Meet the authors-in-attendance: June
Once again, the author-in-attendance programme is back! Drop by the Huggs-Epigram Coffee Bookshop this month and meet a wide variety of authors, artists, poets and playwrights. You can expect to see veteran writers such as Cyril Wong and Robert Yeo, bestselling author Adeline Foo, the finalists and winners for the Epigram Books Fiction Prize and more!
We hope to introduce the wonderful world of SingLit to you, one that is not “boring” and “dull”, and build a connection between readers and the creators of these stories, characters and worlds that have entranced us.
Do stop by to say "hi" and let them know how much you appreciate their work or ask them anything about the world of lit. You can also get books autographed by them. See you there!
The Huggs-Epigram Coffee Bookshop is located at 45 Maxwell Road, #01-01, Singapore 069118 (across from the Maxwell Food Centre).
Opening hours:
Get coffee: 7am to 5.30pm (Mon-Fri), 10am to 2pm (Sat)
Get books: 10am to 7pm (Mon-Fri), 10am to 2pm (Sat)
Closed on Sun.
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CYRIL WONG (1 June) is a two-time winner of the Singapore Literature Prize and the recipient of the 2005 National Arts Council’s Young Artist Award. With a catalogue that includes poetry collections Unmarked Treasure and Satori Blues, short fiction collections Ten Things My Father Never Taught Me and Other Stories and Let Me Tell You Something About That Night; and the novel, The Last Lesson of Mrs De Souza — plus a strong presence on the literary festival circuit both in Singapore and overseas, it's no wonder that Cyril is often hailed as one of Singapore's biggest literary names.
ROBERT YEO (3 June) is a veteran writer, poet and playwright who has been described as “the most Singaporean of Singaporean writers”. With several volumes of poetry (including the compendium, The Best of Robert Yeo), a novel (The Adventures of Holden Heng) and five plays under his name (including The Eye of History), his personal experiences and wide expanse of knowledge on Singapore will definitely change your outlook on what it means to be Singaporean.
ADELINE FOO (4 & 6 June) is one of Singapore’s best-selling writers for young readers. If you're wondering how to captivate the young ones through writing, you'll want to pick her brain. She has published 28 books, ranging from picture books to the successful The Diary of Amos Lee series which has been published internationally in countries such as India, Indonesia, China and the Slovak Republic. Both The Diary of Amos Lee and its spin-off book series, Whoopie Lee, have been adapted for TV. Adeline has won the Red Dot Book award in 2009, three Popular Readers’ Choice Awards (2011, 2014 and 2015), and the inaugural Asian Children’s Book Award in 2017 for her picture book Tiny Shoes, Tiny Feet, a story about home and identity.
KHOR KUAN LIANG (7 June) debuted with his first novel Kallang Basin Adagio, which was longlisted for the 2017 Epigram Books Fiction Prize. For him, the novel was a vital form of catharsis from the regimented and stifling education system in Singapore — a sentiment that is echoed in his choice of music that influenced the writing of his riveting novel. Kallang Basin Adagio is a riveting novel about a boy, his robot and a group of survivors in a post-apocalyptic future, where their quest for refuge may lead them to their doom.
NURALIAH NORASID (10-13 June) is the author of The Gatekeeper, which won the 2016 Epigram Books Fiction Prize. It was later nominated for the 2018 Singapore Literature Prize and picked up two gongs — for Best Fiction Title and Best Cover Design — at the 2018 Singapore Book Awards. Noted for its integration of European and Malay mythology, The Gatekeeper — which tells to story of young gorgon Ria, who finds refuge in an underground city after accidentally turning her village to stone — provides a one-of-a-kind perspective of Singapore.
MAY SEAH (14 June) is the author of The Movie That No One Saw, one of the shortlisted titles of the 2018 Epigram Books Fiction Prize. The novel is a humorous look at the entertainment industry and follows actor Adjonis Keh (pronounced "ajonis" with a silent "d") who, after meeting a reporter, starts to question his life choices and what it means to act, not just as an actor, but daily life as well. The Movie That No One Saw is her first novel. May will be speaking at the EBFP Forum on 11 July at lyf @ Stamford Road, along with the Epigram Books Fiction Prize winner, Yeoh Jo-Ann (see below) and her fellow finalists Lu Huiyi and Anittha Thanabalan.
MARC NAIR (17-18 June) is a poet and photographer, who was awarded the 2016 Young Artist Award. Marc has published six solo volumes of poetry and released another three in collaboration with visual artists, photographers and graphic artists. But that’s not all — he is also a seasoned poetry slammer, performing for more than 15 years both in Singapore and internationally. He even released two spoken word albums with his band, Neon and Wonder, and has collaborated with well-known Singapore musicians such as Bani Haykal, weish and Tim De Cotta. His new book, Sight Lines, has just been released.
MAUREEN YEO (19-20 June) is the author of The Great Singapore Poo Sale and Other Beastly Business, a tale about the animals of Singapore trying to save their homes from urbanisation. Inspired to increase awareness of endangered animals that are found nowhere else but in Singapore, her book opens up a whole new side of Singapore that many do not know about. She loves to advocate her favourite author Roald Dahl's principle: “A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men”. Her new book, Make Animals Great Again is expected to be out later this year.
YEOH JO-ANN (21 June) won the 2018 Epigram Books Fiction Prize with her first novel Impractical Uses of Cake. The novel follows the life of a 35-year-old teacher who meets a woman from his past, who is now homeless and living out of a cardboard box. The relationship they form forces him to re-evaluate his well-ordered but empty life. She, together with the other finalists from the 2018 Epigram Books Fiction Prize — Lu Huiyi, May Seah and Anittha Thanabalan — will be speaking at the EBFP Forum on 11 July at lyf @ Stamford Road.
DAVID SEOW (22 June) is an awards-nominated author who has more than 40 books to his name. He is the creator of picture book series, Sam, Sebbie and Di-di-di, several of which have been bestsellers and translated into various languages. He also authored the picture book bio of Singapore Olympic champion, Joseph Schooling, called Race to Rio. He has a new book out, The Royal Pup Pack: Party at the Palace.
SIM EE WAUN (25, 26 June) co-authored the bestselling The Little Singapore Book, as well as the popular The House on Palmer Road and its sequel, The House on Silat Road. A food, travel and parenting journalist of more than 27 years, she has edited magazine publications such as Wine & Dine and Young Families. A local history buff, she hopes to help kids discover stories of Singapore's hidden past.
LU HUIYI (28 June) was a finalist at the 2018 Epigram Books Fiction Prize. Her dystopian novel Beng Beng Revolution is her first novel and is set in a tumultuous Singapore where conventional energy sources such as oil and gas have run out and steam is the only energy supply. How do her protagonists survive in a world where everything just goes wrong? Ask the author to find out. Beng Beng Revolution is slated to be released in late June — but you can preorder it here. Huiyi will also be speaking at the EBFP Forum on 11 July at lyf @ Stamford Road, along with her fellow EBFP participants Yeoh Jo-Ann, May Seah and Anittha Thanabalan.
LOW YING PING (29 June) is the author of the popular Mount Emily book quartet. The books tell the story of best friends Patsy and Elena, who find a special crystal while in the school grounds one day. They find themselves flung into the adventure of their lives when they realise the crystal is a time-travelling device that could spell the end of the world as they know it, should it ever fall into the wrong hands. The second book in the series, Mount Emily Revisited picked up the Best Middle Grade/Young Adult Title at the 2017 Singapore Book Awards, while Goodbye, Mount Emily was nominated for the Hedwig Anuar Children's Book Award in 2018.