Unless you write yourself, you cant know how wonderful it is; I always used to bemoan the fact that I couldnt draw, but now Im overjoyed that at least I can write. And if I dont have the talent to write books or newspaper articles, I can always write for myself.ANN FRANK, A Diary of a Young Girl. And that was what I did, sitting at the kitchen table, pencil in hand, Oxford Dictionary of Current English and a pencil sharpener beside me. It was daunting at the beginning, putting pencil to pa...

#1 bestselling novel in Romance / Paranormal!Listed as a national bestseller in Singapore for about half a year, A Singapore Love Story charts the tragic relationship of a couple trying to be together, ignoring the harsh knocks of reality. Can they bend reality for love, or will reality bend their lives?Since the beginning of time, people have wondered how powerful love could be. Can love transcend beyond the necessities? Can the melody of love be ...

In recent years, Singaporean literature has begun experiencing a sea change, with the short story form enjoying a renaissance. As a result, an explosion of short fiction with a Singaporean flavour has been produced to incredible effect, both by emerging and established writers. For the prose enthusiast, it is a very exciting time.The Epigram Books Collection of Best New Singaporean Short Stories: Volume One curates the finest short fiction from Singaporean writers publishe...

Look...there by the dustbins, what do you see? A shimmering and a glimmering, and a figure forming in the darkness. It is the Ghost Teacher...Class 3 are the worst class ever. They do lots of crashing and bashing, nose-picking and flicking, fighting and fidgeting. No teacher can control Class 3. Until Miss Shade - the Ghost Teacher - pays them a visit...

Sarah hadn’t wanted to come to Australia. She’s been perfectly happy with things how they were in Singapore where school was for learning, and ‘being cool’ was a non-issue. Now Dad was trying his best to make her into a ‘fair dinkum’ Aussie while Mum was determined to hang on to all the old Asian traditions. During the Festival of the Hungry Ghosts Sarah meets the ghost of Pei, a Chinese girl who was not much older than Sarah when she died. As the story unfolds, it becomes apparent that th...

How does a young City lawyer end up as the People's Lawyer of the fourth-smallest country in the world, 18,000 kilometres from home? We've all thought about getting off the treadmill, turning life on its head and doing something worthwhile. Philip Ells dreamed of turquoise seas, sandy beaches and palm trees, and he found these in the tiny Pacific island state of Tuvalu. But neither his Voluntary Service Overseas briefing pack nor his legal training could prepare him for what happened there...

Imagine a Singapore in which flat rental was S$50 a month, a plate of noodles cost as little as 20 cents, and television broadcasts ended at 10pm every night.From the Blue Windows is a collection of Tan Kok Yang's memories of growing up in Queenstown back when the tallest residential building there was fourteen storeys, the Alexandra Canal flooded regularly, and wayang shows were a regular feature on Mei Ling Street. He stayed in Princess Estate, an area that was colloquially known ...

A Young Chinese Slave's Fight For Survival This story is set in China and Singapore during the mid-1920s, in Britain during World War II (1939-1945) and in 1947 post-war Singapore. The story is told by Ching-ling whose mother was abandoned at birth in China at a time when infanticide was widespread. Females were considered 'unlucky' by their impoverished parents. Those that were not killed were exchanged for food at 'sex-slave farms' and later sold to brothels in Southeast Asia. Many becam...

About the bookWhat happens when a typical Western foreigner suddenly finds himself moving to Southeast Asia? Can he cope with the changes, can he survive in this new world? Does he get into trouble? (Yes). Does he fit in? (Not particularly). What is culture shock like? (Crazy).Lion City Shiok! takes readers on a humorous journey through the life, society and politics of Singapore, the Lion City. Read how the hapless foreigner stumb...

Faced with a straight choice between a boarding school in England or three years at a British Army School in Hong Kong, Mark Harland chose the latter.In 1966 Hong Kong was exhilarating, dynamic and evolving into the richest jewel in the British Empire. Across the border, Communist China, the most populous country on earth, was in turmoil with Mao Tse-Tung's Red Guards running amok and maintaining their version of law and order in the most brutal fashion. How did it affect the Crown...

The year was 1994Somewhere in Bokeo, a tiny province in Laos, a seven-year old boy and his family were about to start building their new lives after being stateless for years, displaced by the civil conflict that ravaged the country for decades.Continuing from "Stateless: Dairy of a Spirited Boy at Napho Camp", "Transition" chronicles Sanva's new life in Laos after leaving Napho Camp in Thailand.Sanva's vivid recollection of his childhood adventures in Bokeo offers ...

Think you know Singapore's Chinatown?Let veteran architect, Eddie Chan Fook Pong, take you on a journey back in time through a Chinatown as you have never imagined it. Chinatown Unspoken is a historical story of Singapore set against a wonderfully colourful landscape. Eddie's account roars through two decades of turmoil, with characters ranging from gangsters and soldiers to prostitutes and clans, samsui women and even government officials.A tribute to the beloved neighbour...