Spicy Fish

Established in 2006 by publishing Fleurs des lettres (字花), a literary bimonthly in Chinese, Spicy Fish is a 15 year-old literary arts non-profit organization and publisher based in Hong Kong. Fleurs des lettres has been the most energetic and lively literary bimonthly in Hong Kong. Its contributors include scholar Leo Lee Ou Fan, social critics Leung Man Tao, important Hong Kong authors, Xi Xi, Leung Ping Kwan, Wong Bik Wan, and Taiwan authors such as Zhang Dachun, Luo Yijun, etc. It has built a sharp literary brand that influences writers and readers in Hong Kong, Taiwan and the Mainland.

In recent years, it has developed in to a full-fledged literary arts organization which focuses on the following areas: literary arts platforms, community arts capacity building, oversea exchange and cross-arts experiment.

Print and Online Literary Platform

Fleurs des lettres字花

It aims to present new Chinese writings and create conversations between literature and issues in our life, society and culture. It is currently distributed in Hong Kong as well as to Taiwan and Singapore with a print run of 1,600 pieces.

Biezi別字

Established in 2017, 別字 is an online literary platform that presents the latest Chinese writings, reports and interviews in the literary circle. It is updated every month and has already reached over 250,000 page views in the past 1.5 years.

Community Outreach 

Life Story Writing (紀生傳死 --傳記閱讀及創作計劃)

In response to the aging population, and with the objective to enhance the writing skills of the public and promote the value of intergeneration, Spicy Fish took the very first step to collaborate with the Sheng Kung Hui Holy Carpenter Church  in 2018 to launch a project which comprises of three parts: creative writing work, zine making (book-making) classes and visits to elderly homes. Participants, who were mostly mature students, were required to interview and write down the story of the elders, and create a zine for the elders as a gift to honor their life. Exhibition was held after getting consent from elders to share their stories with the public.

Arts SPK (新蒲崗地文藝遊祭)

Started in 2017, Arts SPK is an annual community arts event organized by Spicy Fish in San Po Kong. Situated in San Po Kong for 15 years, Spicy Fish aims to present Chinese literature to the local community.  In collaboration with other arts groups which includes but not limited to theater, dance and sound arts, a two-day literature tours introducing the history and characteristics of the area are curated for the public.  Over the last three years, Arts SPK has attracted around 2,000 public members over three years altogether particularly the neighborhood of the San Po Kong area to participate into the tours. Arts SPK has been awarded the Arts Promotion Award by the Hong Kong Arts Development Council in 2018.

School Talks and Writing Workshops

Since 2008, Spicy Fish has been conducting school talks and Chinese literature writing workshops to secondary schools of different levels with objectives to arouse students’ interest in creative writing and reading literary works, to provide platforms for them to express their creativity and to engage in close reading which they cannot do in standard school curriculum. There are 10 classes per year on average and these classes have benefited over 3,000 students. We have then grown a solid and professional team of creative writing teachers who do not only serve us but to a wider community in order to sustain the project impact.

Overseas Exchange

Singapore Writers Festival

In 2018, Spicy Fish has extended its arms to Singapore with objective to enhance the exposure of local writers’ Chinese literature pieces to international readers, and to exchange ideas with international authors and readers. Reading, talks and panel discussions curated by us in Singapore have drawn over 200 people in 3 days.

Taipei Book Fair

Since 2008, Spicy Fish has been presenting Hong Kong authors in the Taipei Book Fair with objective to enhance the local writers’ exposure to overseas.  With 4 events held on average annually, Spicy Fish has presented around 20 local writers in the Taipei book fairs over the last 10 years.

Cross-arts Experiment

“Floating Letters-Letter Writing and Voice Acting Programme”is one of the examples of cross-arts experiment . During the programme, Spicy Fish invites writers to create “letters” and asks theatre artists to render them on air. The texts and recordings will be made available to the public via the website, echoing the idea of audiobooks and “message in a bottle”. Audiences can feel free to find the “floating letter” that resonates with themselves. “Floating Letters-Letter Writing and Voice Acting Programme”hopes to make sense of these isolating times, as well as to bring solace, delight and hope back into our lives.