Juniper by the Sea ESEA Bookshop

Happy lunar new year to all who celebrate it. I used to approach this time of year with mild apprehension, because I didn’t come from a household with a tradition of doing anything special. I’d get nervous when ESEA folks shared their experiences with me expecting me to relate, or non-ESEA folks asking me what I was going to do. There was a self-imposed fear of disappointing all of them if they knew the truth - that I didn’t do much and only superficially knew about what it involved. I mean, what kind of Chinese am I if I don’t know how to do Chinese New Year?! There are so many wide-ranging experiences, including the act of not-celebrating. Some of us might centre heritage and tradition as a big part of our identity - particularly when it still feels joyously radical to openly celebrate the very practices that historically (and sometimes presently) ‘other’ us. But where family and community may not be a positive or even neutral thing, it can be painful and confusing, a ripe opportunity for imposter syndrome to rear its head. Since the emergence of the ESEA community as a collective, I like to use this occasion to acknowledge the richness of the diaspora, like the range of feelings around new year. I personally enjoy using the term lunar new year rather than Chinese new year when in the bookshop, as it gives me room to acknowledge that more than one ESEA culture celebrates lunar new year (I’m aware that technically it’s based on a lunisolar calendar, but I’m happy to keep using ‘lunar’). My own British Chinese experiences are after all intricately woven with my existence within a broader ESEA diaspora. At a time when being Chinese is currently trending, I want to share these brilliant non-fiction ESEA reads published in the UK in 2025. I’ve been offline and on reduced activity for over a year now due to illness (I sincerely apologise to all the people whose messages I haven’t replied to) but my enthusiasm for this space has not diminished. Go celebrate the new year by picking up one or all of these excellent books. 🧧 #eseabooks #eseareads #lunarnewyear

Instead of a pop-up bookshop for LNY this month, I spent my free time on a different but very meaningful ESEA project - we made a magazine-anthology called Golden, and you’re all invited to its launch in London this Sat Feb 28th 3-5pm!   Last year @cheevil told me her vision of making an annual to celebrate and document the ESEA community in the UK. I was really excited when I heard this because I think we have so much to discover and celebrate about each other. For a long time I consumed content coming from our Asian American counterparts, which was eye-opening and comforting - the shared culture and experiences of being Asian, and of being Asian in a Western country. A small part of me always wondered, what did that look like for those of us based here? How similar (or not) are we as Brits/in Britain in relation to our Asian American cousins across the pond?   Our ESEA community here is so precious, and I mean community in the broadest sense, including those who don’t have access to all the ESEA groups and activities seen on social media. This commitment to platform British ESEA drove me to join @cheevil from @milkteafilms and @junkitman from @resonatevoices on this ambitious project to make something for the community, from the community. So together with over 50 ESEA contributors from around the UK, we present to you our first volume of Golden!   Golden is a hardback magazine spanning over 200 pages (!!) of original and commissioned pieces in fiction, poetry, interviews, essays, feature articles, photography and art. Subjects range from the 50th anniversary of the end of the war in Vietnam, to the invisibility of brown-ness in ESEA; on the rise of ube and kape culture, to reflection (and a recipe) on the Koryo Saram dish morkovcha; from ESEA solidarity with Palestine, to the role of artists in fascism. This is a breathtaking volume of work, straight from the community, and it’s a non-profit production.   I’m truly proud of the work we’ve done. So come support us by attending our launch party this Saturday. For the price of a copy (£30) you can pick up Golden AND enjoy some drinks with us to celebrate this momentous occasion. Booking link in bio! #esea

“Chinese Whispers: The true story behind Britain’s hidden army of labour” by journalist Hsiao-Hung Pai is a book that’s at the heart of the bookshop, and a core reason for why the bookshop exists in the first place. Read the post to find out why. Having sold almost all the copies I have at recent book fairs, I only have a few left before I order more to get printed. If you are kindly considering purchasing this book through the bookshop, once I’ve sold out of my existing copies I will move it to a ‘pre-order’ status, and any orders coming through as a pre-order will help me figure out how many to get printed. This book is at the core of the bookshop’s mission, so I will be sharing and posting about it again in the future. Content warnings in the comments #hsiaohungpai #chinesewhispers #eseabooks #eseareads #britishchinese

“This is my ‘calling card’ to say that there are people standing with these causes.” ✊ @penonlee is using his art to bridge the gap between #ESEA identity and global solidarity. Read about his work and 5 other artists in Part 2 of our “Illustrating Golden” series.

Redrawing a single line five times until it’s perfect. ✍️📱 That’s the level of obsession @jasonlyon_ brings to his work. In Part 1 of our exhibition profile, we go behind the scenes with five ESEA creatives to talk about their “safe havens,” their “Tradigital” techniques, and their journeys to the gallery walls of Picturehouse Hackney. Don’t miss the launch this Saturday! [link in stories]

Meet the artists behind the pages. @milkteafilms new exhibition at Picturehouse Hackney brings the illustrations from Golden Vol. 1 to the gallery walls. From @milly_of_bunston Camille Whitcher’s pencil drawings to @daryl_rainbow Daryl Rainbow’s bold styles, there is so much to see. Check out the full list of 15 artists and book your free visit via the link in our stories or @milkteafilms

We had an incredible time at our community preview of ARCO on Saturday, but the festivities aren't over yet 🤭 To celebrate ARCO's incredible colours and artistry 🌈 as well as @ugobienvenu 's incredible work across animation and illustration, we’re showcasing illustrations by talented ESEA artists from our community in a special exhibition at Hackney Picturehouse. The featured works appear in the latest edition of Golden, MilkTea’s highly popular annual hardback magazine created by and for ESEA communities. Join us for a celebratory drinks reception at the Attic Bar @hackneypicturehouse on Saturday, March 21 from 2-4PM to launch the exhibition! 💫 Tickets are free and include a complimentary drink. Plus, anyone who books is automatically in with the chance of winning a special edition ARCO goody bag ( including @ugobienvenu System Preference, kindly provided by @titancomics ) to be collected on the day of the event. Head to the link in our bio to secure your spots now! And don't forget, ARCO is in cinemas from this Friday, March 20! @picentfilms

We didn’t expect this. Our first print run of Golden has officially sold out. Bringing together the ESEA creative community to create something physical for our thoughts and reflections has grown into something much bigger than we imagined. Thank you to everyone who bought a copy, shared it, or supported the project. It means more than we can say. Because so many people asked if there would be another chance, we’ve decided to do one more print run. Pre-orders are now open. This run is smaller than the first, so there’s a slight uplift in cost but we’ve kept it as low as possible. Reserve your copy now for £35, link is in the bio. When it arrives from the press in April, we’ll be in touch to organise collection or delivery. Thank you for helping us grow Golden ✨

“We wanted to show the world a vision of not just excellence and visibility but also plentitude and abundance.” Last Saturday at @picturehousecentral , we launched Golden. It is a chunky, high-end hardback designed to be a permanent record for the British ESEA community. From the 50th anniversary of the Fall of Saigon to the joy of K-Pop, this volume moves beyond the silent monolith. Be part of the movement. See @milkteafilms bio to purchase your copy of the annual. #Golden #ESEA

Our hearts are Golden. ✨ The joy in the room on Saturday was palpable, it felt like Christmas morning all over again 🎁 The crackle of film as books were unwrapped. Gasps of delight and surprise as people saw their own pieces — and each other’s — in print. New connections sparked. Longstanding collaborations deepened. Golden is a beautiful hardback filled with luminous words and embroidered with striking images. Over 230 pages shaped by the hands of more than 50 ESEA contributors. Our stories. Our thoughts. Our frailties and our strengths. Our hopes and fears of being ESEA today. Golden became what it is because we wanted to offer the world a vision not only of excellence and visibility but of plentitude and abundance. Words wider society rarely affords our voices and our community. Our deepest gratitude to every single contributor. It has been a privilege to work with you. We value you. We thank you. Very special thanks to our subjects without their generosity and trust, these pieces would not exist. Thank you to our benefactor, and to Picturehouse Central for hosting our beautiful launch reception. Golden is a limited print run. Remaining copies are available via the link in MilkTea’s bio, and can be collected at our upcoming events in London, Birmingham, Manchester and Edinburgh. More collection points to come — watch this space. Like so much of what MilkTea, Resonate and Juniper by the Sea create, this is community-powered. So please help us share the brilliance of Golden. 💛 📸 by @ari55

Last Autumn, we started with a simple goal: to document the British ESEA experience on our own terms. Today, GOLDEN is a reality. This book is a record of our collective resilience and creativity, from the New Forest to Glasgow. It’s been a long journey from that first phone call to the final print, and we want to share the result with you. Join us this Saturday at Picturehouse Central to hold the first edition. See @milkteafilms bio for more information on how to get tickets. Alternatively tickets link here: /en-GB/ticketing/launch-reception-for-golden?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQMMjU2MjgxMDQwNTU4AAGnqllRNhmslTU9nkHxMNy_xxkizDk56w3cSb-uWxhdIdf_chq5B9fwXDNNxmY_aem_HuKosEi2XoWrn9NzRG3d4Q

Last call to join our Golden launch party ✨ Come celebrate our ESEA treasury, a publication abundant in every sense of the word. Inside, you’ll find ESEA thinkers, writers, artists, photographers, illustrators and more, all brought together in one powerful annual. On Saturday, 28 February, be among the first to savour this bold collection of ESEA excellence. For £30 — the price of a standard ticket — you’ll receive entry to the drinks reception and a copy of the annual (RRP £30). This book makes a statement: We are not few, we are many. We are not silent, we have things to say. Our voices matter. Our stories are here. Link in the MilkTea bio to secure your ticket for the Golden Launch Drinks Reception. See you there 🥂