Japan's Kanji of the Year 2012

The Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation has announced the kanji of the year 2012 is gold (金) on December 12, 2012. How do netizens conceive this announcement and how do they look back this year?

New GV e-book: African Voices of Hope and Change

"African Voices of Hope and Change," gives you an intimate perspective into the stories and people of Africa's Sub-Saharan region, through our best English-language posts from 2012 - a perfect gift to salute the new year.

MENA: Acclaimed Authors’ Favorites of 2012

M. Lynx Qualey, blogger, who is interested in Arab and Arabic literature, wrote a series of posts introducing acclaimed Arab poets, novelists, and short-story writers’ favorite Arab reads of 2012. She started with a list of nonfiction books, then followed by a list for poetry [En] and fiction [En].

Kenya: Teaching Ethnic Tolerance Through Science Fiction

Kenyan children are taught ethnic tolerance through science fiction: “Attack of the Shidas:AKAs Save the Planet” is the story of three communities who live in a desert town which depends on a lone borehole for all their water. But the people are threatened when they discover that the water is...

Tocqueville French Revolution Classic on China's Bestsellers List

Thanks to China's top officials, French historian Alexis de Tocqueville’s "The Old Regime and the Revolution”, a 19th-century classic about the French revolution, has become a best seller in China.

Tajiks and Uzbeks Disagree on Birthplace of Poet

The dispute over the birthplace of the Poet Rudaki [whom both Uzbekistan and Tajikistan claim "as one of their own"] is heating up and may soon lead to wine-throwing and fist-fights...

Netizens “Bow Farewell” to Guyanese Writer Jan Carew

Guyanese writer Jan Carew passed away at his home in Louisville, Kentucky on December 5th. One of the most prominent West Indian writers of his generation, Carew was a poet, playwright, novelist and scholar, best known for his 1958 novel “Black Midas” and his 1964 polemic “Moscow Is Not My Mecca”. Caribbean netizens pay their respects.

Interview with Chanphal Sok: Cambodian Writer and Songwriter

Global Voices interviews Chanphal Sok,one of Cambodia's famous contemporary songwriters. Also a prolific blogger, Chanphal has published several books in the internet. Chanphal discusses the state of book publishing in Cambodia as well as the prospect of online publishing in the next few years.

The Very Different Fates of Two Chinese Nobel Prize Winners

This year's winner of the Nobel Prize in literature, Mo Yan, has travelled to Stockholm to receive his prize. However in contrast, the 2010 Nobel Prize in Peace winner, Liu Xiaobo, is still in prison in China and his wife Liu Xia under house arrest.