Balestier Press publishes the best and most original voices in Contemporary World Literature, Humanities and Social Sciences.

  • Akbar’s India Quick View
    • Akbar’s India Quick View
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    • Akbar’s India

    • by Marcia Thompson Akbar’s India tells the story of Akbar (emperor of India 1556 -1605) through eight paintings. The paintings were selected from many produced in his workshops to tell the story of his remarkable reign. The book was written and the different exercises were devised to encourage children to give the pictures more than a cursory glance - to help…
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  • Tan Hou and the Double Sixth Festival Quick View
    • Tan Hou and the Double Sixth Festival Quick View

    • Tan Hou and the Double Sixth Festival

    • Illustrations by Cai Gao Translated and adapted by Helen Wang When Tan Hou is born with three dragon marks on his body, his parents know he is special. But the dragon is the emperor’s symbol. The emperor’s men come looking for Tan Hou, but he is determined to honour his parents and stand up for his people. This is the story…
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  • Costume Quick View
    • Costume Quick View

    • Costume

    • by Yeng Pway Ngon In the 1910s, thirteen-year-old Leong Ping Hung comes to Singapore from China to seek his fortune. Decades later, he is a lonely old man mourning his shattered dreams. His granddaughter Yu Sau struggles to take care of him while trying to make sense of her own life in a rapidly changing country. He speaks Cantonese, and…
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  • Unrest Quick View
    • Unrest Quick View

    • Unrest

    • by Yeng Pway Ngon   When the fervour of revolution is gone, what remains? Four leftist teenagers in 1950s Malaya dedicate themselves to overthrowing colonialism and bringing about a better world. With time, their paths diverge — into capitalism, into adultery, into the dark heart of the Cultural Revolution. Disillusioned and middle-aged, they look back at their lives from the…
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  • Exile or Pursuit Quick View
  • Lonely Face Quick View
    • Lonely Face Quick View

    • Lonely Face

    • by Yeng Pway Ngon Singapore, late 1980s. As women gain power and independence, what's an insecure guy to do? Lonely Face is the story of a man on the cusp of middle age, left behind by changing times. Fleeing his crumbling marriage on an overnight bus to Genting Highlands, he tries his luck at slot machines rather than the vagaries…
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  • The Game Hunters Quick View
    • The Game Hunters Quick View
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    • The Game Hunters

    • by Anupa Roy   A climate crisis in the Ice Age. A cold snap leads to an unrelenting glacial. For our prehistoric ancestors survival is threatened. Food gets harder to find in the frigid lands of Central Asia. Yet the tribes living near the Altai Mountains have found a refuge. A river and a lake allows some plants and trees…
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  • I Am Hua Mulan Quick View
    • I Am Hua Mulan Quick View
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    • I Am Hua Mulan

    • Original text by Qin Wenjun, Illustrations by Yu Rong, Translated by Helen Wang In my dream I am dressed as a warrior. I have long eyelashes. My hair ribbons flutter in the breeze. When I draw my dream, I see her… I see Hua Mulan. I see Hua Mulan, where the lands are gold and the skies are blue. This…
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  • Myna Bird as Free as a Cloud Quick View
    • Myna Bird as Free as a Cloud Quick View

    • Myna Bird as Free as a Cloud

    • Illustrations by Yu Rong Translated by Helen Wang A story about love and freedom narrated from the point of view of a lost myna bird which comes to human society. Beautifully illustrated book using Chinese paper cuts.     Ages:   3+ ISBN:  978-1-911221-296 Format: Paperback 216 x 216 mm Pages: 40 pp Colour Publication Date:  15 July 2023  
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  • Black Dragonfly Quick View
    • Black Dragonfly Quick View

    • Black Dragonfly

    • by Jean Pasley The year is 1890. Western influences are flooding into Japan. A nomadic Irishman arrives to record this unique culture before it vanishes. In this richly imagined novel, late nineteenth century Japan is brought vividly to life. Based on the remarkable experiences of the Irish writer, Lafcadio Hearn, and drawing on his letters, essays and books, Jean Pasley…
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  • Vacant Steppes Quick View
    • Vacant Steppes Quick View
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    • Vacant Steppes

    • by Steven Sy As a second invasion by the Empire threatens the nomads of the Great Steppe, a new generation of leaders must mend the broken alliances of their fathers or face certain destruction. Vacant Steppes is a Mongolia-inspired epic fantasy novel about inheritance, family, and leadership in times of division and war. “A gripping tale of war, legacy and…
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  • The Blood of Gutoku Quick View