kong Writers Circle features 21 compelling short stories from 20 established and emerging local and expatriate authors who chart the hopes, dreams and fears of Hong Kong’s keenest literary voices.
Co-edited by Peter Humphreys and Elizabeth Solomon, the anthology features two of Jason’s short stories “Future, Arriving” and “Future, Departing,” which bookend the collection and set the stage for how the former British territory has emerged from colonialism and where is it heading.
The anthology's evocative cover was designed by Jason's multitalented sister, Ada Ng.
Details
ISBN: 978-988-16858-7-2
Paperback, 248 pages
QUEEN OF STATUE SQUARE: NEW SHORT FICTION FROM HONG KONG (2014)
Published by UK-based CCC Press and co-edited by Xu Xi and Marshall Moore, this collection of short stories from Hong Kong was the sixth anthroplogy in the World English Literature series.
Jason’s short story “Neville’s Painting” about an ugly expat facing his Reckoning was among a dozen chosen to provide a window on Hong Kong life.
Media attention
“It is the intrusive gaze we’re rooting for when we read of Jason Ng’s despicable protagonist in ‘Neville’s Painting’... Through [that story and others in] this collection, readers, develop their own kind of gaze toward Hong Kong and the issues that consume the Hong Kong people’s daily lives. Hong Kong is a place that speaks with its gaze, a place that is open to changing you if you will let it but a place that may also overwhelm you with pressure and plans. It is a place to observe and in which to be observed.” —Arielle Stambler, Cha: An Asian Literary Journal
Details
ISBN: 978-190-55104-3-6
Paperback, 157 pages
AS WE SEE IT: HONG KONG STORIES (2011)
The 2011 anthology published by the Hong Kong Writers Circle comprises 25 stories that explore the many ways we see the world around us. From discovering someone’s hidden dark side, to ending up on the wrong side of an argument, to having your life figuratively, or even literally, turned upside-down. Only one thing is certain: there is always another side to every story.
The anthology features two of Jason’s short stories “Going North” and “Going South,” juxtaposing the woes of a Hong Kong architect working in Shanghai against those of a Shanghainese journalist working in Hong Kong, as the two cities begin to converge in more ways than one. In January 2014, both stories were featured in Beijing-based online literary journal The Anthill.
Media attention
“Ng’s stories are absolutely terrific, and capture in fiction some of the subtleties of mainland-Hong Kong friction.” —Alec Ash, author of Wish Lanterns
“An intelligent and thought-provoking anthology of short stories, with a fair number true diamonds scattered in amongst the other gems.” —Amazon book reviewer
Details
ISBN: 978-988-98366-8-9
Paperback, 267 pages
FORTHCOMING:
Jason is working on a number of new projects in fiction, including his own collection of short stories and a full length novel.