Epigram Books Explained

Epigram Books
Foundation:1991
Location:Singapore
Industry:Publishing (and Design)
Products:Literary Fiction and Non-fiction
Homepage:Epigram Books

Epigram Books is an independent publishing company in Singapore. It publishes works of Singapore-based writers, poets and playwrights.

History

Epigram was founded in 1991 by Edmund Wee as a design agency.[1] [2] Epigram began the publishing and designing of annual reports before expanding its portfolio to include more diverse design work such as wayfinding, corporate logo branding, and graphic design. Notable clients of Epigram include OCBC Bank, Singapore Airlines, Media Development Authority and CapitaLand.[3] [4]

Epigram has won international awards for their designs of annual reports, including the Hong Kong Design Awards and the Graphis Gold Award for Annual Reports.[5] [6] They are the first company in the world to win the Grand Prix award at the Red Dot consecutively.[5] They received commissions for commemorative books from agencies such as the National Trades Union Congress and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The company Epigram Books, the publishing arm of Epigram set up in 1999, published its first book with mountaineer David Lim’s Mountain to Climb: The Quest for Everest and Beyond. Epigram Books bore the design and printing costs of the book and sold five thousand copies. Epigram Books was incorporated as a separate entity from the parent company in July 2011.[7]

In 2015, Epigram Books launched a fiction prize, the Epigram Books Fiction Prize, with an award of $20,000. The first edition was won by O Thiam Chin.[8]

In January 2021 Epigram Books, which set up its London arm in November 2016, announced it would stop publishing in the United Kingdom in order to shore up its Singapore business amid the COVID-19 slowdown.[9]

Notable publications and reception

Epigram Books has published a series of cookbooks, under the Heritage Cookbook series.[10] In 2010, it published There’s No Carrot in Carrot Cake, a guide book to Singapore’s street food (or hawker food in colloquial terms). The book sparked a debate in the media about the need for a culinary school to preserve Singapore’s food heritage.[11] [12]

A short story, Moving Forward, included in the compilation of Andrew Tan’s Monsters, Miracles & Mayonnaise was nominated for an Eisner Award for Best Short Story in 2013. Monsters, Miracles & Mayonnaise is one of the three graphic novels that was published by the company in 2012. Epigram Books is also the first Singaporean publishing house to have a comic book nominated for this prize.[13] [14] Another graphic novel, Ten Sticks and One Rice by Oh Yong Hwee and Koh Hong Teng won an International MANGA Award (Bronze) in 2014.[15]

Other than publishing books by debut authors, Epigram Books has also taken to republish books that are out-of-print Singapore classics, such as Jean Tay’s Boom and Everything but the Brain and Goh Poh Seng’s The Immolation.[16] [17] The company has also launched the Cultural Medallion series, where non-English literature award recipients are translated into English. Some of the works include Singai M. Elangkannan’s Flowers at Dawn, Suratman Markasan’s Penghulu and Wong Meng Voon’s Under the Bed, Confusion.[18]

In 2016, Epigram Books was shortlisted for the Bologna Prize for the Best Children’s Publishers of the Year at the 53rd Bologna Children’s Book Fair. The award rewards creative, innovative publishers based on “The editorial projects, professional skills and intellectual qualities of work produced by publishing houses all over the world”.[19] [20] In the same year, Epigram Books won four out of eight prizes at the Singapore Book Awards, including Book Of The Year for Sonny Liew's The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye and Best Fiction Title for Amanda Lee Koe's Ministry of Moral Panic.[21]

Epigram Books Fiction Prize

Launched in 2015, the Epigram Books Fiction Prize has been awarded annually to the best original and unpublished novel in the English language written by a Singaporean citizen, Singapore permanent resident, or Singapore-born writer. Until 2023, the prize was Singapore's richest literary prize, with the highest prize being $25,000 SGD, before being surpassed by the Dr Alan HJ Chan Spirit of Singapore Book Prize.[22] [23] The inaugural 2015 Prize was won by O Thiam Chin for his novel Now That It's Over, while the 2016 Prize was won by Nuraliah Norasid for her novel The Gatekeeper[24] and the 2017 Prize to Sebastian Sim for The Riot Act. In 2018, Yeoh Jo-Ann's Impractical Uses Of Cake won, and it was announced that from 2019, the Prize prize will be open to writers from other ASEAN countries, not only Singapore.[25]

In 2020, Malaysian author Joshua Kam won, with his book, How the Man in Green Saved Pahang, and Possibly the World.[26]

In January 2021, two writers – Meihan Boey and Sebastian Sim – were named joint winners of the 2021 Prize.[27] This is the first time two joint winners have won the Prize and the first time an author has won it twice.[28]

Winners

!Year!Title!Author!Ref
2015Now That It's OverO Thiam Chin[29]
2016The GatekeeperNuraliah Norasid[30]
2017The Riot ActSebastian Sim[31]
2018Impractical Uses of CakeYeoh Jo-Ann[32]
2020How The Man In Green Saved Pahang, And Possibly The WorldJoshua Kam[33]
2021The Formidable Miss CassidyMeihan Boey[34]
And The Award Goes to Sally BongSebastian Sim
2022The Accidental Malay[35]
2023The Campbell Gardens Ladies’ Swimming Class[36]

Notes and References

  1. (2013, 12 Sep) Award-winning designer receives University of Waikato award. Fuseworks Media.
  2. Web site: Yap, S. . 28 January 2007 . Immaculate conceptions . The Straits Times . https://web.archive.org/web/20150210091959/http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes20070128-1.2.57.7.3.aspx . 10 February 2015 . live .
  3. (2008, 2 Dec). Winning Designers. The Straits Times. Retrieved from http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes20081202-1.2.33.15.aspx
  4. Matrin, Mayo. (2 December 2008) The art of annual report. Today. Retrieved from http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/today20081202-2.2.31.2.aspx
  5. Phan, M. (3 March 2008) Designed to send the message across. The Business Times. Retrieved fromhttp://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/biztimes20080303-1.2.18.1.aspx
  6. Chang, R. (4 September 2007) SLA’s annual report snags global graphic design accolade. The Straits Times. Retrieved from http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes20070904-1.2.57.18.2.aspx
  7. Nanda, A. (11 July 2011). The Monday interview with Edmund Wee: Novel way of life. The Straits Times. Retrieved from Factiva database
  8. News: O Thiam Chin wins inaugural Epigram Books Fiction Prize. Nur Asyiqin Mohamad Salleh. The Straits Times . 5 November 2015. 9 October 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180627230651/https://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/arts/o-thiam-chin-wins-inaugural-epigram-books-fiction-prize. 27 June 2018. live.
  9. Web site: Auto . Hermes . 11 January 2021 . Singapore's Epigram Books to stop publishing in the UK The Straits Times . 3 May 2022 . www.straitstimes.com . en.
  10. News: Huang . L. J. . 10 February 2008 . Preserving Mum’s recipes . . https://web.archive.org/web/20150210092216/http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes20080210-1.2.45.7.7.aspx . 10 February 2015.
  11. News: Tan . R.L. . 22 January 2011 . Hawker Masters.
  12. News: Seetoh . K. F. . 25 August 2010 . Can our makan go global? . The New Paper.
  13. Martin, M. (2013. 18 Apr). Graphic success: S’pore comics artist Drewscape nominated for Eisner Award. Today.
  14. Yong, N. (18 April 2013). Local comic artist up for Eisner Award. The Straits Times.
  15. Web site: Announcement of Winners for the Seventh International MANGA Award . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150217174924/http://manga-award.jp/en/award_7th.html . 17 February 2015 . 26 January 2015.
  16. Nanda, A. (11 July 2011). The Monday interview with Edmund Wee: Novel way of life. The Straits Times.
  17. Oon, C. (26 February 2013). Local book’s next chapter. The Straits Times.
  18. (2012, 20 Dec). 18 Princes of print. The Straits Times.
  19. News: Martin . Mayo . 2 March 2016 . Epigram Books shortlisted for children's publisher award . MediaCorp . TODAY . live . 2 March 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160302113315/http://www.todayonline.com/entertainment/arts/epigram-books-shortlisted-childrens-publisher-award . 2 March 2016.
  20. News: Said . Nabilah . 7 March 2016 . Epigram Books in the running for Bologna Prize for Best Children's Publisher of the Year . Singapore Press Holdings . The Straits Times . live . 7 March 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160310170909/http://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/arts/epigram-books-in-the-running-for-bologna-prize-for-best-childrens-publisher-of-the . 10 March 2016.
  21. News: Lee . Jian Xuan . 10 May 2016 . Epigram Books scores big with 4 wins at Singapore Book Awards . Singapore Press Holdings . The Straits Times . live . 11 May 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160601065321/http://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/arts/epigram-books-scores-big-with-4-wins-at-singapore-book-awards . 1 June 2016.
  22. News: Sponsorship secured for Epigram Books Fiction Prize, 10 on longlist. hermes. The Straits Times . 26 September 2017. 9 October 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180627202715/https://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/arts/10-authors-on-longlist-for-epigram-fiction-prize. 27 June 2018. live.
  23. News: Yong . Clement . Richest Singapore book prize worth $30,000 launched by SUSS The Straits Times . 20 April 2023 . The Straits Times . Singapore Press Holdings . 19 April 2023 . en.
  24. News: Said. Nabilah. First-time author Nuraliah Norasid wins $25,000 Epigram book prize. 15 March 2017. The Straits Times. Singapore Press Holdings. 24 November 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20170315174157/http://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/arts/first-time-author-wins-25000-book-prize. 15 March 2017. live.
  25. News: Debut novel wins Singapore's richest literary prize, which opens to Asean writers next year . The Straits Times . 22 November 2018 . Singapore Press Holdings . 23 September 2019.
  26. News: Ho. Olivia. 16 January 2020. Malaysian writer Joshua Kam wins fifth Epigram Books Fiction Prize. en. The Straits Times. 12 October 2021. 0585-3923.
  27. Web site: A geek at heart: an interview with local author Meihan Boey. 12 October 2021. Time Out Singapore. 25 January 2021 . en-GB.
  28. News: Ho. Olivia. 17 January 2021. Epigram Books Fiction Prize splits award for the first time. en. The Straits Times. 12 October 2021. 0585-3923.
  29. Web site: EBFP 2015 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20170315085230/http://ebfp.epigrambooks.sg/ebfp-2015/ . 15 March 2017 . 15 March 2017.
  30. Web site: EBFP 2016 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20170315174711/http://ebfp.epigrambooks.sg/ebfp-2016/ . 15 March 2017 . 15 March 2017.
  31. Web site: Epigram Books Fiction Prize 2017 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20170315175535/http://ebfp.epigrambooks.sg/ . 15 March 2017 . 23 September 2019.
  32. Web site: Epigram Books Fiction Prize . 23 September 2019.
  33. Web site: Looi . Sylvia . 17 January 2020 . Malaysian wins Epigram Books Fiction Prize, Singapore's richest literary prize for debut book Malay Mail . 3 May 2022 . www.malaymail.com . en.
  34. Web site: 25 January 2021 . A geek at heart: an interview with local author Meihan Boey . 3 May 2022 . Time Out Singapore . en-GB.
  35. Web site: bakchormeeboy . 23 January 2022 . By The Book: Karina Robles Bahrin announced as winner of 2022 Epigram Books Fiction Prize . 3 May 2022 . Bakchormeeboy . en.
  36. Web site: Yong . Clement . Local fiction book prize goes to novel about women swimming in a condo, judges include Michelle Yeoh . The Straits Times . 21 April 2024 . en . 10 February 2023.

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