Synopsis:

What is the history of the short story in Singapore?

Join us for the launch of the new anthology, Hook & Eye: Stories from the Margins, where Dr Philip Holden will be opening with his talk: Braided Histories: the Short Story in Singapore.

We're also excited to be joined by a stellar lineup of authors from the anthology including: Clara Chow, Yu-Mei Balasingamchow, and Leonora Liow for a panel discussion on the 'hook' and 'eye' in their stories and how they see the short story genre evolving in Singapore today!

The venue for this event is supported by National Library Board, Singapore

--

About the book

"Each story invites readers to enter into the world of marginal yet
strangely familiar figures, to explore the possibilities of empathy, and
thus to see familiar landscapes in a new light."
– Philip Holden, editor

These stories are set in disparate locations in Singapore, ranging from landed properties to migrant worker dormitories, and speak of struggles and persistence. And love.

Presenting

"Everest" by Balli Kaur Jaswal
"Margarine and the Syrian Refugee Project" by Koh Choon Hwee
"Cave Man" by Clara Chow
"Sophia's Party" by Jeremy Tiang
"The Moral Support of Presence" by Karen Kwek
"Painting the Eye" by Philip Jeyaretnam
"Rich Man Country" by Leonora Liow
"Identity" by Latha (K.Kanagalatha)
"The Boy with the Missing Thumb" by Felix Cheong
"What They're Doing Here" by Yu-Mei Balasingamchow
"The Borrowed Boy" by Alfian Sa'at

--

About the editor

Philip Holden has taught and researched Singapore and regional literatures for many years, first at the National Institute of Education, and later at the National University of Singapore. He has published scholarly articles on Singapore and Southeast Asian literatures and cultures, is the co-author of The Routledge Concise History of Southeast Asian Writing in English, and one of the editors of Writing Singapore, the most comprehensive historical anthology of Singapore literature in English. He also writes short fiction, and his short story collection Heaven Has Eyes was published by Epigram Books in 2016.