For the first time, the National Arts Council (NAC) will present a “Best of Singapore Literature” showcase at the London Book Fair this year, presenting literary works from more than 60 Singaporean writers. In addition, a delegation of writers and publishers representing Singapore will be present at the Fair to participate in some of the trade events, as well as two public literary events held at popular bookstores. The full list of Singapore delegates is included in Annex A.
The London Book Fair is an annual event, and will be held from 14-17 April 2013 at Earl’s Court in London. It is one of the most important book fairs in Europe, attracting about 25,000 attendees from across 133 countries, and is a global marketplace for rights negotiations and the sale and distribution of content across print, audio, television, film and digital channels. Having a Singapore presence at this fair creates opportunities for our local writers and publishers to forge valuable relationships with their international counterparts, to explore future partnerships and collaborations. Beyond the sale of rights and content distribution, the London Book Fair also has a unique focus on translation, providing ample opportunities for rights sales across languages and countries, including Asia. This is an ideal opportunity for Singapore’s multi-language literature, and exposes international buyers to our Chinese, Malay and Tamil literary works.
Says Mr Khor Kok Wah, Senior Director, Sector Development (Literary Arts), NAC, “This is the first time we are presenting our local works at the London Book Fair. We hope that through this Singapore showcase, we can generate greater interest in Singapore’s literary content, even within a crowded and competitive international publishing scene. We see this as an exciting platform to cultivate closer ties with international publishers, and explore opportunities with them for our writers and editors.”
Says participating publisher, Mr Fong Hoe Fang from Ethos Books, “For Singapore to present such a showcase at the London Book Fair is a significant milestone and step forward for the Singapore literary and publishing scene. We are excited to be part of this team representing the literary scene in Singapore, and to have this unique opportunity to present works of our Singapore writers internationally. I hope that people will begin to take notice of Singapore literature internationally, that serious literary content from this part of Asia can be equally engaging and exciting.”
http://www.nac.gov.sg/media-centre/news-releases/news-detail?id=22334f2e-cf0d-449c-8d26-3c86a2da805f