Hong Kong publisher releases last of Chinese zodiac-themed children’s books – in time for Year of the Pig
- With Ping Pong Pig, Sarah Brennan, a Hong Kong author and small publisher, completes a charming series of children’s books with a Chinese twist
- The books are illustrated by the Post’s Harry Harrison
Should she ever decide to write her own tale, it would surely star Single-minded Sarah. For Brennan, the concept of the half-measure is an alien one. Her press release to Post Magazine about Ping Pong’s debut stated unequivocally: Important Hong Kong publishing phenomenon. Her blog is peppered with exclamation marks and fabulous doings. These merely hint at the full-on, indefatigable personality.
“I discovered I had a head for PR!” she says, cheerfully, one recent morning in a small Fo Tan industrial space crammed with boxes of books. “I love talking to the press. I love meeting the customers! If you want to publish for yourself, you have to be able to self-promote. I do remember – it was pretty horrifying – when an agent in London said to me, ‘Thank goodness you’re reasonable-looking because otherwise we wouldn’t be able to take you on.’ You can’t be a shy, wilting author any more!”
Crouched on the floor behind us, Annabel – one of Brennan’s two daughters – and Annabel’s friend, Leah, are assembling boxed sets of the Chinese Calendar Tales. Now that the zodiac’s dozen animals have been completed, a new sales opportunity has presented itself. Brennan examines one set, checking all 12 spines are exactly aligned to create the red dragon that is her business logo.
“Printers’ tolerance,” she explains of the slight variations that printers permit themselves but which can make a perfectionist publisher’s life difficult. As we’re talking, she produces a black felt-tip pen and begins applying it to her leg so it looks, for a confused moment, as if she’s editing herself. In fact she’s disguising pale spots on her dark leggings, a result of bleach-splashes from the industrial-level cleaning she did in preparation for this interview. When you’re a small publisher in Hong Kong, you have to turn your hand to all sorts of things.
“I’m a Rat,” she says. “Driven. Ambitious. Have to keep moving. If I’ve got nothing to do, if I’m at an impasse, I can get really ratty. The thing I’ve found in this business is that if one door closes you make another door open. You have got to go on and on and on.”
