Epigram Books Blog

So we just had our first big event of the year: the first sales conference of the year, which we called Stories About Stories. 

It's called Stories About Stories because 12 authors turned up to tell stories about what it took to write their stories, all of which will be out in the first half of the year. 

Who were the authors telling their stories too? Members of the various book retailers as well as members of the media. 

But enough yakkin' — here's a quick look at what happened. 

 

The Last Immigrant is the latest novel from Lau Siew Mei, who was born and raised in Singapore before moving to Australia. She is the author of the critically acclaimed Playing Madame Mao, a story about an actress who finds her life unravelling after her husband is arrested and detained without trial. Time magazine called it “one of the best novels ever written about Singapore”.

Siew Mei has also written another novel, The Dispeller of Worries, as well as several short stories and a children’s book, Yin’s Magic Dragon.

As we begin a new year with new resolutions that we aim to accomplish (hopefully/perhaps/fingers crossed), we could get some inspiration from a person who has, in her life, accomplished quite a bit.

We're talking about Tham Yew Chin, better known by her pen name, You Jin. Among her achievements: receiving the Singapore Chinese Literary Award, the Montblanc-NUS Centre for the Arts Literary Award, and the biggie – the Cultural Medallion for her contributions to Singapore’s literary arts scene.

Listen to the podcast between 938Now's 

#OntheScenewithEugene and screenwriter, film director, playwright, and now, author Ken Kwek. 

"It's a completely ridiculous story, but it's definitely grounded in the reality of everyday experience," says Ken about the book.

  Each year, our Epigram family of books keeps getting bigger. But sadly, that means it has grown so big that we now have to say goodbye to some of the members of that family. 

As such, we have started a $1 sale on selected books. These are books that may have lost a bit of their lustre, but are still worthy of a home. Your home, preferably.

 This month, we’re giving you a chance to get close and personal with our new authors, Linda Locke, Diana Gale and Ning Cai.

Siblings Sam, Sebbie, and Di-Di-Di have a chance to spend a day at the S.E.A. Aquarium. Once there, they waste no time looking at the exhibits, and they are drawn to the fascinating marine life that they see. But then, little brother Di-Di-Di suddenly goes missing!

Valentine’s Day is coming soon, and it seems like everybody is up to their ears in heart-shaped chocolates, lovey-dovey cards and all the accouterments that come along with it.

In the world of literary fiction though, love rears its head in many different ways. From finding true love in the most unexpected places to living with unrequited love to dealing with jerks, these stories encapsulate every emotion we feel when we think of love.

Gong xi fa cai! Happy Chinese New Year! 

It's time to break out the cherry blossoms, buntings, and the delicious munchies, as Chinese around the world prepare to ring in the New Year. 

Over in the world of SingLit though, there have been many tales set around this festive season. So we've decided to gather a few for your reading pleasure.

From the thrill of watching lion dances to cataloging interesting Chinese inventions, here are our picks that are just the thing to herald the Year of the Dog. 

This week, we’re featuring not one book, but ONE WHOLE SERIES of books. We are, of course, talking about the Heritage Cookbooks series, which was first started more than a decade ago and features popular dishes from various cuisines: Teochew, Hokkien, Cantonese, Eurasian, Indian and Peranakan. 

WHAT’S IN IT? Well, recipes, recipes and more recipes, that's what. Mind you, these are all family recipes — hence the books’ personal titles, such as Uncle Anthony’s Hokkien Recipes, Madam Choy’s Cantonese Recipes or Uncle Lau’s Teochew Recipes. These are real people, not made up names. 

Last month, we announced the release of our first book of 2018, the novel The Last Immigrant by Lau Siew Mei. That was just the beginning — the presses haven't stopped rolling! But first, we have a special bundle deal to herald in the Year of the Dog on our online store! What is it? Well, from now until 18 Feb, you can get any two books from our Heritage Cookbook series for only $38! (UP: $45.80)

Isn't that "paw-some"?