Chet’s Chatter

Kam in Penang

Posted on 3 June 2007 @ 04:00 in People

k.kim has some great pictures of Kam Raslan’s reading at Borders Queensbay in Penang on 20 May 2007.

Confessions of Kam Raslan

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Simple’s all I can do

Posted on 28 May 2007 @ 20:33 in People

This will have to do for now. It’s temporary until the real thing is done and goes up (real soon, I hope).

What am I talking about? A simple web presence for Kam Raslan and his Dato’ Hamid.

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Kam in Penang

Posted on 18 May 2007 @ 14:11 in Books, People

Kam Raslan, author of Confessions of an Old Boy: The Dato’ Hamid Adventures, will be reading at Borders in Queensbay, Penang this Sunday, 20 May 2007, at 3:00 p.m.

The announcement below was put up by Penang blogger k.kim (thanks, kim!) in the “What’s Up” column in Star Metro North on 15 May 2007:

Click here for the original “What’s Up” column page.

Kam’s appearance in Penang this Sunday is part of a series of readings he’s doing in various Borders outlets around the country. He read at Borders Times Square on Sunday, 13 May 2007, and will be reading at Borders The Curve next Sunday, 27 May 2007.

Kam is the second Malaysian author to be featured in Borders bookstores. Dina Zaman had previously read at Borders The Curve on 5 May and Borders Times Square on 12 May.

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Kam @ Kino

Posted on 5 May 2007 @ 05:48 in Books, People

Kam Raslan has done numerous readings in public before, but yesterday evening at Kinokuniya was his first outing as the author of Confessions of an Old Boy: The Dato’ Hamid Adventures. With book in hand, no less. And altho it wasn’t billed as such, the occasion felt like a launch of the book. And altho it wasn’t by invitation, the occasion had the air of a private celebration attended by good friends and well-wishers, including Jit Murad and Patrick Teoh (those were the only two faces I could put names to).

In addition to reading excerpts from the book (including from “The Beat Generation” and “Ariff and Capitalism”), Kam also shared about the writing process and how Dato’ Hamid was born. He took questions from the audience - someone asked about his next book, while another wanted to know if he learned anything about himself in the process of writing about Dato’ Hamid ( “I learned what a procrastinator I am” - the seven chapters had taken him seven years to write); there was also the inevitable question about the state of Malaysian literature. One of the things Kam said he would like to do in his next book - a continuation of the Dato’ Hamid story, possibly an epic - would be to focus more on the Dato’s adventures within Malaysia.

If the Kino reading was meant to help push sales of the book, then it failed, mainly because there is no need to - the book has been selling very well, and in fact, according to Christine, a representative of Marshall Cavendish present at the reading, “there is no more stock in the warehouse, and we are thinking of reprinting the book.” The excellent sales of the book, along with those of other recently published Malaysian books like Dina Zaman’s I Am Muslim and Lydia Teh’s Honk! If You’re Malaysian, point to a growing market and appreciation for books by Malaysian writers, one that would hopefully be satisfied by more of the same in the future.

Kam’s first public reading of Confessions of an Old Boy attracted no less than 50 attendees, according to a head count conducted by the Madcap Machinist. His next reading will be on 27 May 2007 at Borders The Curve.

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Author Alert

Posted on 20 April 2007 @ 08:01 in People, Writing

Malaysian writer Kam Raslan will be appearing on RedFM’s morning show with Nell Ng & David Chew between 8:00 and 9:00 a.m. on Monday, 23 April 2007.

Kam will be talking about his new book, Confessions of an Old Boy: The Dato’ Hamid Adventures.

The book, now available at major bookstores in KL and PJ, recounts the (mis)adventures of Dato’ Hamid …

The old boy and civil servant who’s been everywhere and seen it all (even though he never wanted to). Here he ’spills the beans’ on his adventures dating back to the 1940s, from Kuala Lumpur to Monte Carlo, Los Angeles to Algiers, London to Temerloh Rest House and much more.

Back Cover Blurb excerpt
Confessions of an Old Boy: The Dato’ Hamid Adventures

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