Hong Kong Lit Original Short Stories

Hey everyone, and happy year of the rabbit!

We are pleased to publish three of our favorite original short stories from the ENGLA 105F class, Hong Kong Literature. This class, offered during the autumn term of 2010, allowed students to study writings in English about, by, and for Hong Kong people. After reading excerpts from noted Hong Kong writers, including Xu Xi, Andrew Parkin, and Agnes Lam, and the novel One For My Baby by Tony Parsons, our students were challenged to write their own 1,000-word original short story.

Their assignment had only one parameter: It had to have some tie to Hong Kong.  The students received instruction on how to build a narrative structure, write with imagery, and provide meaningful feedback through peer editing. The stories went through multiple edits and the works that appear here are published in their original form, without any extra teacher edits.

We will be publishing one story a week for the next two Mondays (Feb. 21 and 28) so check back soon for the next exciting story!

This week’s story is called “Fortune Dealer” by Jojo W. It opens on Valentine’s Day and features the despondent Ariel, who has just discovered her boyfriend Matthew has been cheating on her. Ariel will do anything to get him back, and a mysterious fortune dealer, Ah Mui, just might be the solution.