Salina Christmas

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IABF 2025 book talk: Monsters as metaphor

I’ll be giving a talk, “Monsters as metaphor. A discussion on grotesque creatures as a device in storytelling” at Ipoh Alternative Book Fest (IABF) 2025 on Saturday, 3 May 2025. It’s part of a two-day book event that runs from 3 to 4 May 2025 at Moody Cafe, Ipoh.

Ipoh is the capital of Perak, a northern state in Peninsula Malaysia that has produced so many outstanding Malaysian authors and filmmakers. The Ipoh Alternative Book Fest 2025 is jointly organised by literary collectives Projek Rabak, Projek Rebel and Moody Café.

The event will showcase 26 authors, poets and artists, and 16 publishers and cultural organisations from the private and public sectors. Story Of Books, my publisher, is one of the 16 publishers.

About the talk

  • Talk: “Monsters as metaphor. A discussion on grotesque creatures as a device in storytelling.”
  • Moderator: Zarina Holmes
  • Author: Salina Christmas
  • Event: Ipoh Alternative Book Fest
    Venue: Moody Café, 15, Jalan Raja Musa Aziz, Taman Jubilee, 30300 Ipoh, Perak
    Date & time: Saturday 3 May, 12 pm-1 pm

    “Monsters have been used as metaphors and symbols since the beginning of time. In folklore and myths, they function as both protective and destructive characters. Salina Christmas, author and anthropologist, talks about the monsters she creates to broach complex topics such as the transmission of generational identity and trauma.”

This marks the beginning of my 2025 book tour. I’m grateful to have made it this far with my two books. Thank you so much to my dear readers and friends who have supported my journey. If you can make it to IABF 2025, see you there.

For event info, follow Ipoh Alternative Book Fest.

The author at Kew Gardens, London, UK, with the very first of The Constant Companion Tales series, The Red-Haired Gurkhas. The series has produced two paperbacks, with more in the pipeline. Author’s portrait by Zarina Holmes Photography.

The Keeper Of My Kin (Parts 1, 2 and 3) and A Request For Betrayal (Parts 5 and 6) are available at Eslite Bookstore, The Starhill, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for the Malaysian readers. Distributed by Gerakbudaya.

The books are also available at major bookstores worldwide in Europe, North America and Asia (including Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore) via Amazon. The ebook series, which also include Part 6, The Devil from the Deep, is available on Amazon Kindle.

See our list of book retailers worldwide.