KUCHING – ‘A 22nd Century Au Pair’, a short story taking place in a futuristic Sarawak, written by Swinburne Sarawak senior lecturer Dr Christina Yin, has been selected as one of 20 short stories in The Best Asian Short Stories (TBASS) 2021 anthology.
Published by Singapore-based Kitaab Publications, the anthology features the fiction writing of experienced and emerging writers of Asian affiliation. The authors and the stories selected for the 5th annual edition of TBASS 2021 were unveiled on 19 September.
The broad theme for this collection is the new normal, revolving around the Covid-19 pandemic, with the inclusion of other stories set in the Asian region. The stories on the new normal theme explore how this worldwide pandemic has impinged on private lives and the public world. Dr Yin’s story is one of three selected stories by Malaysian writers.
Introducing her short story at the online event, Dr Yin described her work as speculative fiction, depicting a Domed Borneo where humans live and work in bubbles, apparently protected from the virus that still ravages the Earth. The story weaves multiple layers of meaning and experiences; the human species needing to nurture and protect those who can procreate against the myth of the orang-utan who saves the Iban people by teaching the women how to give birth naturally; the biological parents constructing an artificial planet that is intended to save the human species while an au pair raises their children in a domed world even as the real ancient Bornean rainforest beckons from far in the interior.
The new volume is now available on Kindle while the hard copies are expected to be released by early November this year.