Marking Time In Penang: A Review of Milestones: A Nutmag Anthology

WHEN ENCOUNTERING AN anthology titled Milestones, one would expect records of grand achievements: weddings, promotions and keys to first homes. What this collection offers instead is something quieter: moments of change, accumulation and realisation, often recognised only in hindsight.

Edited by MYWriters Penang, Milestones compiles nonfiction, short fiction and poetry by 24 contributors. Although published to mark 10 years of the Nut-Mag zine’s establishment, the anthology does not present itself as a commemorative showcase. The foreword frames milestones broadly, touching upon marriage, parenthood, creative persistence and relocation. The result reads like a cross-section of lives in motion—formed by places, relationships, ambitions and losses—with Pen-ang serving as both setting and emotional anchor. Landmarks, kopitiam, bridges and neighbourhoods recur not as scenery but lived environments, as spaces where private experiences unfold. A reflective rather than celebratory tone is established early on, creating space for reflection rather than resolution.

FROM SMALL BEGINNINGS TO A GROWING LITERARY CIRCLE
The anthology opens with Wilson Khor W.H.’s “Of NutMag, Zines, and Chili Parathas”, a personal account of NutMag’s beginnings in 2016, sparked by conversations over food in Little India. Wilson traces his early experiments with zines, NutMag’s eventual naming and the slow building of a local writing community through events and informal networks.