Peter Humphreys won a 2018 PROVERSE PRIZE SUPPLEMENTARY PRIZE for his Hong Kong based novel, Hong Kong Rocks.

Humphreys has been working as a writer and editor since 2004. Currently based in Lancaster, UK, he combines his role as a freelance editor for a large educational publisher in Hong Kong with a part-time position at Lancaster University’s ‘Imagination Lab’.

Peter began writing committedly while studying for his MA in Creative Writing at Manchester Metropolitan University (2002–2004), achieving a distinction, and being awarded the Dawson Jackson Prize for his first, self-published novel, The Blaggard.

His short fiction has been published in Manchester, Hong Kong and Shanghai, while his stories and poems for young learners of English have appeared in numerous Hong Kong coursebooks and on the British Council’s “Learn English” website.

While a member and then Joint Chair of the Hong Kong Writers Circle (HKWC), Peter twice co-edited HKWC’s annual fiction anthologies and was a contributor to four of them.

The above description was provided by the writer at the time of publication.

BRIEF COMMENTS ABOUT HONG KONG ROCKS

Hong Kong Rocks is a story set in an alternative past; it is in part a whodunnit, with the who and the it constantly in doubt. At the centre is a group of middle-aged, expatriate dissolutes, who are held more or less upright, or let fall, by surer, stronger, women. Dissolution, however, has its consequences, in conflict with either the newly-introduced Deportation Act, or two cross-border goons, or both. As the tale reaches its finale, we cannot help but agree with the narrator that Hong Kong is “hotting up”.—Philip Chatting, author of The Snow Bridge and Other Stories, Winner of the Proverse Prize 2014.

Funny and twisted, in Humphreys’ spirited novel Nick and a garrulous band of expats are caught in the shifting societal landscape of Hong Kong. Nights drinking at the Brolly, missing friends, the Occupy movement, fear of deportation and the threat of discovery by Chinese agents, all loom large. As his freedom hangs on the edge of a precipice, Nick seizes on the absurdities, secrets and joys of a life lived with regret.—Maria Roberts, author of Single Mother on the Verge, Penguin.

Hong Kong Rocks encapsulates the emptiness which grips Hong Kong with refreshing wit and philosophical resignation. Humphreys has successfully created a forlorn atmosphere. A decaying urban lifestyle slowly eats the protagonists away, while entwining their lives.—James Tam, author of Man’s Last Song, Proverse Prize finalist 2011

BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO HONG KONG ROCKS

Nick Powell, arriving in Hong Kong with his soon-to-be-ex-wife Lennox, finds himself drawn into the political machinations affecting the city as the Occupy movement of 2014 takes root.

A fatal accident exposes the factions vying for control of the SAR and gives Nick the second chance desired by many Hong Kong expats. Will he make the most of the opportunity, or find himself on the wrong side of history?

Shifting between a variety of unique voices, HONG KONG ROCKS (a Hong Kong Proverse Prize finalist) is part thriller, part creative exploration of the challenges facing a special administrative region punching above its weight.

Disclaimer: Though rooted in experience and influenced by real-life events, this novel represents an alternative version of Hong Kong’s recent history and takes regular liberties within this parallel world for the benefit of satire. The book was completed after the Occupy protests of 2014 but before the escalation of protests in the territory beginning June 2019, the action taking place in a notional 2018.—Peter Humphreys, Author.

AVAILABILITY
Most Proverse Hong Kong titles can be seen and purchased at the Proverse page on the website of our Hong Kong based distributor, the Chinese University of Hong Kong Press:  https://cup.cuhk.edu.hk/Proversehk
You can also find most titles on various amazon sites as well as those of other online retailers.