Books on Demands

The House of Hong Kong Literature Limited

Founded at Wanchai’s Foo Tak Building in 2014, The House of Hong Kong Literature is the largest literary organisation in Hong Kong. Made up of a group of writers, scholars, artists and media professionals, the organisation is committed to bring about changes to the local literary landscape and community through education, literary curation and cross-disciplinary collaborations. It also manages the online literary platform, p-articles, and publishes the monthly literary magazine, formless. In 2015 and 2019, the Hong Kong Literature Season presented by the House of Literature had won the Award for Arts Promotion in the annual Hong Kong Arts Development Awards. Our writers have participated in the International Writing Program hosted by the University of Iowa and been frequently invited to both international and local literary events. The organisation’s partners include the Hong Kong Jockey Club, the Hong Kong Arts Development Council, West Kowloon Cultural District and the Robert H.N. Ho Family Foundation.

Door-to-door delivery of personalised literature collections

Literature has been known for its power to reflect upon reality and to offer solace and food for thought. According to a 2009 survey conducted by the University of Sussex, reading for 6 minutes will help reduce mental stress by 68%. Therefore, reading literature can be a timely and beneficial past time during the pandemic. However, in a recent survey on Hong Kong People’s Reading Habits released by the Hong Kong Publishing Professionals Society, 11% of the respondents expressed that “the failure to find materials suited to one’s interests” as the main reason for not reading.

The “Books on Demands” project collects information about participants, including their reading preferences, experiences, interests and expectations etc. through online questionnaires. After collecting the data of participants, a committee formed by book reviewers, writers, and publishers will select suitable books for the participants. Next, the programme and its partner bookstores will send the books directly to the participants’ homes, saving them from the chores of choosing the right books and commuting to bookstores during the pandemic.

In addition, the project invites writers, artists, musicians or other participants from different disciplines to read excerpts from classic novels, prose, or poems. These will be made into 10 videos and recordings enhanced with music and illustrations to be uploaded once every two weeks onto social media platforms for easy access by the public. At the same time, the project will also invite participants to participate in livestream interviews to share their reading experiences.

The presenter believes that the joy of reading should not be limited by an individual’s circumstances. Therefore, the subscription fee will be used to subsidise the disadvantaged groups and students from grassroots. We hope everyone in society, even the one with financial difficulties, can still enjoy the pleasure of arts during these hard times.

【Project has completed】