I wrote for @mekongreview.com about the time Air India gifted Dali a baby elephant, which the artist pledged to ride across the Alps like Hannibal, a plan that was almost immediately abandoned when he realised that owning an elephant sucks mekongreview.com/takeoff-and-...

Our May–July 2026 issue is now available online! If you subscribe to our newsletter, you should have received the email announcement that you can use as a digital contents page: preview.mailerlite.io/preview/2318...

"Ocean, as Much as Rain" [...] is essential reading for all Tibetans and for anyone who wants to understand what it means to live under colonial occupation. Read Bhuchung D. Sonam's review in @mekongreview.com mekongreview.com/writing-back/ @woeser.bsky.social @dukepress.bsky.social

Here’s a bit more background on how Reyshimar rendered such a beautiful cover for us @mekongreview.com

One of the perks of my job as @mekongreview.com's editor is that I get the first peek at the cover art for every issue. So glad to have the opportunity to work with Asian artists on our covers and showcase their work!

Notes from Reyshimar Arguelles (@reyshist) on his process of illustrating our May–April 2026 cover 😍

I was really into Disney films as a kid and shed many tears watching Bambi and never knew the story of Tyrus Wong, the Chinese American artist who was the lead production illustrator.

Artist Tyrus Wong’s extraordinary 106 years on earth, told in meticulous detail by Karen Fang, is a story of resilience and triumph. Read the review by Frankie Huang 黄碧赤 at mekongreview.com/i-a...

Our May–July 2026 issue has been added to our online store! If you'd like to order a print copy (or even more than one!) head over to ko-fi.com/mekongrevi...

Sri Lanka’s railways aren’t just conveyances with spectacular views; they’re also an integral part of the country’s story. Read here: mekongreview.com/the...

"There’s poignancy in the idea of artistic ambition sacrificed for something as fundamental as war—of trading words for bullets." Read Oliver Raw's review of Frontline Poets: mekongreview.com/tra...

Latest literary venture by Minh Bui Jones (founding editor before this of @thediplomat.com & @mekongreview.com as well as publisher of Bui Jones Books), a Granta-style magazine focused on Southeast Asia, should be special like everything he does buijones.com/books/yellow/

For more than 60 years, Parsiana carried the stories, debates, and perspectives of the Parsi community. But with an ageing team and a dwindling community, the magazine printed its final issue in October 2025. Read more about Parsiana: mekongreview.com/the...

Censorship is common in Kashmir, but people find ways to read what the authorities say they shouldn't. In our February 2026 issue, Adil Amin Akhoon takes a look at how readers persist even as the government orders titles off shelves. Read here: mekongreview.com/qui...

Since our first Writers' Room event is about music, we've put together a playlist for it! Check it out here: youtube.com/playlist... It's not too late to register for the session: subscribepage.io/MRw...

Our May–July 2026 issue is in the works and will soon be off to the printers! Make sure you're on our mailing list by getting your subscription to Mekong Review by the end of this week: mekongreview.com/sub...

As commercially successful international music gets adopted and integrated locally, how does the fusion of new musical influences still authentically reflect local communities and their culture? We tackle this question and more at our first-ever Writers Room! RSVP here: subscribepage.io/MRw...

New event! 📆12th April 🕕6pm Singapore time @mekongreview.com hold their 1st "Writers Room" discussion session online, feat @kirstenhan.com, Pippo Carmona & Ilya Katrinnada, they'll be discussing the topic What makes music ‘national’ or representative of a community? subscribepage.io/MRwritersroom

Writers' Room is a new virtual series where, every quarter, we invite Mekong Review contributors to discuss their work, making connections and drawing parallels across Asia. RSVP for our kickoff event about 'national' music, culture, and community: subscribepage.io/MRw...

Highlighting some free-to-read pieces from @mekongreview.com’s latest issue (February 2026): First up, Aung Naing Soe on ground sentiment of the election that the Myanmar military forced through in December/January. mekongreview.com/the-unwanted...

Another free-to-read piece from @mekongreview.com's February issue: @calumstuart.bsky.social's interview with Fred Chin and the horrific experience of being a political prisoner during Taiwan's White Terror era: mekongreview.com/cautionary-t...

Free-to-read from @mekongreview.com's February 2026 issue! Nathalie Chi on the scapegoating of bamboo scaffolding in Hong Kong's Tai Po fire, and how international media outlets that adopted that framing were letting the authorities off the hook too easily: mekongreview.com/cultural-mis...

A new web-only piece on Mekong Review: a short comic by C.S. Bhagya on the lived realities of daily commuting in Bangalore (officially, Bengaluru). Read it here: mekongreview.com/the...

One more friendly nudge! #asianliterature

I somehow wrote a book review during the first two months of my baby’s life. I am pleased to share my debut in @mekongreview.com, a piece which examines how the life of one immigrant ancestor is remembered and celebrated, but also how we might criticize his choices in the name of survival. (1/)

The new issue of @mekongreview.com has a bunch of sound and music stuff, including this lovely piece about street cries in Vietnam, which happens to be open-access. By Phạm Thu Trang. mekongreview.com/street-cries/

The story of a Malaysian student who was imprisoned in Taiwan for 12 years on false charges during the White Terror period [Warning: descriptions of torture] mekongreview.com/cautionary-t...

Thank you! 🙏🏼

If you read @mekongreview.com—even if it's just picking up an issue from time to time when you see it in a bookstore or browse our website—please take a moment to fill in our reader survey. tinyurl.com/MR2026survey

Reader surveys are important and useful because they allow us to get a better sense of who our readers and subscribers are, what draws people to Mekong Review, and what our community is most interested in reading and learning about. Take the survey now: tinyurl.com/MR2026su...

Our February–April 2026 issue is now available online! Check it out... or better yet, subscribe and never miss an issue: mekongreview.com/sub...

Ngiam Li Yi, who illustrated our February–April 2026, shares a little of the process. Subscribe to Mekong Review: mekongreview.com/sub...

We're pleased to share that our February–April 2026 issue is now available! You can order a copy from our online Ko-Fi shop: ko-fi.com/mekongrevi... (And perhaps consider subscribing annually, too!)

I was really glad for the opportunity to interview Hakamata Hideko. It's not at all easy to have to fight for a loved one on death row, and she stuck with it for such a long, long time.

In our November 2025 issue, we interviewed Hakamata Hideko about her decades-long fight for her brother Iwao—likely the world's longest-serving death row prisoner, finally fully acquitted of murder in Japan in 2024. Read more: mekongreview.com/bri...

Our February 2026 issue is in the works! Subscribe by 10 January 2026 to make sure you're on the mailing list. Subscribe now: mekongreview.com/sub... Print subscriptions that come in after 10 January will start with the May 2026 issue.

A very happy new year, one and all! 🎉

Picture this memento of Mekong Review history, one of our rare print covers, adorning your wall. Erica Eng's paintings could be the missing piece that elevates your artful home in 2026. There are only a few original works available on our online shop: ko-fi.com/mekongrevi...

Bring a unique piece of Mekong Review history home with you this year! There's still time to support us by purchasing an original watercolour painting of one of our print issue covers by Erica Eng : ko-fi.com/mekongrevi.... A heartfelt thanks from us to you, this holiday season.

Looking for a special gift for a loved one--or yourself--this holiday season? How about choosing one of Erica Eng's beautiful watercolour paintings on our online shop: ko-fi.com/mekongrevi.... Purchasine each art piece is also a meaningful contribution to Mekong Review's year-end push!

Playing with nationalism is to take part in a risky game. A reflection by Peixuan Xie, prompted by Thai–Cambodian tensions earlier this year, before conflict flared up again. Read here: mekongreview.com/del... Subscribe: mekongreview.com/sub...

Last few days to access this discount subscription to the excellent @mekongreview.com

@mekongreview.com 's tenth anniversary issue just dropped, including my interview with @trinhhuulong.bsky.social on how he built a library-in-exile of Vietnam's banned books. Read it now! And if you don't have a subscription to Mekong Review--I highly recommend it! mekongreview.com/the-libraria...

Celebrate 10 years of inspirational Asian literature by supporting us with an annual subscription! The code MR10 is valid until November 30 so act fast. mekongreview.com/sub...

It has long been a dream of mine to write something for @mekongreview.com, one of my favorite magazines. So I'm proud to announce that my interview with the brilliant Vietnamese journalist @trinhhuulong.bsky.social will be coming out very soon in Mekong Review's upcoming issue! mekongreview.com

I absolutely love our tenth anniversary cover, beautifully illustrated by @badiucao.bsky.social, paying homage to the Gen Z protesters across Asia and the way they’ve embraced One Piece as a symbol of their determination for freedom and resistance 💪🏼

Really looking forward to everyone reading our tenth anniversary edition! It’ll be with our stockists in November, and is already at the Ubud Writers & Readers Festival bookstore 🤩🤩🤩

Thanks to Pandan Weekly for publishing this ‘Writer’s Cut’ version of an essay that first appeared in @mekongreview.com For me, this is a story that will never get old. In these past couple of years, as bombs have rained down on Gaza and Ukraine, I have, alas, often thought of the Peace Plane.

Please run, don’t walk! mekongreview.com/subscribe

We're compiling our mailing list for the next issue on 13 October—if you'd like your subscription to start with the November 2025 issue, remember to subscribe to Mekong Review before this weekend! (And remember our discount code!) mekongreview.com/sub...