Mr Edmund Wee, President of the Singapore Book Publishers Association,
Distinguished guests
1. A very good evening to everyone, and welcome to the Pod here at the National Library Building. I am happy to join you today for the 2024 Singapore Book Awards, to recognise and celebrate the very best in Singapore’s publishing industry.
2. Every year, the Singapore Book Awards is an eagerly anticipated event, which allows us to collectively recognise the literary excellence that has been growing from strength to strength in Singapore. The doubling of award categories from just six in 2012, when the Awards were first presented, further attests to that. In fact, there are two new award categories this year, to recognise the Best Food Book and the Best Marketing Campaign. They contribute to the impressive roster of 145 books nominated for this year’s Singapore Book Awards. This year’s nominees include biographies of homegrown artists and architects, local fauna, and an anti-hero story of what purpose looks like in Singapore’s education system. The nominees reflect the diversity and richness of the Singapore stories that can be told. As a recent media report has also noted, local writers have described Singapore’s literary scene as “healthy” and “energetic”.
3. The growth of the publishing industry and the literary community is encouraging, and NLB will continue with our efforts to support it. As part of the Singapore Storyteller role under LAB25 (Libraries and Archives Blueprint 2025), we have been working with various partners, including many Singapore authors to bring local stories to more audiences. For instance, at Read! Fest 2023, we held activities including author talks, discussions, and hands-on workshops with Singapore writers, conducted in English and Mother Tongue Languages. We have also teamed up with fashion retailer Uniqlo as part of the National Reading Movement to encourage more people to set aside more time for reading with exclusive t-shirt designs inspired by four Singapore Literature books and four reading-inspired slogans. And of course, writers can count on using NLB’s collections as researching for their books.
4. Our longstanding relationship with the Singapore Book Publishers Association reflects how we work closely with partners to promote a stronger appreciation and understanding of Singapore Literature, and to nurture more writers in Singapore. We also have the Writers Lab programme in partnership with the National Arts Council, to support writers in honing their craft.
5. I would like to convey my heartfelt congratulations to all the nominees in this year’s Singapore Book Awards. Let us all continue to work together, to keep the industry healthy and energetic! Thank you.
1“The Big Read: Singapore Writers Are Going Places But What’s The Next Chapter For SingLit”, 5 July 2024, TODAY