2026年5月——新書上架

《字花》119期「當體育遇上文學」

119期《字花》以「當體育遇上文學」為題，從小說、新聞到翻譯，探索文字如何書寫運動的激情，亦思索運動如何滋養文學的心靈。

喬靖夫以小說捕捉場上的熱血；三島由紀夫、卡繆、村上春樹則在運動中修煉身心。體育新聞展現非虛構文學的潛力，甚至連譯名也蘊含文字的趣味。

文學的足跡不僅停留於本地，而是向外伸展，觸及更廣闊的地域與文化。港台文學的遷動與經營，揭示跨境交流的挑戰與可能；與泰國作家的對話，則讓我們聆聽另一種語境下的創作心聲。文學讓我們對世界詰問、思索，讓《字花》不只是一方之聲，而是跨地域的文學對話。

此外，延續在地探索。土尋香從獨立音樂延伸至粵劇；並有香港動畫《世外》美術總監張小踏的漫畫創作。訪問東方昇，呈現本地多媒體創作者的多重面貌。

在多重交織的篇章裡，《字花》既回望日常，也伸向世界。我們相信：文學的真正力量，正是在於它能不斷打開新的入口，讓我們在熟悉與陌生之間，持續反思、對話、想像。
文學既在地，也能遠行。

精彩內容包括：

專題「當體育遇上文學」

●宇煦訪談喬靖夫〈由武林到球場〉
「不過如果沒有了那個情緒或內心，那只是10個人在一個球場裏跑動，沒有了感受。」——喬靖夫
從武俠的刀光劍影，延伸到球場的汗水與速度。喬靖夫以小說捕捉動作的張力，讓讀者在文字裡感受運動的激情與節奏。
●楊可山〈體育新聞作為非虛構文學的潛力〉
體育新聞不只是報導，它的敘事、節奏與現場感，也可以成為非虛構文學的一種。楊可山以專業經驗，細緻分析其中的可能性。
●華湯根〈當Zenyatta譯為信雅達  談體育譯名的文學性〉
當譯名不只是翻譯，更是文字的遊戲。從人名到馬名，華湯根分享體育翻譯的趣味，揭示其中的文學性。
●三島由紀夫、卡繆、村上春樹在運動中修煉身心
大文豪也要做運動！三島由紀夫的健身狂熱、卡繆的足球夢、村上春樹的長跑哲學——文學家在運動中鍛鍊身體，也修煉心靈，將運動化為人生的隱喻。
●編輯專文〈不負責任嚴選必睇三本體育經典文學〉
從賽場到書頁，精挑三本體育經典。這些作品是體育迷的文學入口。
特稿、專欄、解像

●特稿收錄｜2026台北書展活動：

曾繁裕 × 陸穎魚〈編輯之必要，詩與書店之必要〉
從《字花》編輯到台灣獨立書店「詩生活」，兩地出版與書店經營的經驗交流。編輯的堅持與書店的日常，交織出文學與社群的必要性。
Sunnie Wong 專訪威拉蓬·尼迪巴帕〈蚯蚓和貓與歷史的記憶〉
延續訪問譯者的緣分，在書展現場與作者的對話。專訪泰國作家威拉蓬·尼迪巴帕，一起談談泰國華人的歷史與記憶和文學，揭示書寫的另一種心聲。
●李維怡專欄「石頭記」以小說連載形式，以奇幻筆觸描寫無何有鄉的移動石頭。故事融合社會諷刺，探討都市壓力與神秘事件，揭露官僚無能與鄰里衝突。
●解像收錄陸穎魚及水告三木兩篇文章，分別談談香港、台灣兩地詩人。

《花字》
●專訪東方昇，回望他的創作軌跡。從《六點半左右新聞報道》到百公里越野跑的身體挑戰，東方昇以癲狂與堅持，將新聞、社會、運動化為創作舞台。究竟在都市上空的鋼線上創作，鍛鍊運動員般的鋼鐵意志，把身體推向創作的極致，對一位內容創作者而言，又是一種怎樣的自覺？
「個框係你自己設定嘅。你嘅水喺杯入面，我嘅水倒咗落大海。覺得被人框住，其實個杯係你自己框住自己。」
「進一步，先係海闊天空。」
——癲狂之內外的創作馬拉松——專訪東方昇
●土尋香探索另一個文化瑰寶——粵劇
江駿傑帶領讀者上舞台，見證演員臨場「爆肚」的即興與「提綱戲」的框架交錯，如何形成一部無字天書，展現粵劇獨特的口傳與身體記憶的創作自由；朱少璋寫出《帝女花》經典之處，不只是劇目，更是粵劇文化的核心符號，思索它如何成為粵劇史上不能忽視的存在。
●更多精彩內容包括：香港動畫《世外》美術總監張小踏的漫畫創作《另一條線》及古埃及文明大展專訪。

刊物簡介

　　《字花》是香港一本雙月刊文學雜誌，於 2006 年 4 月創刊，由水煮魚文化製作有限公司出版，用文 學視角直接介入社會文化議題。專題以外，每期均有文字、視藝和跨媒體創作，以及文學、影視和 文化評論，以「立足本地，放眼世界」為旨，力圖打破香港文學雜誌的固有形式，以展示文學年 輕、活潑和多元化的一面。

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專頁：字花 | https://www.facebook.com/fleursdeslettres/
水煮魚文化 | https://www.facebook.com/spicyfish001/

Winner of the 2025 Epigram Books Fiction Prize

The final gripping chapter in the saga of Miss Cassidy.

The truth is out there. And somewhere, so is Miss Cassidy.

The Mystical Mister Kay, a ghost-seer from Singapore, arrives in the English city of Tolwich in search of his friend Miss Cassidy. But his investigation takes a darker turn: a princess is found dead, a cult-like fashion house holds the city in its grip, and a seminary for Asian royals hides secrets no one dares name. As gods from Ancient Greece and Asia slip into the mortal world, Mr Kay is pulled into a mystery that spans continents and mythologies—one that may bring him closer to Miss Cassidy, or destroy him trying.

Embrace life after breast cancer—your best years yet.

Featuring insights from oncologists, physiotherapists, dieticians and courageous survivors, this wellness guide covers everything from understanding breast cancer and treatment options to practical diet and exercise tips. Learn how to manage menopausal symptoms, navigate pregnancy planning and support emotional health after surviving breast cancer. With holistic approaches, including Traditional Chinese Medicine and healthy recipes, this book provides essential tools for reclaiming your health and happiness.

Growing up was never meant to be easy for Michelle Tan. Her older sister Meredith lies in a hospital ward, unconscious and barely breathing. Sorrow-stricken, the younger girl dives headfirst into her memories – the first time Meredith taught her how to swim, their first mid-autumn festival together and her father’s untimely departure. But that only accounts for Michelle’s worldly worries. She also thinks she’s being followed. By what – she can’t exactly put a finger on. Clumsily, she navigates the arduous process of growing up and coming to terms with who she truly is while a supernatural enigma looms.

Young Constable Michael Chakrabarti experiences strange happenings during his night shifts. Mysterious recurring phone calls from an exasperated girl, a ferocious, shadowy lion of mythological origin; there doesn’t seem to be an end to the peculiarity that haunts him. Demystifying the unknown has consequences.

Captain Ishaan heads the newly-inaugurated Department of Supernatural Oddities. Shouldering the burden of being at the forefront of a revolution in science that could potentially decipher the supernatural, Ishaan soon realises that he might be too close to the puzzle for his own good. Can he truly exorcise the demons of his past?

Reality is a luxury. The Truth is never linear.

A woman. A hospital room. A marriage coming undone.

In Singapore, an ambitious, emotionally depleted expatriate mother checks her barely ill daughter into an upscale hospital—not out of medical necessity, but as a quiet, desperate act of self-preservation. For two nights, in the stillness of white sheets and fluorescent light, she finally breathes.

Her marriage is stable but sexless. Her career, stalled. Motherhood has become a performance she can no longer sustain—especially when she feels little love as a wife to a man untouched by desire.

In this raw, daring autofictive debut, Thammika Songkaeo explores what happens when a woman on the brink dares to confront the demons in her mind.

Set in Singapore but emotionally borderless, Stamford Hospital is a piercing portrait of burnout, resentment, and the silent rebellions that so often go unnoticed. This is a novel for anyone who has ever felt imprisoned by loneliness inside the very family they built.

‘Dissecting motherhood, marriage, and the cost of selfhood with razor-sharp precision.’ — Elle Singapore

Meet Singapore’s brightest sporting stars in this exciting collection, as the country celebrates SG60! Singapore’s Sports Champions is a six-book series that brings to life the incredible journeys of eight local athletes who chased their dreams. Each book is packed with stories of determination and triumph, inspiring children to believe in themselves and never give up!

Filled with fun facts and motivational lessons, Singapore’s Sports Champions is the perfect gift for young readers who love sports and real-life inspiration. Each story proves that with heart, hard work, and a little bit of Singaporean spirit, anything is possible.

Ideal for ages 7-12, this box set will ignite the champion in every child! 

Part of the proceeds will go to the Singapore Olympic Foundation.

Ink Studies explores contemporary practices of calligraphy in China, situating them in both a precarious and dynamic position. While people are increasingly writing less due to digitization, calligraphy is experiencing a revival partly fueled by governmental directives that promote “creativity” as a powerful discourse contributing to economic development. This book unravels intertwined imaginations of contemporary calligraphy in five different visual cultural fields in China today: calligraphy education, water calligraphy in public parks, modern calligraphic art, digital calligraphy and calligraphic font design. The various visual representations of the calligraphic sign within these fields are approached as active agents, demanding various physical and moral behaviors from practitioners. While calligraphy and creativity are often pitted against each other, as the nature of calligraphy is sustained through a culture of copying, the book challenges the perception of calligraphy as a static art, arguing instead for its creative potential in both formal and grassroots contexts. 

"Vermeeren's volume is the long-awaited 'missing course' for understanding Chinese calligraphy beyond conventionalized narratives. Focusing on new forms of shufa practice in everyday lives of Chinese people, it offers rich and gratifying food for thought on creativity, modernity, and the value of art in cultural politics and broader human experiences."  -- Yu Li, Loyola Marymount University

Laura Vermeeren is Assistant Professor of Cultural Heritage and Cross-Media at the University of Amsterdam, with a background in Chinese studies and a focus on creativity, everyday practices, and visual culture.

The poetry of Wong Phui Nam (1935–2022) is foundational to Malaysian literature in English, and while his early work is often cited and quoted in this regard, this edited collection of his poetry and critical essays makes it clear that his lifelong trajectory as a poet and critic is of deep interest. In the Mirror by Wong Phui Nam is a critical exploration of Malaysia’s fractured post-colonial identity and literary landscapes.

The editors worked with Wong to prepare his latest works In the Mirror (2000–22) for publication. This volume combines these with his earlier achievements, starting with How the Hills are Distant (1960–64). An introduction by the editors links Wong’s work with contemporary poetry in the region. An afterword by Wong’s contemporary Edwin Thumboo completes a volume that will be treasured for its historical context-making, but more importantly for the literary rewards of Wong’s poetry, written in unblinking confrontation with the contradictions and difficulties of writing in English in the region.

“Wong Phui Nam is one of the giants of Malaysian writing in English, a pioneering poet whose early work captured the cultural desolation of the immediate post-independence years…. His poetry collections, especially those containing multi-part poems, deserve to be read and studied in their entirety.”
- Ann Ang, National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University

Wong Phui Nam (1935-2022) was a Malaysian poet. 

Brandon K. Liew is a writer and editor, and currently a researcher at the University of Melbourne.

Daryl Lim Wei Jie is a poet, editor, translator and literary critic. His poetry collection Anything but Human (2021) was shortlisted for the Singapore Literature Prize.

In 2017, I started my research on the fate of granduncle Silvestr Nemec, a young Czech employed by the Bata Show Company in Singapore, who volunteered to fight the Japanese when they invaded the island during World War II. He went missing in 1942 and was involved in two historic events of the falls of Singapore: the battle of Pasir Panjang Ridge where the Malay Regiment made their last stands on Bukit Chandu and the Alexandra Hospital massacre.

Over time, my quest produced whole collection of stories that spanned a century and across continents, covering not just Silvestr’s life but also the Bata company in the Far East, other Czechoslovaks who lived in Singapore before and during World War II, as well as my own journey of discovery.

Not in my wildest dreams did I expect that my research would take my so far. On many occasions - such as when I was studying how Tomas Bata organised his business, or what other Batamen captured in their diaries, letters and articles about their works and life in Singapore in 1930s - I could vividly picture Silvestr in those contexts and situations.

My book about my granduncle Silvestr was first published in Czech in October 2020.

A tale of love, betrayal and the supernatural set in the heart of Singapore’s most vibrant district.

At sixteen, Zhong Su Lynn dreams of becoming an official ghost hunter. She has battled supernatural creatures, from pontianak to shuigui, but her unconventional methods frustrate her grandfather, the legendary Zhong Kui. When Su Lynn discovers that her grandfather is building an undead army to forge his own underworld, her world unravels. To complicate matters, she falls for a jiangshi he created. Now, Su Lynn must join forces with other ghost hunters to free the jiangshi, stop Zhong Kui and restore balance—all while torn between love and her sense of duty.

After many years abroad, Roz and Harun return to Malaysian Borneo for the funeral of their father Yusuf – and to reckon with their inheritance. A renowned palm-oil baron during Malaysia’s economic rise, Yusuf built the family’s immense wealth by destroying huge tracts of rainforest. What his children know is that he was also responsible for the violent disappearance of a man who stood in his way.

Harun has become a successful tech entrepreneur in Los Angeles, Roz is an artist struggling to stay afloat in Sydney. Now they want to return something their father stole from the forests of their homeland. In their quest for redemption they grapple with the legacy of power and corruption, dreamers and exiles, thugs and zealots. Most dangerous of all, they are haunted – by the ghosts of colonialism, the ghosts of family, the ghosts of language, and the ghosts of the forest itself.

A trailblazing journey across the globe, Fierceland weaves the past and the present into an emotionally powerful family saga that plays out at a mythical scale.