After five years and 85,000 daily readers, The Asian Review strips away all images, adopts black-on-cream minimalism, and mandates 900-word minimums. Our globally trademarked black logo signals permanence: we’re desensitising readers from image-focused clicking, resensitising them to sustained thought. Not algorithm-chasing, but resistance training for attention itself. Literary culture demands depth.
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Orbital by Samantha Harvey: A Meditation on Humanity from Above
Harvey’s Booker-winning novella transcends plot, offering sixteen hypnotic orbits of Earth through astronauts’ eyes. Like Virginia Woolf in space, it’s a philosophical meditation where perspective shifts like Las Meninas—challenging, beautiful, rewarding rereads. In 136 pages, Harvey captures humanity’s cosmic insignificance and profound meaning simultaneously. Utterly transcendent.
What an Editor Can Do for Your Manuscript
Writers finish a draft and believe they see their work clearly. They don’t. Months spent inside a narrative create blindness to its faults. An editor arrives with fresh eyes and finds what […]
When Democracy Drowns: The Terrifying Prescience of Prophet Song
10:52Paul Lynch’s Booker Prize-winning Prophet Song is a literary gut-punch that transforms contemporary Dublin into a totalitarian nightmare. This isn’t escapist fiction—it’s a mirror held up to our fragile democracies, asking the most terrifying question: how would you know when it’s time to leave?
IndiGo Redefines Literary Residency: Two Days on Terminal Floors
IndiGo’s catastrophic meltdown has devastated India’s literary festival season. International authors stranded for days in chaotic airports, keynote speeches cancelled, cross-border dialogues destroyed. Over 1,000 flights grounded—not by technology, but by shocking mismanagement and greed. India’s cultural reputation lies in ruins as the world’s writers witness our aviation nightmare firsthand.
Of Legacies and a Beheading
When this opportunity to visit Belgium came along, I couldn’t think of a better adventure than to make this ‘pilgrimage’ to Geel. It didn’t matter that I couldn’t enter the church since it was closed for the winter because what I came to see was on the outside – the bas-relief depicting the beheading of Dymphna. Wouldn’t it have been more apt if Damon was holding the chopped-off head of Dymphna? Just saying…
Dumped!
You see, sometime in 2010 (I think – I forget, now), an agent had accepted the manuscript for The Age of Smiling Secrets and we signed a contract. When publishers were keen-but-not-keen, I suggested we stop submitting and consider reworking the novel. A few days after Christmas 2012, I received an email that shocked me to the core. Let me set the scene for you.
The Asian Prizes has announced the shortlist for The Asian Prize for Short Story 2025, featuring five stories from writers across Singapore and India.
The Asian Prizes announces five shortlisted stories for The Asian Prize for Short Story 2025. Selected from submissions across four continents by an international evaluation panel, these narratives from Singapore and India showcase compelling voices in contemporary literature. The winner will be revealed on 31st December 2025.
The Asian Prize for Poetry 2025 Shortlist Announced
The Asian Prizes has revealed the shortlist for the inaugural Asian Prize for Poetry 2025. Five exceptional poems from Ukraine, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, and Malaysia have been selected from the longlist, each powerfully engaging with this year’s theme, “The Earth,” through distinct cultural perspectives and artistic excellence.
Hungarian Writer László Krasznahorkai Wins 2025 Nobel Prize in Literature
Hungarian novelist László Krasznahorkai has been awarded the 2025 Nobel Prize in Literature for his apocalyptic vision and distinctive prose style. Known for sentences that run for pages, the 71-year-old becomes Hungary’s second Nobel laureate in literature, following Imre Kertész who won in 2002.
The 2025 Nobel Prize in Literature: Predictions and Contenders
As October 9 approaches, the literary world anticipates the 2025 Nobel Prize announcement. Australian novelist Gerald Murnane leads predictions, while Mexican writer Cristina Rivera Garza emerges as a surprise contender. The Swedish Academy’s selection will likely favor experimental voices over mainstream favorites, potentially honoring underrepresented regions and innovative storytelling approaches.
The 2025 Booker Prize Shortlist: ‘Novels for Grown-ups…’
The 2025 Booker Prize shortlist champions literary maturity over novelty, featuring established authors including previous winner Kiran Desai. These six novels explore identity uncertainty and family disruption, from Susan Choi’s multi-generational Flashlight to Katie Kitamura’s thought-provoking Audition. Though predominantly middle-age narratives, they’re anything but safe or comfortable reading.
Want Your Book Discussed at Sri Lanka’s Premier Weekly Sinhala Literary Forum? Here’s How to Submit to Asian Review Sinhala
The Asian Review Sinhala offers Sri Lankan authors a prestigious weekly literary platform in Gampaha. Submit 6 weeks before your desired event date with video clips, author photos, and biography to theasianreviewsinhala@gmail.com. All events are free and open to authors regardless of location, publishing history, or reputation.
The Asian Review Sinhala: Meet Our New Team as We Enter Our Third Year
After two years in Sri Lanka, The Asian Review Sinhala transitions into an independent literary platform under The Asian House of Literature. Meet our dynamic new team—Rasika Solanga arachchi (Country Coordinator), Pathum Punchihewa (Lead Moderator), and Oshini Jayarathna (Creative Coordinator)—as we continue fostering Sri Lanka’s vibrant literary community.
The Asian Prize for Poetry 2025 Long List Announced
The Asian Prizes announces the long list for the inaugural Asian Prize for Poetry 2025, featuring ten works from nine countries exploring the theme “The Earth.” The international jury, chaired by Ukrainian poet Iryna Vikyrchak, selected diverse voices spanning Ukraine, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Botswana, Vietnam, India, Malaysia, and the Philippines.
The Asian Prize for Short Story 2025 Long List Announced
The Asian Prizes has unveiled the long list for The Asian Prize for Short Story, featuring ten works from writers across India, Indonesia, and Singapore. The competition attracted hundreds of global submissions, evaluated by an international panel spanning Malaysia, India, Ukraine, and Tanzania. The shortlist announcement follows in October with winners declared by year-end.
Brussels to Host Inaugural European Edition of The Asian Literary Festival
Brussels becomes the first European city to host the Asian Literary Festival this October, marking a cultural milestone. The three-day celebration (3rd-5th October 2025) features over 30 events showcasing authors from Asia, Africa, South America, and Europe under the theme ‘Between Worlds—Reviving the Silk Route of Creative Expression’.
Nirmala Govindarajan Joins The Asian Literary Agency’s Editorial Team
The Asian Literary Agency has announced a notable addition to its editorial board with the appointment of author and cultural curator Nirmala Govindarajan. The writer will take charge of the fiction segment as Literary Editor for subcontinental authors, bringing her extensive expertise in contemporary South Asian literature to the agency’s expanded operations.
Saga of Devotion, Family Curses and Divine Hope From the Author of ‘Cutting for Stone
Verghese’s The Covenant of Water flows like Kerala’s monsoon rivers—patient, powerful, inevitable. Through three generations haunted by mysterious drownings, we discover how ancient wisdom meets modern medicine. This isn’t merely storytelling; it’s an immersion into lives connected by water’s eternal covenant, where individual sorrows merge into humanity’s greater current.
When Art Met the Streets…
In early 20th-century New York, revolutionary artists abandoned fancy subjects to capture gritty, unvarnished American life. The Ashcan School painted tenements and taverns instead of Fifth Avenue socialites, earning the nickname “apostles of ugliness.” This democratic movement proved ordinary struggles deserved the highest artistic treatment, transforming how America saw itself.
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