03 Jan

‘New Beginnings’ for Singapore writers

By Ng Kiat Han

“New Beginnings,” 2008’s first subTEXT literary reading session, was held on the 3rd of January at the Central Lending Library.  The session was truly, as its title suggests, a series of new beginnings because the featured authors were newly-minted writers- Pranav Joshi, Pooja Nansi, Marc Nair and Bani Haykal.  These authors read passages from their recently-published volumes and spoke about the creative process. 

Environmentalist Pranav Joshi is clearly conscious of Singapore’s racial and cultural makeup, having been an observer of such phenomena since he migrated to Singapore from Mumbai in the 90s.  His debut volume, Behind A Cultural Cage, is about an Indian-born Chinese man who migrates to Singapore and goes through an identity crisis.  The titular Cage incorporates cultural and social cages and the book narrates how this man negotiates his identities.   

Pooja Nansi read from her book Stiletto Scars and Marc Nair shared poems from his poetry collection, Along the Yellow Line.  Bani Haykal also shared selections from his Sit Quietly in the Flood, and Chris Mooney-Singh rounded up the readings with a few of his poems from The Laughing Buddha Cab Company.  Chris is the founder and head of Word Forward, and all four poetry books were published under the organisation’s imprint. 
It must be noted that one figure was noticeably out-of-place: veteran writer Chris Mooney-Singh already has a body of published work; he is no first-time writer, and that sets him apart.  Or does it?  Certainly not- the father of Poetry Slam Singapore and Writers Connect is undoubtedly consonant with the young poets; the young writers are, after all, iconic figures in these local movements. 
The audience knew that the poets were primarily performance artists from the local Poetry Slam; during the ‘question & answer’ session, the inevitable question “do you prefer your work in tangible form?” rang out.  The response was silent, but unequivocal - all the poets shook their heads immediately after the question was asked.  Their creative process did not appear conventional, after all; the poets performed first, then were published.  Pooja says “reading my poem on stage was what got me started”.  This is undeniable- performance and publication are just different sides of the same coin.  “It’s just a lot of fun, and it brings [the poem] to life in a different way”, says Pooja.     
It soon became clear that the poets’ creative selves were significantly nourished by Chris Mooney-Singh’s writing activities.  Marc says “I benefited most from the collaborative process.”  Chris adds, “I feel that Poetry Slam is like a crèche where people can test out their works.  It’s a good crucible to test yourself.” 
That philosophy also rings true for Chris’s Writers Connect sessions; these are writing workshops where people critique any shared piece of original writing.  A “sense of questioning” was what Bani took away from the poetry sessions, and he relishes that uncertainty.  He says “I hope I don’t find the answer!  It’d be boring!”

The session reveals poetry slam as a means for writers looking to publish their works.  Pranav Joshi, for instance, has a PhD in Science, but he has journeyed across the disciplines to get his story published.  The writers are clearly in love with the creative process.  Pooja says, “The kick I get out of writing a poem is in capturing that feeling, that moment.  Another kick is when you finish the piece- when you write your last line- and when you go ‘and that’s it!’”
Readers interested in Chris Mooney-Singh’s Poetry Slam movement can make themselves free every last Tuesday of the month; Writers Connect, the writing workshop is held at the Earshot Cafe of the Arts House, and newcomers are always welcome, say the organisers. Please visit the wordforward website for more information on the aforementioned events (http://wordforward.org/). 

05 Jan

First-Time Writers And Illustrators Publishing Initiative Introductory Workshop

Held on 5 January, the First-Time Writers and Illustrators Publishing Initiative (FTWIPI) Introductory Workshop aims to hone the creative and business skills of aspiring Children’s books writers.

Organised by the National Book Development Council of Singapore (NBDCS) and the Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA), the FTWIPI awards S$8,000 to each successful recipient for the publication of their first book. The workshop is a new component of the well-received First-Time Writers and Illustrators Publishing Initiative (FTWIPI), which provides opportunities for aspiring writers and illustrators to get their works published.

The Introductory Workshop is a new component to the initiative. “It aims to give participants a basic understanding about writing and illustrating for children, as well as book publishing. This is in line with our efforts to strengthen the capabilities of Singapore’s publishing industry by attracting and nurturing talented writers and illustrators,” said Mr R. Ramachandran, Executive Director of the National Book Development Council of Singapore.

The workshop was conducted by Ms Serene Wee, President of the Society for Reading and Literacy. She has produced three popular children’s books - When Feet Talk, The Tale of Lady Cabbage and Harry Straw Hat. Ms Wee provided the audience with a comprehensive guide to writing children’s books, from the thought process to what the publisher would expect. The other two speakers were Ms Shova Loh, publishing manager of SNP International Publishing and Ms Shirley Hew, SNP Corporation’s Senior Vice President.

One of the aspiring children’s authors who attended the workshop was Ms Dawn Farnham. A Singapore resident for the past five years and a published author of the adult historical fiction title, The Red Thread, this is her first time trying her hand at writing for children. 

“I have to learn the trick of going down that step to write for children,” she said. However, she did not anticipate this to be a major hurdle—“after all, children are just adults waiting to be adults.”

The biggest challenge was perhaps her plan to make this an Asian-themed book, with an Asian child the central character. Not being Asian herself, she said she would have to try and imagine what the life of an Asian child is like.”

So what makes a good children’s author?

“You have to be very smart with words and concepts and how you tell the story; its not just words, its how you put them together,” said Ms Shova Loh, publishing manager of SNP International Publishing.

18 Jan

Singapore Book Club

Members of the Singapore Book Club felt Nineteenth-Century Singapore come alive in an animated discussion with Dawn Farnham on her historical novel, The Red Thread. Set in the 1830s, The Red Thread

traces the love story of Zhen, initially a lowly Chinese coolie, and Charlotte, a white waif of the British Empire, who hails from Madagascar, via Scotland.

Dawn Farnham had taught English in many exotic locations while travelling with her husband, a foreign correspondent. She and her husband now live in Singapore. It is in this thriving port city that she found her muse and began to write, finding particular pleasure in its colourful history of “piracy, crime, triads and tigers”.

She resurrects this “heady atmosphere of Old Singapore” in her novel by “incorporating real figures from Singapore’s historical past.” She also notes a happy coincidence—the venue of the Book Club, The Arts House, was designed by George Coleman, who appears in the book. 

In The Red Thread, the story of Zhen and Charlotte is interwoven with an account of the real-life cross-racial relationship between George Coleman, the Irish architect who built early Singapore practically from scratch, and his Armenian-Dutch-Javanese mistress, Takouhi.

Dawn also shared that her novel was built upon copious amounts of research. This was evident in her detailed delineation of topics as diverse as Chinese secret societies, sexual customs amongst the officers of colonial power, tiger attacks, what the fashionable girl was wearing in the 1830s, and how the not-so fashionable girl avoided pregnancy. This was also the reason why she had turned to fiction—to share her love of Singapore’s history with the widest possible audience.

Organised by the National Book Development Council of Singapore and The Arts House, the Singapore Book Club is supported by the National Arts Council and serves as a platform to showcase literary works with strong local flavours. The event takes place on the third Friday every other month and has hosted many noted literary figures such as Gerrie Lim, author of In Lust We Trust and Ng Yi Sheng, playwright and author of poetry collection, Last Boy.

14 Feb

Book Launch of Romance Volume 1





38 young and promising local writers were recognised for their literary talents on Valentine’s Day with cash rewards.

These full-time students aged 14 to 25 took part in a writing contest organized by local independent publisher, Renaissance Publishing in July 2007. They were given a free hand to express the theme of ‘Love’ in any genre of literary writing they favored; with the sole judging criteria being how ‘romantic’ their works were.

A total of 253 entries were submitted from 41 different schools, polytechnics, and universities. A plethora of short stories, poems, love letters and other literary works were submitted. The quality of the entries exceeded all expectations and Renaissance Publishing decided to compile the best entries for publication.

Lance Ng, publisher of Renaissance Publishing says, “Renaissance has a dream—to produce the first international bestseller from a Singapore writer. When we took the plunge to organise this contest and uncover new talents, we were worried that the distractions of the digital age would render reading and writing unpopular amongst today’s youths. After we finished judging the stack of entries, it was clear to us that we were very wrong! There are many amazing talents amongst our youths waiting to be discovered and polished. It became apparent to us that we would not be doing them justice if we did not publish their works and showcase this immense pool of talents.”

Romance Volume 1, the 272-page compilation book featuring 38 short listed entries from this contest, was launched on 14th February 2008 at Borders Wheelock. Mr Ramachandran, Executive Director of National Book Development Council of Singapore (NBDCS), the official partner of this writing contest, was present to give the introductory address. “This endeavour is part of NBDCS’s endeavours to cultivate a vibrant literary arts scene via attracting and nurturing literary talent; we are greatly heartened by the enthusiasm of the participants’ response.”

In addition to giving away the prize money of $1,700 to the authors of the top 3 winning entries, Renaissance Publishing will also be giving away a total of $545 to 10 of the young writers uncovered from the contest. These budding authors took part in another paid writing project to compile a book of ‘Daily Love Notes’. This is part of Renaissance’s commitment to these young talents. The publisher will continue motivating them to develop their writing skills beyond the contest, with the dream that one day, one of them will produce a piece of work that will put Singapore on the world literature map.