From its humble origins in 1990 at City Hall with just 149 exhibitors and 200,000 visitors, the HONG KONG BOOK FAIR has grown into one of Asia’s most anticipated cultural events. Now held annually at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, the fair has become a dynamic convergence of literature, technology, and global storytelling—drawing over a million visitors at its peak and expanding to include thematic zones, art installations, and offsite cultural programs. Its growth mirrors Hong Kong’s rising stature as a hub for cross-border creativity and publishing.
This year, the 35th HONG KONG BOOK FAIR 2025, held from July 16 to 22, welcomed over 770 exhibitors from more than 30 countries and regions. With the theme:
“Reading the World – Food Culture • Future Living,”
The fair explored how food, memory, and cultural identity shape the stories we tell and the lives we live. Among the 620+ events held throughout the week, the exhibition “Book a Table: Food for Thought” captured global attention through its interactive installations and consular collaborations.
Kravitz & Sons participated not only to display titles but to engage in this vibrant conversation. One of the most emotionally resonant novels presented this year is An Intimate Guyana Journey by Joseph Mahase—a multigenerational story of love, legacy, and personal reckoning set against the vibrant landscape of Guyana.
Joseph Mahase is a Canadian of Guyanese origin who spent his early years in the Pomeroon District of Guyana. His educational journey has taken him across Trinidad, Ireland, England, and Wales, and his professional career spans more than twenty-five countries across the Pacific, Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, and North America. Much of his life’s work has focused on national development, including a distinguished career as an international civil servant with United Nations organizations. He currently resides in Mississauga, Canada, with his wife Maria, their children Wenonah and Jose-Maria, and their energetic Yorkiepoo, Maya. An Intimate Guyana Journey is his debut novel.
An Intimate Guyana Journey is a deeply affecting coming-of-age story set along the lush coast of Guyana. At its center is Vernon, a young boy sent to live with Madeline, the aging matriarch of a plantation, after his mother becomes gravely ill. What begins as a temporary arrangement becomes a portal to the past as Madeline slowly unpacks a century’s worth of family history, revealing a layered and intimate narrative of love, betrayal, and reconciliation.
The story spans four generations from 1873 to 1972, linking characters through bloodlines and long-held secrets. As Madeline confronts her own regrets, Vernon begins to understand the complex roots of his identity. Their intertwined stories reveal how the echoes of the past shape our present, and how the act of telling those stories can be both painful and redemptive.
Joseph Mahase’s writing honors both the historical weight of Guyana and the quiet strength of its people. His characters are not just shaped by their environments—they carry the legacies of colonialism, survival, migration, and the unspoken tensions of family. Through vivid settings and emotional depth, An Intimate Guyana Journey gives voice to lives too often left untold.
Its place at the HONG KONG BOOK FAIR 2025 is well-earned. The book mirrors the fair’s global focus—exploring how stories rooted in one place can speak to universal human experience. It is a novel about the power of remembrance, the endurance of compassion, and the deep, intimate journey of finding home within one’s history.
Discover the poetry that speaks beyond the page. Order your copy of An Intimate Guyana Journey today, available from Kravitz & Sons at our online bookshop.
An Intimate Guyana Journey
A Pomeroon Destiny Uncovered
Joseph Mahase