Myriad acquires Chiew's debut short story collection

Myriad has acquired world rights to Elaine Chiew's debut collection of short stories, The Heartsick Diaspora.

Publishing director Candida Lacey bought the rights directly from the author and Myriad plans to publish in January 2020.

The stories are set in Hong Kong, Florida, New York, London, Ipoh and Singapore, examining what it means to be Chinese or Asian "within the context of dual, or hyphenated identities". Short story The Heartsick Diaspora was a runner-up for this year's Bridport Prize.

Chiew is a writer, visual arts researcher and editor of Cooked Up: Food Fiction From Around the World (New Internationalist, 2015). Twice winner of the Bridport Short Story Competition, she has published stories in UK, US and Singapore anthologies.

Lacey said: "Elaine Chiew drills below the surface of her characters’ circumstances with exemplary narrative skill and subtlety. Her stories are as varied, worldly and emotionally resonant as the characters themselves. This is a fabulous debut collection and heralds an exciting new literary talent."