Hong Kong Writers Circle

March 2025

Sam Powney, our lead editor of the anthology ‘Score‘, tells a story about a mega project of Madame President.

“Madame President promised full employment. And delivered. Her new construction projects keep us busy night and day. We follow each other nose to tail every morning, and work long shifts hauling resources for the planning committee. We’re so proud of what we’ve built, but my antennae are broken, and I ache on all six legs.”

April 2025

Jay Oatway this month shared about a man who was convinced that he still got it.

“Jumping Jack Flash

The spotlight. The crowd. With bad knees, he struts the stage—feigning youth. Rasping his once teenage rebellion through yellowed teeth, he feels the fool. The ghosts of concerts past haunt him. Too many drugs. He thought he’d have joined the 27 Club, but something went wrong. Now, his 40-year-old hit song won’t let him die.”

May 2025

This month, Julian Lyden talks about the mistreatment of some internees. If you want to know more about his writing, visit his Substack page. And, of course, subscribe.

“Internees were allowed a single personal item, but in their malice, the camp guards stole anything of monetary or sentimental value. They ignored her faded blue towel, not knowing that it contained the warmth of a hundred sunny beach days, and had once enfolded her only child, shivering from the cold water, happy and giggling.”

June 2025

Holly Sykes shared her story about the transformation of a woman via a new (old) dress.

“The mail order dress arrives in the post smelling of a perfume she wouldn’t choose for herself. Potent. Arresting. Another woman has worn the dress and returned it to the shop, unwashed. Stepping into it, she loops the straps over her shoulders. Button by button, she surrenders to its seeping possession. Tonight, she is transformed.”

July 2025

This month, Michael Clement paid tribute to fallen servicemen worldwide through his microfiction story. And, he shared his picture with all of us, credit to ChatGPT for generating the picture.

“Remembrance
An elderly man stands on Omaha Beach, gazing at the crimson sunset. He gently tosses pebbles into the sea, and with each splash, utters the name of a man he lost on D-Day. After the sun sets, a young soldier in fatigues approaches, stands beside him, and softly says, “Thank you for remembering us, Sergeant.””

August 2025

This month we have a tie. First, Sam Powney discovered a genie who had an exceptional marketing knowledge.

“‘Can I wish for anything?’ I asked the genie, smoke still hanging in the air.

He grinned. ‘I can offer you numerous deliverables and value-added services tailored to your unique requirements, allowing you to gain deep traction in your target areas, penetrate new markets, and achieve long-term customer stickiness.’

‘Back in your lamp!’ I roared.”

Second, we have Jonathan Han telling us a good man is really hard to find.

“A good man is hard to find. That I’ve always known. But I tell you: it’s impossible to find a bad one these days. I don’t mean a druggie. Or a lunatic. I mean a real evil son-of-a-bitch. Someone I can trust to shoot this bastard of a husband and not ask me why.”

September 2025

Reena Bhojwani told us about a puppet that was getting free from the puppeteer. Oh, don’t forget to check out her website, too.

“Snip!

The fibre tears me from the puppeteer. Violent tremors shudder through me. I look at my hand—a doll’s hand—without its master. Free. I look at my leg, willing it to move. I sit up. There is no tug on my pelvis, no pull from above. Only a quiet push from the giant within.”

October 2025

This month, we have a Halloween special, in which members wrote their stories based on a Halloween theme. Holly Sykes, this month, has shown how much she ‘loves’ Halloween. Oh, have we mentioned she started her Substack? Check her out here.

“She hated Halloween. Grasping kids in shop-bought costumes, made demented by Haribo overload. This year, she wouldn’t indulge the DB mob. Paper her flat, chuck eggs at her window. Bring it on. She’d collected enough fenny snakes and dogs’ tongues. She even had a pilot’s thumb. She was ready. ‘Double, double toil and trouble…’”

November 2025

Martin Wray just found out that we all hate daylight saving time. In the reading group, he successfully partitioned the abolition of DST. If you are interested in more of his work, check it out here.

“The Abolition of DST

I don’t like Mondays.
DST exacerbates circadian misalignment already impaired by a weekend of late nights and lay-ins. DST is statistically correlated with elevated blood pressure and cardiovascular events. And man does it do a number on cognitive ability, forget seasonal affective disorder, we are talking proper depression. It’s time to ban Daylight Saving Time.”

December 2025

Last Christmas, I gave you my heart… okay, the Chairperson promises to stop. We have a theme to celebrate this festive month: Last Christmas and the Very Next Day. Member Holly Sykes warns us about what we did last Christmas. Oh, check out her Substack and subscribe here.

“A Warning

Through the shower steam he sees words emerge in the mirror: ‘last Christmas’. Obviously his housemates are still bitter about his hilarious but abject humiliation of them a year ago. Idiots. He can’t wait to graduate and get out of here. Drying off, he leaves the bathroom as the last two words materialise: ‘Enjoy your….’”