Twilight Tales - Felix Cheong

Host Ken Hickson with Felix Cheong

Last weekend, I attended the fourth and last Twilight Tales session with award-winning author/Poet, Felix Cheong.  Author Ken Hickson kindly hosted the event and approximately 30 connoisseurs of fine Singapore literature signed up for an evening with the Felix.

Ken, Dave and Yi Yi

To the delight of the attendees,   Felix, a former journalist and award winning author/poet, discussed his writing journey and read excerpts from his books Singapore Siu Dai and Singapore Siu Dai 2 with his wife.

This is the fourth and final session for the highly successful Twilight Tales for the year. Please stay tuned for info on next year's Twilight Tales sessions.

There's Soup on My Fly!

There's Soup on My Fly! is out of print and while plans are being made to reillustrate and update the book, here's the story for those who haven't yet been able to read it. The book was shortlisted for a Hedwig Anuar Children's Book Award and the SCBWI Crystal Kite Award in 2011. It was dramatized at the Literature Lecture at the Asian Festival of Children's Content in 2012.

The Asian Festival Of Children's Content

THE MUST ATTEND EVENT

OF THE YEAR!!

If you are an aspiring children's book author or illustrator, this is THE event of the year. It's one of the BIGGEST, not to mention one the BEST conferences for children's book authors, illustrators, publishers, editors, parents and teachers around. You'll get to mingle with publishing gliteratti like authors and illustrators, including Wendy Orr, Dianne Wolfer, Mio Debnam, Kathleen Ahrens, Chris Cheng, Yusof Gajah, Norman Jorgensen and James Foley. Attend master classes by masters of the craft. Like duh, that's why they are called master classes, if they weren't masters they would just be called classes! You'll also get the opportunity to meet agents and publishers. Jump in to find out what Project Splash is all about. Attend free events like Celebrating our Stars, where Singapore's very own Jessie Wee will be honoured with a lifetime acheivement award. And--Drum roll please - you'll find out who won the Hedwig Anuar Children's Book Award and the Singtel Asian Picture Book Award. My money is on the winners so you can pay me now. Watch the dramatization of Emily Lim's Prince Bear and Pauper Bear and if you're so inclined, you could attend the book launches of Sarah Mounsey's Purple Paw Prints on the Magic Sofa,  Kristina Thornton's Wee Adventures of Shabu Shabu, AJ Low's Sherlock Sam and my latest book Emma's Elephant and many, many more...so what are you waiting for. Register TODAY...Like NOW...THIS INSTANT. Stop reading this blog and click this link here, people!

REGISTER HERE

London Day Four

Sorry for the delay...but things got rather busy when the fair started. Celine and Kenneth spent most of Sunday making sure that the Singapore Pavilion was set up to perfection and it's needless to say it was, because let's face it it was and there's no bias here. Shiuan, Michelle from the National Arts Council of Singapore and all the publishers were there too and then it was off to the hotel to get ready for the first day of meetings!!

After a dinner of king prawn fried rice from Golden Dragon, I knocked off to sleep only to wake up again at 2am. I managed to go back to sleep a few hours later and I got up in time at 6am to get ready for my first day at the fair. I wanted to look intellectual or at least seem intellectual so I decied to don a bow tie after learning how to tie one on youtube. I ended up looking more nutty than dapper.

The first order of the day was to head for breakfast...I was starving, so I grabbed a bacon and sausage bap and a juice. I had barely scarfed it all down (it's a miracle that I didn't spill anything on myself) when my phone rang: it was Enrico, letting me know he had arrived. "Can't talk long, it's costing me lots of money I said. "look for the Singapore Pavilion.

My bacon and sausage bap

Figuring it would take Enrico some time to find me, I wandered around a bit before making my way back to the pavilion. By the time I got there Enrico was there waiting for me...I don't know why I was under the impression that he was directionally challenged but he is not.

We had time to head back to the hotel to drop off his luggage before our meetings. We arrived back at the exhibition hall with minutes to spare before our first meetings. We had a break for lunch before our next meetings so Enrico and I headed up for the less crowded cafeteria. Now I understand why they were less crowded - it's cos they were more expensive!

I have to say that it was quite exhausting walking around the halls and it was nice that the organisers arranged for masseurs to massage the sore muscles of the attendees, but the massages weren't for free- they were charging ten pounds per session.

Enrico at the Singapore Pavilion

At  the Singapore Pavilion

Shiuan, Rosaline and Michele

The Singapore Delegation

Anyway the day ended with a networking night and I met up with some members of  SCBWI UK, including Candy Gourlay and Anita Loughrey.

With the first day of the fair over, Enrico and I headed to Chinatown for dinner, and what Enrico did not know was that I had planned a little post dinner adventure for the both of us.

Singapore Children's Literature Lecture, Asian Festival of Children's Content

Calling all authors out there with published books. It's time for the Asian Festival of Children's Content once again and that's where I found out my book There's Soup on My Fly! was short listed for the Hedwig Anuar Children's Book Award last year. So if you have had a book published within the last two years, please submit it for a chance to win this prestigious award and the $10,000 prize which is to be divided equally between the author and the illustrator.