The Near and the Far

From 21 of the best writers in the Asia-Pacific region comes a collection about finding connections where you least expect them.

It's a sweltering night in Kuala Lumpur, and a journalist is protesting in a city on the edge of meltdown. It's post-9/11 San Francisco, and a woman meets her foster child, who provokes painful reminders of her past. It's contemporary Bangkok, and a writer's encounter with ladyboy culture prompts him to explore gender boundaries. And high in Queensland's Border Ranges, a boy prone to getting lost is having six tiny silver bells pinned to his chest.

The Near and the Far is what results when award-winning writers from Australia, Singapore, Vietnam, the Philippines, Myanmar, Malaysia, and Hong Kong share places, spaces, and ideas. Emerging from the Writers Immersion and Cultural Exchange programme - a unique series of residencies, workshops, and dialogues between writers - this collection is a map of art and adventure, ideas and influences.

Featuring fiction and non-fiction from Cate Kennedy, Melissa Lucashenko, Maxine Beneba Clarke, Omar Musa, and many more, this collection bridges the distances between Asia, Australia, and the world.

Every day is a border crossing, every story a threshold. Grab your passport and step beyond.