The Epigram Books Fiction Prize 2021 — Winners Boey Meihan and Sebastian Sim Announced

Joining the exalted ranks of past winners such as O Thiam Chin, Nuraliah Norasid and Yeoh Jo-Ann, are the just-announced joint winners of the 2021 Epigram Books Fiction Prize, the ceremony for which took place on the evening of January 16 and for the first time virtually (with a dinner set meal delivery service by Conrad Centennial) because of circuit breaker restrictions: Boey Meihan (Singapore) for The Formidable Miss Cassidy and Sebastian Sim (Singapore) for And The Award Goes to Sally Bong, each winner taking home $15,000 in cash prize and whose books will be published by Epigram Books in the second half of 2021.  

Boey Meihan is the author of the sci-fi romp The Messiah Virus (Math Paper Press, 2019) and also the Vice-President of The Association of Comic Artists in Singapore. The Formidable Miss Cassidy is about a ladies' companion who arrived in Singapore in the late 19th century to a household infested with pontianak and momoks and other supernaturals. Sebastian Sim is no stranger to the Epigram Books Fiction Prize, having won it in 2017 for The Riot Act and shortlisted in the inaugural rendition of the Prize with Let's Give It Up For Gimme Lao. His winning novel And The Award Goes To Sally Bong is about a non-achiever born two years after Singapore Independence, a counterpart to the super-achiever Gimme Lao. Sim has previously published wuxia novels in Chinese, and has worked a variety of interesting jobs, from being a prison officer to being a croupier in a casino.  

For the first time last year in 2020, Epigram Books opened up the Prize to encompass the Southeast Asian region and young writer Joshua Kam took home the $25,000 Prize for his debut novel How The Man In Green  Saved Pahang, and Possibly The World. This year was once again open to regional entries and judge Gareth Richards mentioned that 57 manuscripts were in contention for the Prize, making the judges' work of selecting one winner a difficult one. The other four shortlisted writers comprised Wesley Leon Aroozoo (Singapore), Pallavi Gopinath Aney (Singapore), Daryl Qiyin Yam (Singapore) and H.Y. Yeang (Malaysia), and all also received $5000 each in monetary award and will see their novels to publication in the latter half of 2021. The judges' panel comprised filmmaker Wahyuni Hadi, popular children's series Danger Dan author Monica Lim, Gerakbudaya owner Gareth Richards, NTU Associate Professor of English Dr. Sim Wai Chew, and Founder and CEO of Epigram Edmund Wee. The judges individually made comments about the quality of the submissions, with Hadi specifically commending the shortlisted novels for their depth of research, willingness to push boundaries and for being 'authentic to who the writer is'. Richards detailed the judging process in more granular detail, explaining some of the criteria for consideration such as originality and style, use of language, plot, characterisation and creativity, as well as more commercial considerations: does the novel speak to a potential audience, and is it a strong narrative or page-turner, saying that "there was a consensus about some of the offerings but by no means all." 

Edmund Wee remarked that last year had been 'miserable' for Epigram, with the closing of its e-business localbooks.sg, all its titles moving to Epigram Bookshop, its new online outlet, as well as its recent announcement of the closure of its sister operations in London, UK, and 2021 will be a challenge.  But he stated that he was happy the Prize could be held, and in fact, prize moneys were increased this year due to the cancellation of the physical event and dinner. 

We congratulate the winners of the 2021 Epigram Books Fiction Prize and all the shortlisted nominees. 

Lion City lit: Inez Tan launches her debut short story collection

This Is Where I Won’t Be Alone: Stories launched in Singapore this weekend at Kinokuniya’s main store. Carissa Foo, who wrote If It Were Up to Mrs Dada (Epigram Books, 2018) led a discussion with the collection’s author, Inez Tan.

Inez spoke about the inspiration for the first two stories in the anthology, “Edison and Curie,” and “Oyster”. “Edison and Curie,” is about a pair of twins who differ greatly in their academic aptitude. The story is psychologically complex, exploring different aspects of identity, success, and coming of age. Inez explained that this story was born from a “collision” of different experiences and ideas. In particular, she spoke of Einstein’s famous twin paradox as an initial catalyst for the creation of “Edison and Curie”. The next story in the collection, “Oyster,” is grounded in a more personal experience. Inez began writing it after her mother gifted her some dried oysters to take back to the United States. Although “Oyster” was inspired by a real-world incident, the story itself brings us out of reality and into the imaginary realm of an oyster’s thoughts. The oyster arrives into a family fridge, and its unfamiliarity with our world gives us an interesting perspective on human relationships.

Contemporary voices: State of Emergency by Jeremy Tiang

In her regular column Contemporary voices Elaine Chiew explores books and authors making waves around Asia, and beyond. Here she discusses State of Emergency, by Jeremy Tiang, from Singapore.

Henry James apparently said, “It takes a lot of history to produce a little literature.”  One might find this proven true in Jeremy Tiang’s debut novel, State of Emergency, which cuts across swaths of history starting from the Batang Kali massacre in Malaya by Scots Guards in 1948, wending through key episodes of Communist suppression in Singapore, such as the Hock Lee Bus Riots (1955), Operation Coldstore (1967) and Operation Spectrum (1983), the detention of a Catholic priest and various church members in 1987, fetching up to current day Singapore (the MRT system that’s like “something out of science fiction” and Tiong Bahru likened to Hoxton, London.)