Impress Creative and Editorial was founded in 2008, and was originally based in Kuala Lumpur before relocating to the Unesco world heritage site of George Town, Penang, Malaysia.For many years our portfolio concentrated on all facets of editorial work, with a focus on high-quality academic publications on Southeast Asia. In 2020 we expanded our partnership to foster a new approach to the representation of creative talents.Today we are one of the fastest-growing full-service agencies specialising in creators, dedicated to delivering excellence through partnership.

Hikayat is where people connect with expressions of arts and letters, in all their creative beauty and genius.Hikayat is where people find new friends and mentors.Hikayat is where ideas flourish, in calm and quiet, then come to life. Hikayat is where voices are preserved, for the simple reason that they are reflections of ourselves, in our time.Hikayat is where we can all write our own stories.***Founded in 2018 by Bettina Chua Abdullah and Gareth Richards, Hikayat is situated on one of George Town’s busiest thoroughfares, Lebuh Pantai (Beach Street), a magnet for business, social, arts and entertainment activities. It lies in the heart of the UNESCO-inscribed George Town World Heritage Site, among the concentration of splendid buildings that represent a cross-section of the city’s tangible architectural heritage. Into this comes Hikayat, a story that is already being woven into the fabric of George Town: a post-war shophouse of 2,800 square feet that is being repurposed into six components:1. The second Gerakbudaya Bookshop, four times larger than the original, with the capacity to widen the scope of its titles, notably in relation to the arts, humanities, social sciences, food writing and so on. 2. An events space, Hikayat Blue, open to anyone who wants to call it their base, and hosting film screenings, talks, reading groups, exhibitions, workshops and more.3. An apartment, home of a residency programme for artists, for the last stretch to finish a book, a play, an album or anything creative.4. A cafe, and a long walk, welcoming and cosy.5. A recording studio which will, in time, evolve into a high-quality podcast facility promoting literature, the arts and lifelong learning, but will first dedicate itself to building a recorded archive of the spoken word by the brightest talents to come through George Town.6. An outdoor area consisting of a 100-foot alleyway and a hidden courtyard, for special events, producer markets and community engagement.

Opened in 2014 and located in the heart of George Town’s world heritage site, Gerakbudaya Bookshop is an essential part of the city’s cultural life. The name of the bookshop is well chosen. In the Malay language, gerak denotes move while budaya means culture. We hope our presence helps stimulate fresh, radical ideas and new forms of cultural engagement in Penang and beyond.Gerakbudaya Bookshop is a place for people who love books to meet, talk and, of course, browse.

Founder and editorial consultant

Editor

Senior Research Officer