ESEA Heritage Month: ESEA Stories

Representation of East and South East (ESEA) people on screen, in literature and beyond has not always been the best – often with quite negative tropes and harmful stereotypes being depicted. We dive into this more in our ESEA heritage in-house session.

However, fortunately, in recent years we have begun to see more authentic representation – with ESEA narratives being told by ESEA creatives across mediums. So I wanted to take the opportunity during ESEA Heritage Month this September, to share some of my favourites with you.

Hopefully you’ll be able to access a lot of the below recommendations through your local library, streaming services and through the links provided. But where you can, it’s also important to support these ESEA authors, films, community organisations, etc., so that more of this great work can continue!

This is of course not an exhaustive list of books & films by ESEA authors – just some recommendations from myself, friends and other Inclusive Employers colleagues!

To read

East Side Voices: essays celebrating East and Southeast Asian Identity (2022)

Non-fiction anthology 

I was so excited for this publication that I went along to a launch event for it last year. I haven’t always felt that there were spaces for me as Mixed East Asian woman, so seeing essay contributions in this anthology by Mixed ESEA writers was truly incredible. I was particularly drawn to pieces by Naomi Shimada and Claire Kohda who both wrote about their relationship with her grandmother.

Takeaway: Stories from a childhood behind the counter – Angela Hui (2023)

Non-fiction memoir 

Wandering Souls – Cecile Pin (2023)

Contemporary fiction, historical 

This follows 3 Vietnamese siblings who are refugees as they navigate their way from Vietnam to Thatcher’s Britain, through Hong Kong. This book helped me learn more about this aspect of history that I personally didn’t know more about, and one I really recommend expanding our own learning with. It has also been longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2023.

Yellowface – Rebecca F Kuang (2023)

Contemporary fiction, satire

You might have heard of this one already as R.F Kuang is a big name in the world of writing. This is a great psychological satire that explores notions of racial identity particularly within storytelling and the publishing industry.

Ghost Girl, Banana – Wiz Wharton (2023)

Contemporary Fiction, mystery

I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki – Baek Sehee (author), Anton Hur (translator) (2022)

Non-fiction memoir, mental health 

Woman, Eating – Claire Kohda (2022)

Contemporary fiction, sci-fi

If You Still Recognise Me – Cynthia So (2022)

Young Adult

The Cats We Meet Along the Way – Nadia Mikail (2022)

Young Adult

This is one I picked up from my local library and really enjoyed over a weekend. It took me on a road trip across Malaysia whilst exploring family dynamics, coming to terms with the present and hoping for a future amidst the end of the world.

Eyes that Kiss in the Corners – Joanna Ho (2021)

Early years picture book

Happy Families – Julie Ma (2021)

Contemporary Fiction 

Front Desk – Kelly Yang (2019)

Middle-grade 

In the Country: Stories – Mia Alvar (2015)

Fiction, short stories