Felix Cheong

A Poignant Look Back at the Time When the World Was Affected by the Coronavirus

In the Year of the Virus

Noelle Q. De Jesus

How we worship the god of short things: News in brief, SMSs, 30-second TikTok videos.

Here, in this ground-breaking collection of flash fiction and comics from Asia, you'll find stories crushed between your palms, squeezed into a micro-narrative that's tight and sweet.

Brevity is not a sin, but storytelling in its most elemental form, to suggest, tease and worm its way into your imagination. 

Microfiction from Asia

Missed Connections

A disappearance and a tangled knot of sex and politics involving a stripper and Singapore's former chief minister The year is 1966. The world is at a tipping point. The Cold War is at its height; the confrontation between Indonesia and Malaysia is on the brink of a full-blown war. Meanwhile, social mores are being threatened by flower power being in full swing in cities from Chelsea to San Francisco. ' A must read, beautifully written and illustrated noir thriller, with plot twists that will make your head spin.' Nick Andors, American graphic novelist, Dream in Blues Somewhere in Kings Cross, Singapore's former Chief Minister Lim Quee Hock, now the Malaysian High Commissioner to Australia, is missing. Is he dead? Is he hiding from mounting debts? Or is he mixed up in Cold War espionage? And how is a nineteen-year-old stripper, Sabrina Nicholson, involved in this shady business? Written in poetic form by Felix Cheong and wonderfully illustrated by Arif Rafhan, The Showgirl and the Minister is a groundbreaking graphic novel inspired by real-life events.

The Showgirl and the Minister

Vanishing point

Anitha Devi Pillai

Especially for fans of love stories comes a collection written by established and new authors. This anthology is partly inspired by true stories and partly by well-known epic tales. A young woman of Peranakan descent in Singapore, a Malayalee woman thousands of miles away from Singapore at the brink of WWII and an interracial couple in current times, all face a similar predicament - Do they break free from conventions and follow their beckoning hearts? A young man with no future nor prospects pines for his one true love in his kampong, a May-December couple's plans for their second chance is threatened, a young impressionable woman falls for a man-child - Will fate give them a helping hand? What if Cinderella's evil stepmother had loved her? What if the hundred nights of pursuit of the 10th-century Japanese court lady Ono Komachi took place in Singapore? What if a single decision, one moment or an unspoken wish changed your life forever?

Stories of Love

A View of Stars

A hardboiled detective near the burnt-end of days. His knuckleheaded partner, a scholar destined for bigger things. And a young mother working illegally as a bar girl. In the sprawl of a city oblivious to their dreams, their lives intersect in the most unlikely of places – a murder scene. Sprawl is gritty and laced with dark humour, its characters paradoxically cynical and romantic. Innovative and surprising, Sprawl will open your eyes to how poetry and artwork can work seamlessly together. And how a city as hard-edged in chrome and steel as Singapore has the softness of an underbelly.

Sprawl:A Graphic Novel

Inspiring insights on what is often unsaid In the last volume of our Letter series, we invited 18 contributors to write to their partners. These heartfelt words are at once a celebration of romance and that first flush of love. Perhaps what needs to be said, things to be thankful for, but they’ve never had the chance to do so. Perhaps hurts they had inflicted over time on their partners, but never made amends for; such matters left unresolved eventually become a thorn in the relationship. These private words, publicly uttered, reflect on how marriage is not always the happily-ever-after movies portray it, but a coming-to-terms with differences and distances, trauma and pain. Contributors include: Jon Gresham, Donna Tang, Hamish Brown, Ning Cai, Marc Nair, Baskaran Narayanan, Nuraliah Norasid, Anisa Hassan, Tara Dhar Hasnain, Laila Jaey, Shirlene Noordin, Md Sharif Uddin, Hernie Mamat, Fann Sim, Shirley Kwan, Amy Chia, Paul Rozario-Falcone, Adib Jalal

Letter to My Partner: Words of love and perspectives on marriage

Jeremy Tiang

O Thiam Chin

Amanda Lee Koe

Cyril Wong

Alvin Pang

Yu-Mei Balasingamchow

Dave Chua

Jason Erik Lundberg

Ann Ang

Verena Tay

Ng Yi-Sheng

Stephanie Ye

Justin Ker

Vinita Ramani Mohan

Karen Kwek

Koh Choon Hwee

Eleanor Neo

Wei Fen Lee

Phan Ming Yen

Alfian Sa’at

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 published in 2011 and 2012. This ground-breaking and unique anthology showcases stories that examine various facets of the human condition and the truths that we tell ourselves in order to exist in the everyday. The styles are as varied as the authors, and no two pieces are alike. Here are twenty unique and breathtaking literary insights into the Singaporean psyche, which examine what it means to live in this particular part of the world in this particular time.

Volume One

The Epigram Books Collection of Best New Singaporean Short Stories

I Watch the Stars Go Out

Many songs and stories have been written about how important mothers are to their children. But what story would you tell if you put pen to paper? Perhaps things you had learned from her that made you who you are today. Perhaps express your gratitude for the sacrifices she had made for you. Or perhaps matters left unresolved that have since become a thorn in your relationship. Insightful and heart-wrenching, packed with poignant anecdotes. These letters testify to the nurturing love that mothers have for their children. In this collection of mini-essays edited by award-winning author Felix Cheong, sons and daughters write letters to their mother about their relationships and articulate what has often not been expressed.

Letter to My Mother: Words of love and perspectives on growing up from sons and daughters

What would you tell your father if you wrote him a letter? Perhaps what you have always wanted to say, but never could. Perhaps things you would like to thank him for, but never had the chance to. Or perhaps sort out disagreements you wished had been resolved more amicably. Heartfelt and moving and full of vignettes about their growing up years, these letters by our contributors show us the pivotal role the father figure plays in their children's lives. Contributors include: Margaret Thomas, Sadie-Jane Alexis Nunis, Christina Thé, Louis Tang, Alvin Tan, David Kwee, Hoh Chung Shih, Wong Ting Hway, Chee Soo Lian, Natalie Ng, Charmaine Leung, Crispin Rodrigues, Jacintha Abisheganaden, Kelvin Tan, Usha Pillai, Andrew Koh, Patrick Sagaram, Loh Guan Liang, Sarah Voon, Koh Jee Leong

Words of Love and Perspectives on Growing Up from Sons and Daughters

Letter to My Father

What would you tell your father if you wrote him a letter? Perhaps what you have always wanted to say, but never could. Perhaps things you would like to thank him for, but never had the chance to. Or perhaps sort out disagreements you wished had been resolved more amicably. Heartfelt and moving and full of vignettes about their growing up years, these letters by our contributors show us the pivotal role the father figure plays in their children’s lives.Contributors include: Margaret Thomas, Sadie-Jane Alexis Nunis, Christina Thé, Louis Tang, Alvin Tan, David Kwee, Hoh Chung Shih, Wong Ting Hway, Chee Soo Lian, Natalie Ng, Charmaine Leung, Crispin Rodrigues, Jacintha Abisheganaden, Kelvin Tan, Usha Pillai, Andrew Koh, Patrick Sagaram, Loh Guan Liang, Sarah Voon, Koh Jee Leong

Letter to My Father: Words of love and perspectives on growing up from sons and daughters

Especially for fans of love stories comes a collection written by established and new authors. This anthology is partly inspired by true stories and partly by well-known epic tales. A young woman of Peranakan descent in Singapore, a Malayalee woman thousands of miles away from Singapore at the brink of WWII and an interracial couple in current times, all face a similar predicament – Do they break free from conventions and follow their beckoning hearts? A young man with no future nor prospects pines for his one true love in his kampong, a May-December couple’s plans for their second chance is threatened, a young impressionable woman falls for a man-child – Will fate give them a helping hand? What if Cinderella’s evil stepmother had loved her? What if the hundred nights of pursuit of the 10th-century Japanese court lady Ono Komachi took place in Singapore? What if a single decision, one moment or an unspoken wish changed your life forever?

A View of Stars: Stories of Love

Felix Cheong

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