catalogue 2015 may-dec by Epigram Books

CATALOGUE

MAY-DEC 2015

Front and back cover artwork from The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye by Sonny Liew

Singaporeans will champion local authors With much made this year of the need

after a 20 year hiatus following the

to support all things local, we’re proud

international success of its prequel

to say that we’ve got a bumper crop

Spider Boys.

of books which celebrate our belief to find and share Singapore stories. The success of The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye may have been sparked by its brush with the

As for making a difference, Doing Good Great by former Accenture partner Willie Cheng features thirteen heroes enacting change around Asia. The rest of the year, our children

authorities. But the universal positive

can expect to be entertained by

reviews are testament that not only

award-winning picture books by

are Singaporeans happy to champion

local and international authors and

local authors, they also laud the

illustrators.

importance of a fresh retelling of

We celebrated Epigram Books’

the Singapore story. This year, we

fourth birthday in July and were

continue our efforts to showcase our

touched by so many well-wishers.

little red dot’s history with the third

A big thank you for your continued

book of the much-beloved HARRY

support—we couldn’t have done it

series, Harry Builds A Nation, and a

without you.

non-fiction spin-off from the Danger Dan series, Secrets of Singapore. And there’s Ming Cher’s novel Big

Edmund Wee

Mole, which will finally hit bookstores

CEO & Publisher

Warning: Graphic Content

THE ART OF CHARLIE CHAN HOCK CHYE Sold out hundreds of copies during

social media buzzing: it’s The Art of

ONE OF THE MOST VISUALLY ARRESTING AND THEMATICALLY REMARKABLE BOOKS PUBLISHED THIS YEAR… A LANDMARK WORK IN SINGAPORE COMICS HISTORY.”

Charlie Chan Hock Chye by acclaimed

—Akshita Nanda, The Sunday Times

its launch. Reached its third print run within two months. It’s the graphic novel that divided opinion and got

artist Sonny Liew. Ostensibly about pioneering comic artist Charlie Chan, the book traces Singapore’s history through Charlie’s life and work. In turn, the latter reflects on the country’s changing political and economic environment. Packed with comic book references, intricately detailed and rich with history, this is the Singapore story as you’ve never seen before.

978981 0731069 Paperback, 328pp 170 x 255mm S $24.90 Rights: Singapore and Malaysia only May 2015

HIGHLIGHTS LESSER KNOWN FACTS ABOUT OUR HISTORY AND, ALONG WITH IT, NEW WAYS TO THINK ABOUT OUR PAST. A BRILLIANT BOOK.” —Bertha Henson, The Middle Ground

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2nd print run

SOLD OUT in 1 week

CHARLIE CHAN WILL NOT DIE; HE IS BORN WITHIN THE PAGES OF THE BOOK AND IS IMMORTALISED IN IT FOREVER. [A] RIOT OF STYLES, RANGING FORM MANGA TO INK DOODLES TO OIL PAINTINGS… EACH PAGE OF THE GRAPHIC NOVEL (ALSO: A SCRAPBOOK, AN ARCHIVE) IS TO BE SAVOURED.” —Alfian Sa’at, author of Malay Sketches

SONNY LIEW is a comic artist, painter and illustrator whose work includes titles for DC Vertigo, Marvel Comics, Image Comics and First Second Books. He has received Eisner nominations for his art on Wonderland (Disney), as well as for spearheading Liquid City (Image Comics), a multi-volume comics anthology featuring creators from Southeast Asia. His Malinky Robot series is a Xeric grant recipient and winner of the Best Science Fiction Comic Album Award at the Utopiales SF Festival in Nantes (2009). 3

More than 20,000 copies sold of the first three books in the HARRY series.

HARRY BUILDS A NATION THE LEGACY OF LEE KUAN YEW The third book in the picture book series about the nation’s remarkable Lee Kuan Yew features Harry’s vision in creating the Singapore as we know it today. Illustrated by Patrick Yee, it depicts the story of how Harry brought Singapore out of colonial rule, and with the help of a strong team, turned his beloved country into an independent, successful and much-admired nation.

THE HARRY BOOKS WERE ON THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERS LIST FOR MORE THAN 10 WEEKS. PATRICK YEE is an award-winning illustrator of more than 100 children’s books. Some of his books include Little Buddy, Winter Rabbit, On Being Happy. He is most well-known in the US for his Rosie Rabbit board book series, which has sold close to 100,000 copies and been translated into five languages.

978981 4615433 Paperback, 40pp 210 x 260 mm S $14.90 UK £6.99 US $11.90 Rights: World May 2015

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CHINESE EDITION 哈利建国李光耀的丰功伟业 978981 4655606 Paperback, 40pp 210 x 260 mm S $14.90 UK £6.99 US $11.90 Rights: World October 2015

ALSO IN THE SERIES A Boy Named Harry

Harry Grows Up

978981 4615297 40pp 210 x 260 mm S $14.90 UK £6.99 US $11.90 Rights: World September 2014

978981 4615310 40pp 210 x 260 mm S $14.90 UK £6.99 US $11.90 Rights: World February 2015

小孩哈利李光耀的童年时代

哈利成长李光耀的青年时代

978981 4655583 40pp 210 x 260 mm S $14.90 UK £6.99 US $11.90 Rights: World October 2015

978981 4655590 40pp 210 x 260 mm S $14.90 UK £6.99 US $11.90 Rights: World October 2015

CHINESE EDITION

Uncover little-known facts about Singapore’s history with Danger Dan and Gadget Girl.

SECRETS OF SINGAPORE Which animals have escaped from the

LESLEY-ANNE AND MONICA LIM are

Singapore Zoo? How long was the first

a mother-and-daughter writing team.

MRT ride? What is a tiger car and where

Monica Lim is the mother and Lesley-

can you see it? Danger Dan and Gadget

Anne Tan is the daughter, although

Girl have all the answers.

sometimes their roles seem reversed.

Join them in uncovering the nation’s

Monica runs her own writing business,

past, from the time of Sang Nila Utama

has a blog on education and published

in 1299 to independence in 1965. Put

a book in October 2013 entitled The

aside your run-of-the-mill history books

Good, the Bad and the PSLE. Lesley-

and let this superhero duo take you on a

Anne is still in school so she mostly

ride through time. You’ll never look at our

writes essays and papers, which isn’t

country the same way again.

quite as fun.

JAMES TAN is an illustrator living in the western part of Singapore. He likes to draw animals and loves cats. He enjoys reading and drawing, garnering inspiration from daily life and travelling. 978981 4615877 Paperback, 232pp 215 x 140mm S $14.90 UK £6.99 US $11.90 Rights: World July 2015

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ALSO BY THE AUTHORS

Danger Dan Confronts Danger Dan Tackles the the Merlion Mastermind Majulah Mayhem 978981 0778439

978981 0785024

Danger Dan Spooks the Peculiar Peranakan Pirate

Danger Dan Traces the Perilous Poison

978981 4615211

978981 4615235 215 x 140mm S $10.90 UK £5.99 US $8.90 Rights: World

Danger Dan Creates the Ultimate Utama Uproar 978981 4615259

A COMPREHENSIVE RECOUNTING OF SINGAPORE’S HISTORY FROM ITS EARLIEST TIMES, SECRETS OF SINGAPORE IS WONDERFULLY WRITTEN IN A STYLE THAT IS EXQUISITELY SIMPLE AND APPROPRIATE FOR YOUNG READERS.” —Koh Boon Long, former MOE Deputy Director, National Education, and retired principal

The sequel that is worth the wait.

BIG MOLE Born an orphan and named after the

MING CHER was born in Singapore

unlucky blemish under her eye, Big

in 1947, and lived as street boy in the

Mole cuts her teeth growing up in the

manner of the characters in his debut

streets of 1950s Singapore. Since the

novel, Spider Boys. First published by

events of prequel Spider Boys, this

Penguin New Zealand and William

former urchin is now running a fish

Morrow in 1995, the critically acclaimed

shop with her boyfriend, Hong. When

Spider Boys was one of the first

a friend is ruthlessly killed on his first

Singaporean novels published by major

day as a secret society gangster, Hong

imprints overseas and is notable for its

vows revenge.

inventive use of colloquial Singapore

Before she knows it, Big Mole finds herself getting involved in a

Books as part of its Singapore Classics

brutal mass murder and tumultuous

series in 2012. Ming Cher has lived in

opposition politics. This novel marks

New Zealand since 1977.

author Ming Cherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s long-awaited return after two decades.

MING CHER IS FAMOUS FOR BEING ONE OF THE FIRST SINGAPOREAN AUTHORS TO BE PUBLISHED ABROAD AND HAS A FOLLOWING OVERSEAS.

978981 4655354 Paperback, 240pp 152 x 225 mm S $24.90 UK ÂŁ12.99 US $19.90 Rights: World October 2015

English. It was republished by Epigram

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ALSO BY THE AUTHOR

Spider Boys 978981 0726874 130 x 200 mm S $17.90 UK £8.99 US $13.90 Rights: Singapore and Malaysia

Praise for Spider Boys

A BARE-BONES, GRITTY, AND ENTERTAINING FIRST NOVEL ABOUT STREET KIDS IN 1955 SINGAPORE.” —Kirkus Reviews

HAUNTING AND SEXY, SPIDER BOYS IS AN ASTONISHING BOOK. MING CHER’S JAGGED ENGLISH PULLS NO PUNCHES. SPIDER BOYS WILL REMAIN WITH YOU LONG AFTER YOU FINISH READING IT.”

—Peter Hedges, author of What’s Eating Gilbert Grape.

Thirteen ordinary people doing extraordinary things.

DOING GOOD GREAT THIRTEEN ASIAN HEROES From environmental issues to coping

WILLIE CHENG was a former partner

with homelessness, this book captures

of Accenture, a global management

the personalities and causes of

consulting, technology services

thirteen committed individuals who

and outsourcing firm. He was also

have enacted progress and change

the director of its Singapore office

around Asia.

and the managing partner of its

These stories are about

Communications and High Tech

behemoths such as Master Cheng

practice. He now volunteers for nonprofit

Yen from Taiwan, whose charitable

organisations. His first book, Doing Good

organisations are supported by

Well, won a silver in the Philanthropy/

millions from around the world,

Charity/Non-profit category in the Axiom

to Aki Ra, whose smaller, more

Business Book Awards in 2009. Doing

local teams have, over the years,

Good Well and The World That Changes

painstakingly saved millions of lives

the World were bestsellers in the US.

by hand-clearing 50,000 landmines in Cambodia. These heroes have pursued

SHARIFAH MOHAMED is a manager at

seemingly quotidian causes that

the Lien Centre for Social Innovation,

citizens of developed countries take for

focusing on New Social Models. She

granted, such as safe, clean toilets in

was part of the pioneering team for the

India, and decent housing for the poor

Lien Centreâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s inaugural Social Space

in Hong Kong, making life better for

publication. She is also a lecturer at

those whom society appears to have

Republic Polytechnic.

forgotten. CHERYL TANG is the Foundation Director of the SymAsia Foundation. She was formerly Executive Director 978981 4615938 Hardcover, 304pp 152 x 230mm S $38.90 UK ÂŁ18.99 US $29.90 Rights: World October 2015

of apVentures and a manager with Accenture.

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Willie Cheng

Sharifah Mohamed

Cheryl Tang

The heroes: Masue Katayama [Japan] interacting with elderly residents at a handcraft event in the Crossheart Elderly Home.

The heroes: Pathak [India] visiting the Sulabh Public School in New Delhi, India.

So many bento boxes, so little time.

SHERLOCK SAM AND THE OBENTO BONANZA IN TOKYO It’s a mystery that only the Supper

A.J. LOW is the husband-and-wife

Club has the stomach for. In the ninth

team of Adan Jimenez and Felicia

book of the Sherlock Sam series, when

Low-Jimenez. Adan has co-written a

mysterious bento boxes are left around

children’s book, Twisted Journeys #22:

Tokyo as clues to solve a famous artist’s

Hero City, published in the US. Felicia

disappearance, it’s up to Sherlock Sam,

was born and raised in Singapore and

Watson and their friends to gather their

works in book retailing.

wits and taste buds to crack the crime. Will the assistance of the eccentric Inspector Lestrade help Sherlock Sam prevail? Or will everything get lost in translation, leaving our intrepid detectives cold and hungry?

MORE THAN 24,000 COPIES OF BOOKS 1 THROUGH 8 SOLD! TRANSLATED INTO TURKISH AND BAHASA INDONESIA.

DREWSCAPE (Andrew Tan) is a full-time freelance illustrator and an Eisner-nominated comic artist. During his free time, he’s always creating his own comics for the fun of it. In his home studio you’ll find an overflow of art tools of all kinds as he loves experimenting with them. Andrew published his first graphic novel, Monsters, Miracles & Mayonnaise, in 2012.

978981 4615846 Paperback, 144pp 215 x 140 mm S $10.90 UK £5.99 US $8.90 Rights: World October 2015

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ALSO IN THE SERIES

INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL LIBRARIES NETWORK’S RED DOT AWARD 2013-2014

WINNER

POPULAR READERS’ CHOICE AWARD 2013

3RD PLACE ENGLISH CHILDREN’S BOOKS

YOUNG READERS’ CATEGORY

Praise for Sherlock Sam series

WATCH OUT, ENCYCLOPEDIA BROWN! WITH THE WIT OF SHERLOCK HOLMES AND GRIT OF SAM MALONE, SHERLOCK SAM IS THE NEW KID DETECTIVE ON THE SCENE.” —DANIEL NAYERI, author of Straw House, Wood House, Brick House, Blow

Sherlock Sam and the Missing Heirloom in Katong

Sherlock Sam and the Ghostly Moans in Fort Canning

978981 0747503

978981 0751296

Sherlock Sam and the Sinister Letters in Bras Basah

Sherlock Sam and the Alien Encounter on Pulau Ubin

978981 0758899

978981 0766740

Sherlock Sam and the Vanished Robot in Penang

Sherlock Sam and the Cloaked Classmate in MacRitchie

978981 0769178

978981 0785024

Sherlock Sam and the Stolen Script in Balestier

Sherlock Sam and the Fiendish Mastermind in Jurong

978981 4655330

978981 4615679

215 x 140 mm S $9.90 UK £4.99 US $7.90 Rights: World except Indonesia (for books 1-3) and Turkey (for books 1-5)

A National Library of Singapore S.U.R.E. Campaign Ambassador

PICTURE BOOKS

Your favourite childhood rhymes just got a local makeover.

JACK AND JILL AT BUKIT TIMAH HILL Jack and Jill went up the hill, To find the Monkey Man; Jack fell down, and claimed he was ill, And left Jill without a plan. Gwen Lee has taken traditional nursery rhymes and given them a Singaporean twist, adding local humour and flavour to many classics like “Little Boy Blue”, “Jack and Jill” and “I Had a Little Nut Tree”. GWEN LEE’S first collection of Singaporean nursery rhymes, There Was a Peranakan Woman Who Lived in a Shoe, was published in 2014. She is a recipient of the National Arts Council’s inaugural Arts Creation Fund and the winner of its Beyond Words Young and Younger initiative; her first children’s book was Little Cloud Wants Snow!. TWISSTII is an illustrator based in Singapore. Her work has been

Praise for There Was a Peranakan Woman Who Lived in a Shoe

even though she prefers her work

A FUN WAY TO TEACH LITTLE ONES ABOUT THEIR HERITAGE.”

to be darker and stranger.

—Katherine Arteche, Time Out Singapore.

described as whimsical and cute,

ALSO BY THE AUTHOR 978981 4615853 Paperback, 32pp 210 x 260 mm S $14.90 UK £6.99 US $11.90 Rights: World June 2015

There Was a Peranakan Woman Who Lived in a Shoe 978981 0778675 210 x 260 mm S $14.90 UK £6.99 US $11.90 Rights: World

PICTURE BOOKS

Curiouser and curiouser—what is this strange creature?

A CURIOUS BUNDLE FOR BO BO AND CHA CHA G’day mates! It’s the Great Australian Moving-in Day at Mandai Zoo, and Bo Bo and Cha Cha are excited to meet their new friends from Down Under. But when they discover a mysterious baby animal on their doorstep, the pandas have to find out what it is and who it belongs to. Join Bo Bo and Cha Cha as they try to uncover this mystery and figure out who should take care of the new baby. JASON ERIK LUNDBERG was born in New York, grew up in North Carolina, and has lived in Singapore since 2007. He is the author and editor of over a dozen books, including the collection Strange Mammals, the Bo Bo and Cha Cha picture book series, and The Epigram Books Collection of Best New Singaporean Short Stories anthology series.

ALSO IN THE SERIES

PATRICK YEE is an award-winning illustrator of more than 100 children’s books. He is most well-known in the US for his Rosie Rabbit board book series,

A New Home for Bo Bo and Cha Cha

Bo Bo and Cha Cha’s Big Day Out

Bo Bo and Cha Cha and the New Year Gift

which has sold close to 100,000 copies.

978981 0739980

978981 0755508

978981 0767099

978981 4615372 Paperback, 32pp 210 x 260 mm S $14.90 UK £6.99 US $11.90 Rights: World September 2015

CRYSTAL KITE MEMBER CHOICE AWARDS

FINALIST

(A NEW HOME FOR BO BO AND CHA CHA)

Bo Bo and Cha Cha Cook Up A Storm

Bo Bo and Cha Cha and the Lost Child

978981 4615334

978981 4615358

PICTURE BOOKS

The humble sarong holds plenty of surprises.

THE AMAZING SARONG Adi and Nora are about to go to the beach when their mother takes off her sarong baby sling and hands it to the two older children. They find that the sarong can be turned into so many other things: a towel, a canopy, a blindfold—even a safety net. QUEK HONG SHIN is a graphic designer and illustrator. He graduated from LaSalle-SIA College of the Arts. This is his first children’s book.

978981 4615860 Paperback, 32pp 210 x 260 mm S $14.90 UK £6.99 US $11.90 Rights: World October 2015

PICTURE BOOKS

Invention knows no boundaries.

KARUNG GUNI BOY Ming loves to make things. But he doesn’t have any money to buy things that would help him create his inventions. One day, hearing the “beep, beep, beep” of the Karung Guni man’s car horn, he is inspired to make something out of things he collects. So he asks his neighbours, who are only too happy to get rid of things they no longer need. In the end, Ming surprises everyone with a wonderful creation that they can also use. LORRAINE TAN is a lecturer at the School of Humanities & Social Sciences, Ngee Ann Polytechnic. Her first children’s book, Pip’s Garden, won the First-Time Writers and Illustrations Award in 2009. In 2013, her picture book, Origami Girl, was the Singapore first prize winner for the Daekyo Eye Level Children’s Literature Award.

978981 4615839 Paperback, 32pp 230 x 230 mm S $14.90 UK £6.99 US $11.90 Rights: World March 2016

ERIC WONG is an illustrator who takes every opportunity to deliver work that is witty and aesthetically pleasant. He is always finding and experimenting with new ways to challenge his limit.

PICTURE BOOKS

Familiarity breeds comfort: there’s no place like home.

GRANDMA AND THE THINGS THAT STAY THE SAME Do your grandparents ask you the same questions? In this story, a young girl faces the same situation with her Grandma. Here for the family’s annual reunion dinner, Grandma repeats the same questions she asks every year. Sweet, humorous and engaging, this book is a reminder that it’s the familiar little things that make us feel at home. EVE AW works in advertising, tinkering in the digital, tech, social and mobile space. She’s also the founder of Wandertrain, an enterprise involving photography and wandering around Singapore, station by station. She wrote this book for children who

TAN YUN RU graduated with an illustration degree from Middlesex

cannot (and for grown-ups who can)

University in London. She has won

understand why grandparents must

awards in the D&AD New Blood 2012

always ask the same questions. It was

and Malaysia Good Design Mark 2014.

inspired by her grandmother who has

She has also had her work exhibited

Alzheimer’s.

in Craft Community Exhibition in Singapore 2011, D&AD x LWLies Cover Illustration Exhibition in London 2012 and Launch in London 2015.

978981 4655392 Paperback, 32pp 210 x 260 mm S $14.90 UK £6.99 US $11.90 Rights: World January 2016

PICTURE BOOKS

An achimp book for very achimpa readers.

ACHIMPA THE MYSTERIOUS WORD One day, a researcher came across a new word: ACHIMPA. Nobody knew its meaning or the word class it belongs to. People started using “achimpa” as a verb, noun, preposition and interjection. Everyone said “achimpa” as they felt like it until one day the researcher made another new discovery… CATARINA SOBRAL is a Portuguese illustrator and communications designer. She is also the author of STRIKE and MY GRANDAD. Her books have been published in many countries and she is a constant presence in

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TRANSLATED FROM THE PORTUGUESE

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BEST CHILDREN´S BOOK PORTUGUESE AUTHOR’S SOCIETY AWARD, 2013

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BEST PICTURE BOOK AMADORA INTERNATIONAL COMICS FESTIVAL, 2013

several national and international magazines and newspapers. Catarina is also experienced in printmaking and film animation, being the author of several book trailers for her publisher Orfeu Negro.

978981 4655385 Paperback, 40pp 210 x 260 mm S $14.90 UK £6.99 US $11.90 Rights: Southeast Asia January 2016

PICTURE BOOKS

The sky’s the limit when it comes to your imagination.

WHAT IF DINOSAURS STILL EXISTED! That’s exactly the question Zoe and Leo ask themselves while on a trip to the natural history museum. These prehistoric creatures may be extinct, but flights of fancy know no bounds. In this imaginative, humorous and charmingly illustrated story, the reader is invited to join Zoe and Leo in bringing their fantasy to life. EMMA DE WOOT was born in 1960 in Liège, Belgium. She studied illustration at the Saint Luc Institute in Liège. For 20 years Emma has been drawing for children’s magazines in Belgium and France. She now illustrates books at

TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH

Mijade, a Belgium publishing house. Emma has four sons and lives in the countryside‚ where she has a workshop filled with light.

978981 4655552 Paperback, 32pp 210 x 260 mm S $14.90 UK £6.99 US $11.90 Rights: Southeast Asia January 2016

GRAPHIC NOVELS

The road to finding love is fraught with jerks.

JERKS WON’T GIVE YOU FLOWERS This graphic novel documents the trials and tribulations of one young woman’s quest to find love in the big city. Too cool for her small hometown, yet too provincial for the metropolis, she’s the Moderna de Pueblo (Small Town Hipster). In her search for a job, an apartment and love, she finds that big city life isn’t all that she imagined. With the wealth of new experiences comes an equal wealth of jerks in all shapes and sizes: the Classic Jerk, the Cultural Snob Jerk, the Tough Guy Jerk, the One-Night-Only Jerk, the Jerk Jerk (whose jerk-like behaviour is selfaware and premeditated)… it’s a tough world out there. But, armed with two unshakeable girlfriends and a generous dose of gumption, our heroine takes the city on, one jerk at a time. MODERNA DE PUEBLO (Small Town Hipster) is the pseudonym of Raquel Córcoles, an illustrator and writer. She has worked for Cuore and El Jueves (Spanish magazines), and published her first book Soy de Pueblo (I’m from a

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TRANSLATED FROM THE SPANISH

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THE AUTHOR HAS OVER 50,000 FOLLOWERS ON TWITTER, 100,000 ON FACEBOOK, AND OVER 10,000 VISITORS DAILY TO HER BLOG MODERNADEPUEBLO.COM

Small Town) under Glénat. 978981 4655200 Paperback, 160pp 152 x 230mm S $24.90 Rights: Singapore and Malaysia only January 2016

GRAPHIC NOVELS

FICTION

Is this really home, truly?

IT NEVER RAINS ON NATIONAL DAY A teacher running away from her life meets an empathetic engineer on an overnight train to Trondheim. A foreign worker is decapitated in an HDB building site accident. A Singaporean housewife must negotiate Beijing’s inscrutable culture as her British husband awaits a heart transplant. And in different corners of the world, Singaporeans and exiles mark National Day in their own ways. Jeremy Tiang’s cosmopolitan debut collection weaves together the lives of its characters in ingenious and surprising ways. Ranging all over the world—from Switzerland to Singapore—these wry, unsettling stories ask how we decide where we belong, and what happens to those who don’t.

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FIRST FULL-LENGTH SHORT STORY COLLECTION FROM AN ACCLAIMED WRITER AND TRANSLATOR THE STORY “TRONDHEIM” WON THE GOLDEN POINT AWARD IN 2009

JEREMY TIANG’S short fiction has appeared in Asia Literary Review, Ambit, Drunken Boat, Esquire (Singapore), Quarterly Literature Review Singapore. He has translated seven books from Chinese, including work by You Jin, Wong Yoon Wah, Yeng Pway Ngon, Yu Qiuyu and Zhang

978981 4655644 Paperback, 224pp 130 x 200 mm S $18.90 UK £9.99 US $14.90 Rights: World September 2015

Yueran, and was recently awarded a PEN/Heim Translation Grant. His plays include The Last Days of Limehouse and A Dream of Red Pavilions.

FICTION

Short, (not always) sweet and Singaporean.

THE EPIGRAM BOOKS COLLECTION OF BEST NEW SINGAPOREAN SHORT STORIES: VOLUME TWO This unique anthology gathers twenty-four of the finest stories from Singaporean writers published in 2013 and 2014, selected from hundreds published in journals, magazines, anthologies and single-author collections. These pieces examine life in Singapore, beyond its borders to Toronto, California, Shanghai, Andhra Pradesh, Pyongchon and Paris, as well as to the distant past and the far future. Accompanying the stories are the editor’s introduction and an extensive list of honourable mentions for further reading. JASON ERIK LUNDBERG, series editor, was born in Brooklyn, New York, and has lived in Singapore since 2007. He is the author of a dozen books, including the new collection Strange Mammals; he is also the founding editor of LONTAR: The Journal of Southeast Asian Speculative

CONTRIBUTORS INCLUDE AMANDA LEE KOE, JOSHUA IP, NG YI-SHENG, O THIAM CHIN, CLAIRE THAM AND TANIA DE ROZARIO

Fiction, editor of Fish Eats Lion (2012), and co-editor of A Field Guide to Surreal Botany (2008) and Scattered, Covered, Smothered (2004). 978981 4615921 Paperback, 364pp 152 x 225 mm S $24.90 UK £12.99 US $19.90 Rights: World October 2015

ALSO IN THE SERIES The Epigram Books Collection of Best New Singaporean Short Stories: Vol.1 978981 0762346 152 x 225 mm S $24.90 UK £12.99 US $19.90 Rights: World

FICTION

Enter the strange and beautiful world of speculative fiction.

LONTAR THE JOURNAL OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN SPECULATIVE FICTION – ISSUE #5 This fifth issue of LONTAR presents speculative writing from and about Singapore, the Philippines, Malaysia, Cambodia, Indonesia and Thailand. Inside these pages, you’ll find (amongst many other fantastical tales): an ancient and fatal karmic reunion in Jakarta by award-winner Gord Sellar; the true origin of the Merlion by Singapore Literature Prize winner Amanda Lee Koe; a man’s literal transformation into an island by award-winner Ng Yi-Sheng and a farfuture Malaysian fairy tale by Kawika Guillermo. The series is edited by JASON ERIK LUNDBERG.

THE FIRST TWO ISSUES OF LONTAR WERE FEATURED ON BOING BOING, ADVENTURES OF A BOOKONAUT, DIVERSITY IN SF&F, ROCKET KAPRE, SF SIGNAL AND IO9

LONTAR IS THE WORLD’S ONLY LITERARY JOURNAL ON SOUTHEAST ASIAN SPECULATIVE FICTION

ALSO AVAILABLE LONTAR: The Journal of Southeast Asian Speculative Fiction—Issue #3

978981 4655187 Paperback, 112pp 165 x 215 mm S $14.90 UK £7.99 US $11.90 Rights: World October 2015

978981 4615754 165 x 215 mm S $14.90 UK £7.99 US $11.90 Rights: World

LONTAR: The Journal of Southeast Asian Speculative Fiction—Issue #4 978981 4615914 165 x 215 mm S $14.90 UK £7.99 US $11.90 Rights: World

NON-FICTION

A budding journalist finds his footing in 1940s Hong Kong.

HONG KONG FIASCOES A STRUGGLE FOR SURVIVAL In 1947, David T. K. Wong set out for Hong Kong from Singapore in a Messageries Maritimes ship to start the next stage of his itinerant life. After finding himself as an initially reluctant journalist at the South China Morning Post, the young but resourceful David learns the ropes of manoeuvring through court rooms and grappling with the judicial system. In this second volume of his family memoir, David offers readers both a historical and personal account into a writer’s life. It is set against a backdrop of the evolving political climate of colonial Hong Kong, and his added responsibilities of embarking on marriage and starting a family. DAVID T. K. WONG was born in Hong Kong and received his early education in China,

Praise for Adrift

Singapore and Australia. He worked as

joining the Administrative Service of the

AT THE AGE OF 86, DAVID T. K. WONG HAS WRITTEN A MEMOIR JAMMED WITH FACTS STRANGER THAN FICTION.”

Hong Kong Government. After retirement

—Yolanda Christian, Eye of an Artist

a journalist in Hong Kong, London and Singapore for a number of years before

from public service, he emigrated to London to embark on a writing career. 978981 4655569 Paperback, 464pp 152 x 225mm S $27.90 UK £14.99 US $22.90 Rights: World October 2015

ALSO IN THE SERIES Adrift: My Childhood in Colonial Singapore 978981 4615983 152 x 225mm S $27.90 UK £14.99 US $22.90 Rights: World

NON-FICTION

It is not just the local heroes we should be celebrating.

NOT BORN IN SINGAPORE: FIFTY PERSONALITIES WHO SHAPED THE NATION Did you know that we owe the iconic Singapore Girl to a British-born adman? Or that the founder of the much-beloved Mustafa Centre hails from India? This year, as we celebrate our local heroes, it’s also time to put the spotlight on other unsung contributors who have shaped our nation. They may have come from other shores, but these 50 foreigners have left their mark in building Singapore into the country we know it to be today. This book pays homage to the names, faces and stories behind familiar national treasures such as the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, the Keppel Shipyard and A*STAR. TNG YING HUI has a Master’s Degree from Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver.

978981 4655415 Paperback, 304pp 150 x 225mm S $35.00 UK £16.99 US $28.00 Rights: World October 2015

Ian Batey • K. P. Bhaskar • Santha Bhaskar • Della Butcher • Choo Hoey • Kuo Pao Kun • Goh Lay Kuan • J. M. Sali • Tan Swie Hian • John Herbert • Mustaq Ahmad • Laurence Hartnett • Tsutomu Kanai • Pasquale Pistorio • Muhammad Jalaluddin Sayeed • Tang I-Fang • Ratan Tata • Kartar Singh Thakral • Frank Tsao Wen-King • Alain Vandenborre • Cyril Neville Watson • Albert Winsemius • Professor Robert A. Brown • Brother Joseph McNally • Milenko Prvacki • Mary Turnbull • Professor Wang Gungwu • Professor Wu Teh Yao • Dr John Miksic • Ann Wee • T. H. Elliott • Christine Laimer • Lien Ying Chow • G. G. Thomson • Yaakov ‘Jack’ Elazari • Krystyn Olszewski • Bruno Wildermuth • Dr Sabaratnam Arulkumaran • Dr Sydney Brenner • Professor Edward W. Holmes • Dr Edison Liu • Sir George Radda • Dr Shan Ratnam • Sir David Lane • Professor Jackie Y. Ying • Aleksandar Duric • Feng Tianwei • Tao Li • Jing Junhong • Ronald Susilo

PLAYS

Because all you need is love.

A WHITE ROSE AT MIDNIGHT On the cusp of independence, cultures collide in a bedroom in Singapore. The English-educated scholar Hua Min is disillusioned with life until he meets the Chinese-educated ex-nightclub singer Ching Mei. When Su-Ling, Hua Min’s ex-classmate, returns from London, Hua Min is torn between the women’s advances. Humorous, witty and prescient, A White Rose at Midnight is a pithy portrait of a soul— and nation—divided. A White Rose at Midnight was first staged to critical acclaim by the Experimental Theatre Club in 1964. It was pioneer playwright Lim Chor Pee’s second and final play after the landmark Mimi Fan (1962). LIM CHOR PEE was a pioneer Singaporean playwright writing in English in the early 1960s. He was part of a circle of writers and theatre practitioners finding their voice as Singapore gained independence.

978981 4615488 Paperback, 128pp 145 x 210 mm S $13.90 UK £6.99 US $11.90 Rights: World September 2015

LIM’S MIMI FAN WAS CONSIDERED THE FIRST ENGLISH-LANGUAGE PLAY IN SINGAPORE. ALSO BY THE AUTHOR Mimi Fan 978981 0714598 145 x 210 mm S $13.90 UK £6.99 US $11.90 Rights: World

WEE EDITIONS

More than just a foodie hotspot.

WE LOVE GEYLANG SERAI Since pre-independence days, Geylang Serai has served as a hub for the Malay and Indonesian communities in Singapore. Other than giving us hawker gems like nasi padang, satay and otah, Geylang is also home to the Malay Village, constructed in 1989, which showcases kampong life and offers ethnic handicrafts, traditional costumes and souvenirs. In the holy month of Ramadan leading up to Hari Raya Puasa, the area comes alive with performances and bazaars, as families shop for new clothes and delicious goodies. Follow the artists from Urban Sketchers Singapore through this eastern neighbourhood as they document its key landmarks and scenes of daily life. URBAN SKETCHERS SINGAPORE is an informal group of artists who draw the places they visit, capturing what

ALSO IN THE SERIES We Love Toa Payoh

We Love Tiong Bahru

978981 0736231 Rights: World

978981 0736255 Rights: World

We Love Bedok

We Love Queenstown

987981 0754327 Rights: World

978981 0766016 Rights: World

We Love Katong

We Love Little India

978981 0766078 Rights: World

978981 0778217 Rights: World

they see from direct observation on location. Visit fb.com/usksg for more details of their sketching sojourns. 978981 4615181 Paperback, 96pp 125 x 175mm S $12.90 UK ÂŁ5.99 US $9.90 Rights: World January 2016

We Love Chinatown 978981 0778231 Rights: World

BACKLIST

PICTURE BOOKS Sam, Sebbie and Di-Di-Di: At the Night Safari

Sam, Sebbie and Di-Di-Di: At the S.E.A. Aquarium

Sam, Sebbie and Di-Di-Di: Sebbie’s First Day of School

David Seow, Soefara Jafney S $14.90 UK £6.99 US $11.90 Rights: World

David Seow, Soefara Jafney S $14.90 UK £6.99 US $11.90 Rights: World except world Tamil language

David Seow, Soefara Jafney S $14.90 UK £6.99 US $11.90 Rights: World

978981 0765958

978981 0765972

Sam, Sebbie and Di-Di-Di: A Day with the Duchess

Sam, Sebbie and Di-Di-Di: The Lion Dance

David Seow, Soefara Jafney S $14.90 UK £6.99 US $11.90 Rights: World

978981 0778613

978981 0778590

Goh Bee Lock and the Three Boars

978981 0760168

KF Seetoh, Gavin Goo S $16.90 UK £7.99 US $12.90 Rights: World

978981 0731816

Tibby, the Tiger Bunny

Little Red in the Hood

Adrian Pang, Milenko Prvacki S $16.90 UK £7.99 US $12.90 Rights: World

Glen Goei, Drewscape S $16.90 UK £7.99 US $12.90 Rights: World

978981 0732233

The Robot in My Playground

Emily Lim, Jade Fang S $14.90 UK £6.99 US $11.90 Rights: World

978981 0755836

978981 4615716

978981 0758349

The Crane and the Crab

978981 0758103

Catherine Khoo, Chen Ziyue S $14.90 UK £6.99 US $11.90 Rights: World except world Tamil language

Pauline Loh, Avina Tan S $14.90 UK £6.99 US $11.90 Rights: World except world Tamil language

The Great Dragon Warrior

Justice Bao: The Case of the Missing Coins

SR Nathan, Anngee Neo S $16.90 UK £7.99 US $12.90 Rights: World except China

Hansel and Girl Girl

Tibby and Duckie

Emily Lim, Jade Fang S $14.90 UK £6.99 US $11.90 Rights: World

978981 0735906

978981 0778576

Ng Swee San, Wen Dee Tan S $14.90 UK £6.99 US $11.90 Rights: World 978981 4615822

PICTURE BOOKS FANN

The Nightingale Who Couldn’t Sing

Patrick Yee S $24.90 UK £11.99 US $19.90 Rights: World

978981 0726188 978981 0726171

Angie Featherstone, Stephanie Wong S $14.90 UK £6.99 US $11.90 Rights: World except world Tamil language

Phua San San S $18.90 UK £9.20 US $14.90 Rights: World

978981 0755850

The Rock and the Bird Chew Chia Shao Wei, Anngee Neo 978981 0755553 S $16.90 UK £7.99 US $12.90 Rights: World except Germany and world Tamil language

The Very Solid Adventures of Handsome Hock and Champion Poh

HEDWIG ANUAR CHILDREN’S BOOK AWARD 2015

WINNER

THE ROYAL COMMONWEALTH SOCIETY

FIRST PRIZE COMMONWEALTH ESSAY COMPETITION

Where’s Grandma? Edmund Lim, Tan Zi Xi 978981 0720780 S $18.90 UK £9.99 US $14.90 Rights: World except South Korea

HEDWIG ANUAR CHILDREN’S BOOK AWARD 2013

WINNER

Farrer Park Ann Peters, Lydia Yang 978981 0716769 S $17.90 UK £8.99 US $13.90 Rights: World

HEDWIG ANUAR CHILDREN’S BOOK AWARD 2013

SHORTLIST

READ! SINGAPORE 2013

SELECTED TITLE

STORIES FROM AROUND THE WORLD Blanket Travel Kim Da-Jeong S $14.90 Rights: Singapore only

The Run of the Snail

Why Cats Don’t Wear Hats

Manuela Monari, Philip Giordano S $14.90 Rights: Singapore only

Victoria Pérez Escrivá, Ester García S $14.90 Rights: Singapore only

978981 0738891

978981 0732189

Tim’s Moving Day

The King and the Frog

Hurry Up, Slow Down

Anke Wagner, Eva Eriksson S $14.90 Rights: Singapore only

Alain Chiche, Slyvain Diez S $14.90 Rights: Singapore only

978981 0732226

978981 0732219

978981 0739188

Isabel Minhós Martins, Bernardo Carvalho S $14.90 Rights: Southeast Asia 978981 4615945

Get In Line!

978981 4615952

I Love Chocolate Davide Calì, Evelyn Daviddi 978981 0732202 S $14.90 Rights: Singapore only

BEST EDITORIAL PRODUCTION

EURO CHOCOLATE AWARD

The Little Kangaroo Guido van Genechten 978981 4615969 S $14.90 Rights: Southeast Asia

PICTURE BOOK OF THE YEAR 2007

WINNER (NETHERLANDS)

Kristin Roskifte Hardcover S $14.90 Rights: Southeast Asia

AMOS LEE CHAPTER BOOKS The Diary of Amos Lee: I Sit, I Write, I Flush!

The Diary of Amos Lee: Girls, Guts and Glory!

The Diary of Amos Lee: I’m Twelve, I’m Tough, I Tweet!

Adeline Foo, Stephanie Wong S $12.90 UK £6.99 US $9.90 Rights: World, except China, India, Indonesia, Slovakia & Turkey.

Adeline Foo, Stephanie Wong S $12.90 UK £6.99 US $9.90 Rights: World, except China, India, Indonesia & Turkey.

978981 0824846

978981 0726782

978981 0871321 POPULAR READERS’ CHOICE AWARD 2011

RED DOT AWARD 2009

WINNER

The Diary of Amos Lee: Your D.I.Y. Toilet Diary to Fame! Adeline Foo, Stephanie Wong S $12.90 UK £6.99 US $9.90 Rights: World except Turkey. 978981 0707576

The Travel Diary of Amos Lee: Lost in Taipei!

Adeline Foo, Stephanie Wong S $12.90 UK £6.99 US $9.90 Rights: World, except China, India & Turkey.

Adeline Foo, Stephanie Wong S $12.90 UK £6.99 US $9.90 Rights: World

978981 0735180

HEDWIG ANUAR CHILDREN’S BOOK AWARD 2015

978981 0778729

978981 4615396

1ST RUNNER UP

Whoopie Lee: Almost Famous Adeline Foo, Stephanie Wong S $8.90 UK £6.99 US $9.90 Rights: World

Adeline Foo, Stephanie Wong S $12.90 UK £6.99 US $9.90 Rights: World

SHORTLIST