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A scene from War Horse, performed at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts in 2019. The award-winning British play is one of many artworks made over the centuries with a strong equine focus. Photo: Winson Wong
Art

Famous horse-related works of art as the Year of the Horse 2026 approaches

To celebrate the nearing Year of the Fire Horse, we look at paintings, books and plays that show how the use of horses in art has evolved.

Britain

Sophie Kinsella, Shopaholic author, dies at 55 from brain cancer

What to do in Hong Kong

5 things to do in Hong Kong and ways to help this weekend, December 5-7

Fashion

Who is Jeffrey Banks and why did Ralph Lauren call him his ‘other son’?

Designer Jeffrey Banks recounts over 50 years in fashion in his memoir, including when Lauren gave him one of his own suits to wear to prom.

Jeffrey Banks is photographed at the CFDA Fashion Awards in New York in 2022. Banks, a fashion icon, shares his journey in a new memoir, Storyteller: Tales from a Fashion Insider. Photo: AP
Jeffrey Banks is photographed at the CFDA Fashion Awards in New York in 2022. Banks, a fashion icon, shares his journey in a new memoir, Storyteller: Tales from a Fashion Insider. Photo: AP
Books and literature

A look inside The Handmaid’s Tale author Margaret Atwood’s new memoir

Book of Lives: A Memoir of Sorts reveals secrets behind some of Atwood’s most famous novels as well as moments of frustration and betrayal.

Books and literature

China’s crackdown on same-sex love stories leaves women ‘less happy’

Despite the largest crackdown yet, danmei stories are still available in China – but they are far tamer and, some say, just not as good.

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Books and literature

How Bruce Lee went from martial arts star to enduring Asian-American icon

Jeff Chang explores why, 50 years after his death, Bruce Lee remains ‘a hero to people all around the world’ in Water Mirror Echo.

A woman looks at a Bruce Lee poster in Hong Kong in 2024. Half a century after his death, Lee is still an icon from Asia to the United States. Jeff Chang considers why in his biography of the kung fu movie star. Photo: Zuma Press/TNS
A woman looks at a Bruce Lee poster in Hong Kong in 2024. Half a century after his death, Lee is still an icon from Asia to the United States. Jeff Chang considers why in his biography of the kung fu movie star. Photo: Zuma Press/TNS
Books and literature

British-Hungarian writer David Szalay wins Booker Prize for ‘Flesh’

Szalay’s exploration of troubled masculinity beat favourites Kiran Desai and Andrew Miller to claim the prestigious US$65,500 literary award.

Books and literature

Tokyo bookshop where Korean translations spark ‘conversation across borders’

Since 2015, publisher Kim Seung-bok has used her shop Chekccori to connect Japanese readers with top Korean authors ‘in the right way’.

Books and literature

‘Marvellous idea’: Children’s Booker Prize for kids’ fiction announced

Launching in 2026, the Children’s Booker Prize will see a winner chosen by a combined panel of child and adult judges and awarded US$66,600.

The Children’s Booker Prize will see an author selected annually from 2027 to celebrate the “best contemporary fiction” for children aged eight to 12 years old. Photo: Shutterstock
Books and literature

Hong Kong-born poet stunned into silence by detractors finds voice again

Sarah Howe’s new collection comes a decade after her TS Eliot Prize win as a young part-Chinese female was met with racism and misogyny.

Hong Kong-born poet Sarah Howe, who won the 2015 TS Eliot prize for Lope of Jade, recently published her new collection of poetry, Foretokens. Photo: Marc Lixenberg
Hong Kong-born poet Sarah Howe, who won the 2015 TS Eliot prize for Lope of Jade, recently published her new collection of poetry, Foretokens. Photo: Marc Lixenberg
Books and literature

Horrors of World War II seen through the eyes of Hong Kong women

Emma Pei Yin’s debut novel about three women during the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong is a powerful story of resistance and resilience.

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Books and literature

Ian McEwan shares his vision of the future in new book What We Can Know

British author Ian McEwan talks about climate change, the past and future, and his latest novel What We Can Know.

Hong Kong culture

His viral Instagram videos on Hong Kong’s libraries are ‘like a time capsule’

Steven Harrison Stratman, who captures everyday scenes from libraries across Hong Kong, explains why they’re more than just book collections.

Steven Harrison Stratman in a bookstore in Hong Kong. His viral Hong Kong library videos on Instagram have captured the attention of many people in and out of Hong Kong. Photo: Li Anqi
Books and literature

Author of Loveboat, Taipei was writing about AI long before it was cool

Her agent didn’t understand, so it was shelved. Now, Abigail Hing Wen is releasing The Vale, a decade-old story about a child in an AI world.

Abigail Hing Wen’s decade-old AI-themed YA fantasy novel, The Vale, is finally set for release this September. Photo: Third State Books
Abigail Hing Wen’s decade-old AI-themed YA fantasy novel, The Vale, is finally set for release this September. Photo: Third State Books
Books and literature

The Moomins’ 80th birthday draws fans across Europe for special event

Fans flocked to Tampere in southern Finland to celebrate the country’s most lovable literary cartoon family, created by author Tove Jansson.

Books and literature

How origami cranes she received as a child inspired author’s new novel

Evelyn Skye says her 10th book, The Incredible Kindness of Paper, is an important story right now with its roots in human connection.

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Books and literature

Love books about haunted objects and possessed possessions? Check these out

From Stephen King’s tale about a demonic car to accounts of cursed furniture, you’ll never look at objects the same after reading these.

A replica of the doll from the 2014 horror film Annabelle. The original doll that demonologists Ed and Lorraine Warren encountered was rumoured to have gone missing recently. Photo: Getty Images
A replica of the doll from the 2014 horror film Annabelle. The original doll that demonologists Ed and Lorraine Warren encountered was rumoured to have gone missing recently. Photo: Getty Images
Books and literature

Godzilla’s 70 years of film celebrated in huge new book with over 900 photos

Godzilla: The First 70 Years is a 432-page book filled with stories, interviews and photos of one of cinema’s most enduring figures.

Books and literature

How foodie novel Butter stirs up Japan’s issues with sexism and misogyny

Asako Yuzuki’s novel has gained a cult following around the world for skewering Japan on its problems with how women are viewed and treated.

YouTube and YouTubers

Profile | Who is Cari? Popular South Korea-based YouTuber’s social media rise

Seoul-based YouTuber Cari shares her journey as a content creator who offers authentic glimpses into Korean life, reading and solo travel.

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Seoul-based content creator Cari is best known for her travel vlogs and was one of the earliest big content creators in Korea. Photo: Instagram/caricakez
TV shows and streaming video

Is Stephen King happy with The Institute TV adaptation? Yes, very much so

King’s screen adaptations notoriously run hot and cold, but the new TV adaptation of his 2019 novel The Institute definitely gets his approval.

Joe Freeman in a still from the new TV series The Institute (2025), an adaptation of Stephen King’s 2019 novel. Photo: Chris Reardon/MGM+
Joe Freeman in a still from the new TV series The Institute (2025), an adaptation of Stephen King’s 2019 novel. Photo: Chris Reardon/MGM+
Books and literature

If books could kill: how lethal toxic pigments were used for millennia

An exhibit at a US museum looks at how mercury, arsenic, lead and ‘orpiment’ created visuals both incredibly seductive and highly dangerous.

American cinema

‘A story without an ounce of cynicism’. Stephen King on The Life of Chuck

Author, 77, whose fiction has spawned over 50 movies enthuses about the latest one, and names the only film he didn’t finish sitting through.

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Joe Biden

Ex-Biden press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre quits Democratic Party

The ex-White House spokeswoman’s new book promises a look at the ‘betrayal’ that led to Biden’s exit from the US presidential election.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre speaks during the daily briefing in Washington in November 2024. Photo: AP
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