Sheung-King, Aaron Tang’s second novel, Batsh!t Seven, is set in contemporary Hong Kong. B7 examines Hong Kong’s post-colonial condition, the datafication of human behaviour, Western imperialism, nationalism and hypercapitalism. Glue (Glen Wu) has a visceral response to all of these things. Glue is constipated.

Glue was an international student who had studied in Canada. Glue’s visa expired. Glue has a drama degree. Glue is without a stable job. But Glue was trained in progressive pedagogy. But English language schools are scams. But Glue has a mortgage. But Glue dropped out of graduate school. But Glue becomes an ESL instructor anyway. But Glue has a drinking problem. But Glue meets May. May works in crypto. May is living in Hong Kong using someone else’s identity.

Excerpts from Batshit Seven: July has Nothing to do with Gods, can be found on Fatal Flaw, Vol.3: (Un)Confined, Ocean $hit can be found on Singapore (Un)bound, and In July We Are All Children, is published in issue #76 of Filling Station. All the Umbrellas Left Behind will be presented at the ADA-DADA Artist Residency Exhibition and Conversation hosted by SAVAC.

The Artist

Sheung-King, Aaron Tang is a writer and educator. His debut novel, You are Eating an Orange. You are Naked, is a finalist for the 2021 Amazon Canada First Novel Award, longlisted for Canada Reads 2021 and named one of the best book debuts of 2020 by the Globe and Mail. His writing has appeared in PRISM International, Puritan Magazine, the Shanghai Literary Review, amongst others. His recent work, July has Nothing to do with Gods, and Ocean $hit, chapters from his next novel, Batsh!t Seven, examines how technology changes the stories we tell ourselves to interpret our realities.

Sheung-King holds an MFA in creative writing from the University of Guelph. He taught creative writing, communications, and cultural studies at the University of Guelph, Sheridan College, and the Humber College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning. He is currently a creative writing coach at Avenues Shenzhen, where he is facilitating academic programs that combine literature, studio work, and hardware design, to nurture socially aware inventors of the future.