Niche publishers, especially Asian ones, are our weakness. That’s precisely why we were so overjoyed about the establishment of Faction Press – a Singaporean micropublisher specializing in southeastern Asian non-fiction. After months of following and waiting we finally could lay our hands on their first book… and we just had to order a few more copies to stock our shelves.
Signals in the Noise: Notes on Penang, Malaysia and the World is a collection of articles and opinion columns by Ooi Kee Beng, published in the last few years in English-language Malaysian press. The writings were divided into thematic sections (A, B, C, D), so that one can look at Malaysia from different angles and different distances. There are texts written from the country perspective, for example on politics (especially in the context of pandemic) but also from a local one – Ooi Kee Beng often mentions Penang from where he is from (e.g urban planning).
As a quick break from certain sections, you can also enjoy a few interviews. I will definitely remember the conversation with a Laotian-American writer Souvankham Thammavongsa, the author of an amazing short story collection, How to Pronounce Knife. Reading Ooi Kee Beng’s columns made me realize how little information about Malaysia gets to Polish-language media and how little we know about this country. Signals in the Noise on one hand is a great starting point to learn more, and on the other, a priceless chance to take a deep dive into topics that are being discussed and written about in Malaysia and Singapore. For a brief moment I felt as if I was reading a newspaper with a view of Kuala Lumpur, or Penang, instead of Warsaw.
I just want to add that this book design is stunning! We can’t wait for more titles to come and we’re rooting for Faction Press from Poland!
