David Seow's Blog, page 40

SCBWI Singapore Christmas Dinner

The Singapore SCBWIS

Last night 13 of SCBWIs most active members turned up for SCBWI Singapore's Christmas dinner at the Ellenborough cafe at the Merchant Court hotel.

It's hard to believe that when I joined the SCBWI three years ago that there were only five members, but now there are over thirty members! And though Singapore doesn't have the biggest publishing industry in the world, a lot of our SCBWI members have been published or are on their way to being published, have won awards and been featured on the local best-seller lists. It's been a particuarly exciting year for our group, but I'll give you the details in my year-end post.

I attribute the success of SCBWI Singapore to two key people: RA Kenneth Quek and Co-Ordinator Catherine Carvell. They are quite simply, the glue that keeps the group together. Great job, you guys.


The glue that keeps us together: Catherine and Kenneth

Catherine decided on the venue for our little dinner a couple of months ago when we were scouting for locations for another SCBWI dinner. After a quick visit to the restaurant, her mind was made up and she made the reservation. I have to say it was a terrific choice.

Adan and Simon (Sumi, Sarah and Felicia in the background)
Dinner was set for 7pm and Catherine, Emma, Sarah, Evelyn, Linda, Rani, Sumi, Simon, Felicia, David Liew, Adan, Kenneth and I made sure we got there in time or as close to it as possible since traffic was horrendous last night.

Sarah and Felicia

Famished I took to the buffet which included: Alaskan King crab claws, lobster, sushi, curries, noodles, and an array of desserts. I was so hungry that I didn't even bother to take any food photos.
Rani and David

Linda and Emma
As I was shovelling food down my throat, Emma presented Kenneth and Catherine with  home-made gifts or appreciation. I won't say what the surprise but I will give you a clue: it's one of Emma's specialities.
Catherine speaks
Catherine, then summarized the year for us before we continued eating, sharing, joking, laughing, drinking and generally having a wonderful time. Sumi and Rani left early but the rest of us stayed on.


Dinner time chat Kenneth and Evelyn

Kenneth and Evelyn


Adan and David
Adan and David
Catherine and Felicia
Simon and Catherine Emma and Sarah

Linda, Emma and Sarah
Then before we knew it was closing time and the bar staff tied their chairs to the tables so that we wouldn't try to steal them!! It was a wonderful night and so much fun.


Linda, Felicia and Adan






I have to just add that writing, as we all know, can be a very solitary and disheartening experience. And though I've only been a member of SCBWI Singapore for three years, my fellow members have become great friends who have supported me, put up with me, and they mean a great deal to me. So thank you, guys! So before we go our separate ways for the holidays, let me just say one thing: "May the Force be with us and may we live long and prosper!"
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.

A Dragon for Christmas

Emma Nicholson's Princess Petunia's Dragon

It's that time of year, where people are hitting the shops left, right and centre in their scramble to do as much shopping as possible before the CHRISTMAS day. In other words it's an incredibly so stressful time of the year! And if you've got young ones at home, you're probably dashing about from toy store to toy store looking for their favourite doll, action figure or game. Why not get them a good book as well? The world of imagination is the best gift you can give anyone and my gift recommendation for you is Emma Nicholson's Princess Petunia's Dragon, illustrated by Charlotte Micklewright. It'll make a great gift not just for Christmas, but for any occasion. Or as I call it a 'just-so gift', a gift you buy just so you can make someone happy.


Looking at the proofs at the printers
At the moment, Princess Petunia's Dragon is entering its final stages of labour and will be delivered in about two weeks. Emma's been working on it for quite a while and I have to say that she's done an outstanding job.  I love the story-it's brilliant - and the proofs look amazing. I can't wait to see the actual book.

This weekend, Emma invited Kenneth and me over to her place to have a look at some of the proofs and for a tea of mince pies - yum! To be clear, the mince pies were yum, we didn't eat the proofs! :) 




Emma showing the proofs to Kenneth

Then I followed Emma to the printers for one last proof check before the book is put to bed.

Emma checks everything thoroughly.

Everything looks good.


Emma and Jeremy of Image Printers Pte Ltd.



Yay! Done!
So now all that's left is to wait. The book will go to print in the next couple of days and I'll let you know when it's out so you can go and order it. Congratulations, Emma. Well done!

A Singapore Christmas

The Christmas lights are up on Orchard Road, so it's that time of year again.  A Singapore Christmas was one of the first children's books I had published many years ago. So I thought I might share it here with anyone who would like to read it. The story is written in rhyme, which isn't my favourite thing at all. Don't ask me why I first started writing in verse. I can't really give you an explanation. As most of you know, I now primarily write in prose. Regardless, I hope you like the story. And if you want to track Santa's Christmas progress, please click this link here. http://www.noradsanta.org




A Singapore Christmas (First Published in 1998)

Late one Singapore Christmas Eve,
there was a knock on the front door.
It was a special guest I do believe.

Sam, Sebbie and Di-Di-Di,
Without a moment’s pause,
just knew it had to be Santa Claus.

They crept silently through the hall.
Sebbie whispered. “It’s Santa.
I hope he’s brought presents for us all.”

Then they heard Santa say:
“Thank goodness there are no chimneys in Singapore.
All that sliding makes my bottom sore.
I much prefer the window, the balcony or the front door.”

Now to their delight,
Santa looked just like they thought he might.
And though he was wet, wet, wet,
he wasn’t in the least bit upset.

The boys asked, “Did Santa swim in a moat?"
Look, he’s completely soaked
from top of his hat to the tip of his coat."

“Did you just have a bath?”
Sam asked.
This made Santa laugh and laugh.

“I have to confess.
Look at me.
I’m a soggy, sorry mess.”

"Don't worry, I’ll get you some hot coca,”
said Sam,
“in my favourite cup."

“And I’ll get you a towel,”
said Sebbie,
“to dry you right up.”

“What can I do?” asked Di-Di-Di.
“Why you sit right here,” said Santa
and he sat Di-Di-Di on his knee.

When Santa was warm and cozy,
And his cheeks were rosy,
He told them his story
And it was a dohzy!

“As I was flying all over Singapore-
Little India, Chinatown and Geylang Serai-
big black storm clouds filled the starry night sky.
Lightning struck as I was right over town
and then my sleigh suddenly broke down.
I had to take a trishaw, a bus, a taxi and an MRT train
and then it began to rain and rain,”
Santa explained.

Just as Santa gulped down his hot cocoa,
he looked out the window
and saw a bright red glow.

“That’s Rudolph and he’s on his way
with my replacement sleigh.
Hooray, Hooray, Hooray!"

Quickly Santa hopped to his feet,
went to his sleigh, and brought back
Sam’s, Sebbie’s and Di-Di-Di’s Christmas
presents, treats and sweets.

“Thank you,” said Sam, Sebbie and Di-Di-Di happily
as Santa placed their presents
in their stockings and under the tree.

“And now I have to go go go.”
Then with a 'Ho-ho-Ho and a Merry Christmas,"
Santa was off and away
In his very fast sleigh.

It was faster than a bus,
it was faster than a taxi, and an MRT train.
It was even faster than an airplane.

“I’m sleepy,” Sam yawned quite suddenly.
“So are we,” agreed Sebbie and Di-Di-Di.
They were so sleepy,
they fell asleep right by the Christmas tree.

As Christmas Day was dawning,
Sam, Sebbie and Di-Di-Di awoke a yawning.
“Was Santa really here?” Sam wondered
“It didn’t seem like a dream,” said Sebbie.
“Let’s see what’s under the tree,” insisted Di-Di-Di.

And under the tree were all
the presents, treats and sweets
Santa had left for them
along with a note that said:

Thank you for looking after me.
See you next year.
Lots of love,
Santa C.

Emily's Book Launch and Year End Party

Kenneth, Emily, and Auntie SusannaLast Sunday, Auntie Susanna, Kenneth, Catherine and I were honoured to have been invited to Emily Lim's book launch and year end party at the swanky Sentosa Golf Club. I've known Emily for some time and she's always been tremendously supportive and encouraging of a certain very grumpy author: ME!


Emily
Emily,  a multiple IPPY, and Moonbeam Award winner as well as a Hedwig Anuar Children's Book Award finalist and First Time Writers and Illustrators Initiative Awardee has published almost as many books as she has won awards. I guess the latest count would be around 30. But it has to be said, she couldn't be more gracious and down to earth.

Anyway Auntie Susanna, Kenneth and I were among the first few to arrive. There was a sale table with a selection from Emily's catalogue, including her latest book Tibby the Tiger Bunny, which is dedicated to Emily's son, Caleb. On the wall, there were two big screens that projected a slide show of Emily's previous book launches and readings, and there was a corner set up for the balloon sculptors and temporary tattoo artists. 

Emily greeted us warmly before returning to her final party preparations.

Emily making sure that everything is just right

And as with all good parties, Emily made sure that there was more than enough food for her guests to nosh on with a huge tea-time buffet.
blurred nuts






It wasn't long before the function room was packed with kids and adults. The grown-ups networked and the kids ran around, getting temporary tattoos and ordering their balloon animals from the balloon sculptors.




Auntie Susanna, Kenneth Quek, Catherine Carvell, Thomas
Catherine Carvell, Emily Lim, Jade Fang, a baby, Edmund Wee
Then it came time for a song performance by a singer-songwriter  who suffers from Spasmodic Dysphonia and was encouraged after reading Emily's book Finding My Voice.

After that Emily took the mike to graciously thank her publisher, editor, illustrator: Edmund, Sheri, and Jade and encouraged us to buy her books, which I did. They do make great gifts for Christmas or birthdays.


Sheri, Javier, and Edmund
Tired out, I thanked my hosts Emily and  her husband, Ben and decided to hightail it back home. Thanks for a fantastically fun afternoon, Emily and thanks for organising my next book launch too. 

Please check out Emily's blog her and buy her books! Emily's blog

13th Budding Writers Project

On Tuesday evening I decked myself out to go to the formal prize giving ceremony of Marshall Cavendish's 13th Budding Writers Project at the Pod at the National Library. I was honoured to have been one of the judges and I have to say that I was impressed by the talent these young writers possess.
The winners were:Bottle Diary, written & illustrated by Xu Zhuo, Teck Ghee Primary SchoolSuper Shroom, written by Chiang Yan Xin & Kwa Mei Jun, and illustrated by Chew Xiu Yan, Nanyang Girls’ High School
And the MOST CREATIVE & ORIGINAL WORK went to Willy and the Warthog, written & illustrated by Claire Tan Wen Yen, Methodist Girls’ School.


Kenneth Quek accepting a token of appreciation for
NBDCSI have to two other authors who were finalists and who I feel have bright futures as authors. And they are potential best-selling crime author Charles Windle for his story and A Clueless Murder and Joshua Leong for The Story of Wormy. Congratulations to winners, the finalists and all the participants. Well done!

Guess what came out today?

Highlights from this year's Singapore Writers Festival

The Learning Connection's production of There's Soup on My Fly!

Earlier this year, Emily Lim introduced me to the Learning Connections' Juliet Chia who  successfully staged Emily's book Prince Bear, Pauper Bear at this year's Asian Festival of Children's Content.

Juliet started the Learning Connections to introduce children to stories written by local authors through performances at schools and other venues.So when she contacted me about the possibility of turning There's Soup on My Fly! into a children's theatre production, I was intrigued. 



It's not the first time the story has been adapted in some form, it was  first dramatised by ACT3 at the 2012 AFCC Literature Lecture, but that was more of a ten-minute performance art production and Juliet wanted to adapt the story into an actual theatre production with props, costumes, actors and an actual script. Keen to see what she would come up with, I readily agreed.

Now let's just say she's had to fasten her seat-belt more than once on the journey towards production. This particular author has been quite particular about things... to say the least!


The storyteller
The show is expected to launch in  February, so two days ago, Catherine, Emma, and I went to watch the first dress rehearsal at a kindergarten in Changi. It took a while to find the place, but we finally did and then Emma had to buy me a pre-performance coke and cookie to get me in the right frame of mind to watch the show objectively. Thanks, Emma!



We had to take off the shoes when we arrived at the kindergarten and we were thrust into a roomful of extremely active and noisy children. One child eyed me drinking my coke. I was so tempted to say "Coca Cola is good for you!" But I would have probably gotten into big trouble for that. Anyway I started drinking Coke when I was five and there haven't been any side effects that I know of aside from embarking on my crazy writing career.


Emma, Catherine and me with the cast and crew of There's Soup on My Fly!
We took our seats and Emma and Catherine braced themselves to keep me in check for the duration of the show. Throughout the performance there were a handful of crying kids, but I suppose that's to be expected at any show. Anyway, Juliet heaved a sigh of relief when the performance was over. To put it simply, it was good. Were there things I wish were done differently? Maybe, probably, but I think this process has taught me to let go, somewhat and just relax.

A book is like a child, you bring it into the world and let it go. You can't control how people treat it, or react to it, but as long as they want the best for it and for it to do well, then you can't really complain. And they've turned the story into a musical and for someone who is as tone deaf as me, that's quite something. So thanks Juliet, Elaine, Melissa and Candice, and the cast and crew of There's Soup on My Fly! And thanks, Catherine and Emma for watching the show with me.

A Meeting with My Agents

Helen, Jay, Andrea and me
With the Singapore Writers Festival in full swing, My agents - see the photo above - took time to have a  morning meeting to touch base and discuss the possibilities for my published and unpublished manuscripts. It was great catching up with them again after their trip to the Frankfurt Book Festival and I'll be seeing them again today at the Publishing Symposium.

Some of my fellow writers have asked me about signing on with a literary agency. Well, let me put it this way, I've been writing for a long time and I only signed with my first agent two years ago and I just signed with the ladies above around two months ago. Yes, I'm very, very lucky to have my agents, but it took me a very long time to find them.

I've got a lot of writing to do between now and the beginning of the year so my agents can pitch my stories to potential publishers. So anyway that's about it for now. It's time for me to get ready for the publishing symposium.

One Minute Pitch @ the SWF

Pitching Emma's Elephant

So Auntie Susanna and I were honoured to be invited to a one-minute pitch session at the Singapore Writers Festival.  We would be pitching our respective books A Night at the Opera and Emma's Elephant to a roomful of media producers, industry types. In other words, an assortment of very, very important people.

When we arrived, Kiru checked us in and Sihui brought us to our assigned tables, where we would schmooze with the producers and authors who were seated with us.

Richard, Adan, Felica, Edmund and Jason
Auntie Susanna was placed in the company of such literary heavyweights as   Christine Suchen Lim, and agent Anna Davis from Curtis Brown; I was at the same table as Adan Jiminez and Felicia Low Jiminez aka AJ Low of the Sherlock Sam series, Author Nicholas Yong,  Curtis Brown's Jake Arnott,  Producer Koh Wee Lit, Monstrou Business Development Director Kenneth Goh, and Richard Thomas, Creative Director of One Animation. 

And wouldn't you know it, Sitting in Pictures producer Tan Chih Chong was sitting at the very  next table. I met Chih Chong around 12 years ago when he produced a documentary about my autograph collecting hobby. It was a fun experience. We ended up meeting David Copperfield on that project! I dare say it's one of the better documentaries I've seen on TV in years! :)

Jason Erik  Lundberg arrived shortly thereafter to pitch his book Red Dot Irreal. Boy, the competition was going to be tough.


Adan and Felicia pitching
As pitching time inched closer, my stomach began to twist in knots. We were reminded that we were only allowed a minute to pitch, and let's just say 99% of the authors kept their within the allotted time limit.

My pitch was sandwiched between Felicia and Adan's and Jason Erik Lundberg's. If there was ever a no-win situation for anyone, this was it. There was no way I could compete was those three.


Pitching Emma's Elephant
After Felicia and Adan's presentation it was my turn. I needed a valium, a xanax, an elephant tranquilizer, anything! I carried my Ella the Elephant puppet with me for comfort. It was quite an effort to get to the front of the room, as I had to wend my way around the chairs and the tables, almost tripping to get up to the presentation screen. and I read from my notes as I pitched Emma's Elephant and I finished within the time limit. With extra time to spare I wanted to say that I felt like I was answering the final question at a kind of literary pageant and that what I wanted the most in the world was world peace! I thought about it for a second and then I decided against it.  Then I thought about thanking NAC for all my future grants for a mili-second, but thought the better of it.  I concluded lamely by asking the producers to call me.  I am soooo hooo hooo pathetic, it's not funny.

Jason Erik Lundberg  was next and he did an awesome job. Not fair! Then it was time for one of the favourite presentations, if not The favourite presentation of the night, and I say this without an ounce of bias: Auntie Susanna's pitch for her book: A Night at the Opera.


Auntie Susanna pitching
Auntie Susanna started by singing a line from a Chinese Opera, sporting her late opera-star brother's opera boots as props. She the then delved briefly into her personal history with Chinese Opera, which inspired her story before bringing her pitch home by thanking the NAC.



Then it was time to eat and mingle, which we all did. I know at these events one is supposed to sell oneself and one's product; I don't believe one needs get pushy when it comes to promoting your product at these events. Networking nights essentially provide the opportunity for people in the similar industries to meet one another and if something comes out of it professionally speaking, great! But if not, you've made a bunch of good contacts. Overall, it was a fairly relaxed, chilled and enjoyable evening.

I managed to exchange cards - actually I forgot my cards so I had to use Auntie Susanna's- with producers Kenneth Goh and Richard Thomas before scarfing my dinner down and catching up with my publisher Edmund Wee of Epigram  to briefly discuss our series of books.

Edmund, Erik and Adan
It was good to meet fellow London Book Fair travelmates,  the affable Mr Khor of the NAC and Colin Cheong again. Colin's been great and has been so encouraging and supportive of my writing. Thanks, Colin! Festival Director Paul Tan was there too, making sure that everything was running smoothly and efficiently under his direction, which it was, naturally.

Annabelle, Kenneth and Joanne
Sihui, Auntie Susanna and Firda networking

Exhausted, Auntie Susanna and I headed to a food court so she could grab a late-night prawn noodle supper. Then she gave me a lift home, before she headed off for a good night's rest before her trip to the Shanghai Book Fair the next day. Actually, she's there right now and probably having a blast and she deserves it.