This premiere issue of LONTAR presents speculative writing from and about the Philippines, Malaysia, Cambodia, Singapore, Laos, and Vietnam. Inside these pages, you’ll find: a young Laotian journalist’s place in the sensationalist future of news reporting from award-winner Paolo Bacigalupi; a post-apocalyptic Manila from Kate Osias; a utopian Kuala Lumpur from Zen Cho; a haunting military excursion down the Yellow River from Elka Ray Nguyen; speculative poetry from Chris Mooney-Singh, Ang Si Min, and Bryan Thao Worra; and an unusual exploration of Philippine magic systems from Paolo Chikiamco.

This issue of LONTAR presents speculative writing from and about Korea, Singapore, Indonesia, Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand. Inside these pages, you’ll a metamorphic love story near the Korean DMZ from award-winner E.C. Myers; a cautionary tale about Singaporean elitism from Tiffany Tsao; an examination of the illusory facets of love from Victor Fernando R. Ocampo; a haunting and beautiful evocation of a fantastical Vietnamese floating market from Eliza Chan; a brand new supernatural crime tale from bestselling author John Burdett; and speculative poetry from Jerrold Yam, Tse Hao Guang, Ang Si Min, Shelly Bryant and Daryl Yam.