By The Book: Asian Festival of Children’s Content Goes Digital This October

The Asian Festival of Children’s Content (AFCC) will be returning from 3rd to 4th October 2020 in an entirely digital format. Organisers The Singapore Book Council (SBC) have decided to re-conceive the annual festival as a two-day digital symposium in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, with a series of workshops, masterclasses and pitching sessions on  2nd October to prelude the digital symposium. AFCC 2020 … Continue reading By The Book: Asian Festival of Children’s Content Goes Digital This October

★☆☆☆☆ Book Review: Everyday A-holes by Dean Blake

A book of crude drawings that will put readers on either end of the love-hate spectrum.  Described as a ‘picture book for adults’, Australian author Dean Blake’s Everyday A-holes feels akin to an Instagram feed compiled into a single e-book. Inspired by real life encounters during the author’s travels across the globe, the portraits are (deliberately) crudely hand-drawn, each accompanied by captions describing the ‘everyday a-hole’ pictured.  … Continue reading ★☆☆☆☆ Book Review: Everyday A-holes by Dean Blake

By The Book: Epigram Unveils Stories About Stories Online, Showcasing New Book Offerings In The Year To Come

Usually held twice a year to showcase their upcoming titles, Epigram Books has taken Stories About Stories online, with authors talking about their upcoming books on video, and giving fans a first look at their new works to come from July to December 2020. In the fiction segment, look out for Epigram Books Fiction Prize finalists, such as librarian and first time novelist Erni Salleh, who penned … Continue reading By The Book: Epigram Unveils Stories About Stories Online, Showcasing New Book Offerings In The Year To Come

By The Book: New Epigram Releases – July 2020

This July, Epigram is releasing four brand new titles, each one so different, you’re sure to find at least one worth reading all at one go when you pick them up. How the Man in Green Saved Pahang, and Possibly the World  Joshua Kam’s debut novel and winner of the Epigram Books Fiction Prize 2020 is finally here, and promises a rip-roaring adventure across Malaysia. Gabriel … Continue reading By The Book: New Epigram Releases – July 2020

By The Book: First-ever online Book Illustrators Gallery (BIG) launches in June

Organised by the Singapore Book Council, as part of AFCC (Asian Festival of Children’s Content) Digital, the first-ever online Book Illustrators Gallery (BIG) is giving readers an opportunity to take off and travel around Asia, virtually that is. Featuring close to 200 illustrations from 13 Asian countries, BIG invites visitors to explore new cultures and the best of picture book illustrations from around Asia. Having … Continue reading By The Book: First-ever online Book Illustrators Gallery (BIG) launches in June

★★★☆☆ Book Review: Fall In! The Unofficial Guide to Surviving Basic Military Training by Matthew Chew & Nicholas U Jin

An informative and fun survival guide to prepare the recruits of Gen-Z. No matter how many times you read (and re-read) MINDEF’s official website, how many of Jack Neo’s Ah Boys to Men movies you’ve watched (skip everything after the second one), or how many times your father tells you anecdotes that start with “back in my day”, nothing ever quite prepares you for the … Continue reading ★★★☆☆ Book Review: Fall In! The Unofficial Guide to Surviving Basic Military Training by Matthew Chew & Nicholas U Jin

By The Book: Penguin Random House SEA Goes Digital With Its Books, To Be Available On Amazon

With the launch of their e-book catalogue with over a dozen titles, Penguin Random House SEA is keeping people reading during this COVID-19 period. In line with its vision to open diverse literary works from Southeast Asia to a wider audience, the publishing house is bringing out ebooks from their frontlist and backlist and this catalogue will grow alongside their flourishing print book catalogue. Readers … Continue reading By The Book: Penguin Random House SEA Goes Digital With Its Books, To Be Available On Amazon

By The Book: Epigram Unveils Judging Panel For Epigram Books Fiction Prize 2021

Organised by Epigram Books, the Epigram Books Fiction Prize is one of Singapore’s most well-known literary prizes since their launch in 2015. Accepting unpublished manuscripts from citizens and permanent residents of Southeast Asian countries, winners and shortlisted finalists not only receive a cash prize; they also receive a publishing contract with Epigram Books for their manuscript. Epigram Books has announced its panel of judges who will … Continue reading By The Book: Epigram Unveils Judging Panel For Epigram Books Fiction Prize 2021

By The Book: An Interview with Kenny Leck, Owner of BooksActually

In a time of crisis, where most people are stuck at home, there’s beauty and comfort in creating a little safe and cosy nook for yourself, and curling up with a good book. With the public libraries closed till further notice, it might just be in your best interests to purchase a new title, give yourself a little me time, and bury yourself between the … Continue reading By The Book: An Interview with Kenny Leck, Owner of BooksActually

★★★★☆ Book Review: This Side of Heaven by Cyril Wong

Form-defying new work encapsulating the fleeting nature of life and the mystery of the afterlife.  Over the course of art and literature, there’ve been countless interpretations of what the afterlife looks like, ranging from picture-perfect versions of heaven, to nightmare-inducing visions of hell. And while there still isn’t a definitive consensus on what it really is, it’s refreshing to know that new writing is still … Continue reading ★★★★☆ Book Review: This Side of Heaven by Cyril Wong