David Seow's Blog, page 9

Blood, Sweat and Hair Loss...

After many years of sweating, bleeding and sacrificingmy hair to this career - even Patrick Dempsey would have been jealous of my crowning glory - Simon & Schuster has picked up the rights to one of my books.  And the School Library Journal even had something nice to say about it!!

From a Distance....

One of my favourite songs....

There Once was a Playground...

There once was a playground…


"We're all children in a playground that was built for us but does not belong to us. So let's  be kind, let's share, and let's look after it."






Once, in a time so very long ago, a kind and gentle old man built a playground unlike anything anyone had ever seen. Slides of snowy mountains flowed into rivers of blueberry oceans and fields of strawberry seas. Butterflies and lightning bugs danced around windmills of giant daisies and golden daffodils. And silver swings swung from a celestial cathedral of stars…

An excerpt from my story 'There Once was a Playground...'

Fun at Adventure Cove coming soon...

Concept sketches for my story 'The Great Big Spooky Forest'

Concept sketches for my story 'The Great Big Spooky Forest

The Book Council. AFCC and Children's Book Awards

Back in 2011, my book 'There's Soup on My Fly!" was shortlisted for the first Hedwig Anuar Children's Book Award. I was thrilled!



Up until that point, I hadn't been nominated for anything, and the authors only found out who was shortlisted on the awards night itself. The winning author and illustrator would each receive a cash award of $5, 000.
The book that ultimately ended up winning was The Book that was Handed Down by YiXian Quek.

The award was so new that there wasn't even a design for it at that point.  So I decided to help and came with a concept design using an 'HA' monogram. Using my initial design, the Council came up with the final logo you see below.
Here's the final design based on my concept

Since then, the book council has organised several competitions such as the Scholastic Book Award, The Samsung Kidstime Award, The Scholastic Picture Book Award and the upcoming AFCC Children's Book Award by Genting Singapore. Judging by the number of entries for each competition in past years, it's safe to say that the Council has done a very good job organising the awards.

Now, Scholastic and Samsung are globally recognised companies and once the winners are selected, their corporate branding machines take over. On the other hand, the Hedwig Anuar Children's Book Award, an original National Book Development Council of Singapore (NBDCS) and Asian Festival of Children's Content award has yet to receive a decent amount of attention on even a local level.



Now why is that? Because it has not been given any significant branding. It would have been preferable if this was considered when the award was first conceived. The award is not just about recognising the author's abilities but about branding the award itself and the prestige such a branded award bestows upon the winning author.
What does it matter who wins the award if no one outside the industry knows of the award's existence? 

Some might say, oh the onus is on the winning  book's publisher to promote the book. No, it's not the publishers award, it's the Book Council's. It was created by the Book Council and it was awarded by the Book Council. So by right, the Book Council should take charge of branding the award.

What's the point of just giving the author and illustrator the cash prize and that's it?  It's like saying: "Thanks very much, here's your prize money. Good luck with the rest of your career." Cash in the bank may garner interest but it does not gain you any publicity for your book, does it? 

What the winning authors would rather have is wide recognition for their work. They want to develop their careers.  And that's why authors turn to the National Book Development Council for help and support.  To develop books you've got develop the writers. Let's remember that without authors, the content providers,  books would just be filled with blank pages and the only thing to develop would be notebooks.

So how can the Book Council promote their Hedwig Anuar Award winners and brand the award itself?  They need to be creative and open to ideas and suggestions, even if those ideas may be somewhat out of the box.
The Book Council could arrange for school visits: The authors could talk about their books etc. As some schools do not have budgets, they could disburse the award money over the course of the year, as payment for the school visits. 
For example, they could arrange for five school visits during the year and each visit the author/illustrator makes, they would be paid $1000 each.  

So for five school visits they would get the total of $5,000. It's the same prize money but they would be getting additional exposure and the Book Council would branding the award as well.
Some may think this is similar to NAC's Words Go Round program. But who's to say you can't have the HABA Winners school visits as well. Look it's a small country and this is a small industry but there is room for everyone, seriously!

The authors could also make visits to children's homes, hospitals and other charities for story telling or illustration sessions/workshops. They can even start an 'Award-Winning Authors' School Visit' series starting with the previous Hedwig Anuar Award winners. If this has not been done before, it would be nice if we start this now.
Since its inception, the  Hedwig Anuar cash prize has been given to the authors and illustrators but, as mentioned before and to reiterate my point, while cash in the bank may collect interest  it does not help the winners promote their award-winning book. The actual award should not be the award itself, but dividends that it brings. Now, in addition to winning cash awards, the Scholastic and Samsung winners also had their books published or developed into apps. Now that's what I mean by dividends!




This year is a milestone of sorts for me.  It's my 20th anniversary of writing children's books.  With the support of my family I signed with my first publisher and then my second. I  even self-published my own books before I signed with Epigram Books back in 2013. And I recently had my 40th book published, thanks to them. Thanks, Edmund. Thanks, Epigram Books.


But when I first started writing,  I did so with no help or support from anyone in the publishing industry and certainly not the Book Council. I didn't even know that there was such a thing as a Book Council and  I had to learn everything the hard way, by trial and error.
Since I became aware of its existence, I thought that as an author it would be good to support the Council. I know that to their credit each and every member of staff is extremely dedicated  and works very, very, very hard under the guidance of the indefatigable Mr Rama.
So over the years, I've tried to support NBDCS to the best of my ability.  I attended events regularly. I believed in the Council, and I still do, and volunteered to help in different ways. I spent hours packing goodie bags for AFCC attendees, helping set up the illustrators gallery, picking up visiting authors and speakers from the airport and escorting them their hotel and running last minute-errands e.g  buying disposable wine flutes for a reception,  photocopying, printing items, not to mention taking loads of photos and blogging about the Council's events.  I felt that if I could do my bit to help maybe it would make a difference in even the smallest things, like paying for my ticket when I was a speaker  at Asian Festival of Children's Content in 2012 because I wanted to show my support.
Now AFCC  is a step in the right direction. It aims to emulate the Bologna Children's Book Fair which is noble; however, Bologna is a trade fair, AFCC is not. Sure there are courses and masterclasses and retreats.  All fantastic programs to develop aspiring writers, but excluding the award winners of the scholastic competitions, how many deals have actually been signed? And some publishers who have been invited to the festival repeatedly have stated that they won't consider local manuscripts! And the point of inviting them repeatedly is?
Going back to the Hedwig Anuar Children's Book Award winners, by giving the authors an award with no proper follow-up plan to brand both the award or the authors makes the award pointless. It's like having an amazing story with memorable characters and a thrilling plot that lacks an ending, an ending that will never be developed. 
Unlike literary fiction and poetry, children's literature is still in its infancy here. And until something more is done to significantly promote growth it's likely to remain in its infancy for many, many years to come. 
I am passionate about seeing this local award named after a local legendary librarian make a huge difference on the  children's literary scene and to the careers of the authors who have actually or will win it.  
And if I may suggest,  perhaps the Book Council could consider looking at how Epigram Books promotes the Epigram Fiction Prize. Epigram is just one publisher with limited resources, but look at the amount of publicity they've generated for a two-year-old prize. It's their award and they know it's up to them to promote the life out of it.   If they can do it,  just imagine what the Book Council could do if they decided to brand their original award and the award winners in the same very way. That's just something to think about.

The Book Council and Children's Book Awards

Back in 2011, my book 'There's Soup on My Fly!" was shortlisted for the first Hedwig Anuar Children's Book Award. I was thrilled!



Up until that point, I hadn't been nominated for anything, and the authors only found out who was shortlisted on the awards night itself. The winning author and illustrator would each receive a cash award of $5, 000.
The book that ultimately ended up winning was The Book that was Handed Down by YiXian Quek.

The award was so new that the Book Council hadn't even designed a logo for it. Unbelievable! So I decided to come up with a concept for the design using an 'HA' monogram. Using my initial design, the Council came up with the final logo you see below.
Here's the final design based on my concept

Since then, the book council has organised several competitions such as the Scholastic Book Award, The Samsung Kidstime Award, The Scholastic Picture Book Award and their latest one is The AFCC Children's Book Award by Genting Singapore.

While Scholastic and Samsung are names that are globally recognised, the Hedwig Anuar Children's Book Award and the AFCC Children's Book Award have yet to receive a decent amount of recognition even on a local level. 



Now why is that? Because the Hedwig Anuar Children's Book Award has not given any significant branding. What does it matter if an author wins the award if no one outside the industry knows of the award's existence? 
Some might say, oh the onus is on the winning  book's publisher to promote the book. No, it's not the publishers award, it's the Book Council's. It was created by the Book Council and it was awarded by the Book Council. So it's their responsibility to brand the award.
What's the point of just giving the author and illustrator the cash prize and that's it?  It's like saying: "Thanks very much, here's your prize money. Good luck with the rest of your career." Cash in the bank may garner interest but it does not gain you any publicity for your book, does it? 
Look, money lasts so long until spent. And let's face it, authors are notoriously bad with money...we hardly make any and we immediately spend what little we do make. 
What the authors would rather have is recognition for their work. They want to develop their careers.  And that's why authors turn to the Book Council for help and support.  Let's remember that without authors, the content providers,  books would just be filled with blank pages and the only thing to develop would be blank books AKA notebooks.





So how can the Book Council promote their Hedwig Anuar Award winners?  They need to be creative and open to ideas and suggestions, even if those ideas may be somewhat out of the box.


The Book Council could arrange for school visits: The authors could talk about their books etc. As some schools do not have budgets, they could disburse the award money over the course of the year, as payment for the school visits. 
For example, they could arrange for five school visits during the year and each visit the author/illustrator makes, they would be paid $1000 each.  

So for five school visits they would get the total of $5,000. It's the same prize money but they would be getting additional exposure and branding the award as well.
The authors could also make visits to children's homes, hospitals etc for story telling or illustration demonstrations. They can even start an 'Award-Winning Authors' School Visit' series starting with the previous Hedwig Anuar Award winners. I'm sure the awards administration hasn't done anything like this before, but who's to say they can't start now. 
Since its inception, the  Hedwig Anuar cash prize has been given to the authors and illustrators but, as mentioned before and to reiterate my point, while cash in the bank may collect interest but it does not help the winners promote their careers or their award-winning book.

This year is a milestone of sorts for me.  It's my 20th anniversary of writing children's books.  With the support of my family I signed with my first publisher and then my second. I  even self-published my own books before I signed with Epigram Books back in 2013. And I recently had my 40th book published, thanks to them. Thanks, Edmund, Thanks Epigram Books.


But when I first started writing,  I did so with no help or support from anyone in the publishing industry and certainly not the Book Council. I didn't even know that there was such a thing as a Book Council.  I had to learn everything the hard way, by trial and error.
Since I became aware of its existence, I thought that as an author it would be good to support the Council. I know that to their credit each and every member of staff is extremely dedicated  and works very, very, very hard under the guidance of the indefatigable Mr Rama.
Over the years, I tried my best to support the Council in any way that I could and I could not understand why some in the industry weren't entirely satisfied with it. I  defended it against those critical of it and, even before I was an ex-co member,  I attended events regularly and I even spent hours packing goodie bags for AFCC attendees, helping set up the illustrators gallery, picking up visiting authors and speakers from the airport and escorting them their hotel and running last minute-errands e.g  buying disposable wine flutes for a reception,  photocopying, printing items, not to mention taking loads of photos and blogging about its events.  I don't know if my efforts were appreciated or not, but I felt that if I could do my bit to help maybe it would make a difference, even in the smallest way like paying for my ticket when I was a speaker  at Asian Festival of Children's Content in 2012 because I wanted to show my support.
Now AFCC  is a step in the right direction. It aims to emulate the Bologna Children's Book Fair which is noble; however, Bologna is a trade fair, AFCC is not. Sure there are courses and masterclasses and retreats, all fantastic to develop aspiring writers, but excluding the award winners of the Scholastic competitions, how many deals have actually been signed? And some publishers who have been invited to the festival repeatedly have stated that they won't consider local manuscripts! And the point of inviting them repeatedly is?
Going back to the Hedwig Anuar winners, giving them an award with no proper follow-up plan to brand both the award or the authors makes the award pointless. It's like having an amazing story with memorable characters and a thrilling plot that lacks an ending, an ending that will never be developed. The actual award should not be the award itself, but dividends that it brings.
Unlike literary fiction and poetry, children's literature is still in its infancy here. And until something more is done to significantly promote growth it's likely to remain in its infancy for many, many years to come.

Duffy the Donkey Part Two

Duffy hobbled away as fast as he could but that
wasn't very fast at all. And when he could walk no farther, he
stopped at a large meadow and fell fast asleep.  He awoke to find a fat
man grabbing him by the neck and saying, "I've got you!" Duffy brayed
in panic as the man lifted him up, his legs kicking furiously.

"Oh, sush your noise," said the man.  "I'm Mumfar, the great animal
trader. Perhaps you've heard of me?"  Duffy shook his head. "Well,
here's my card," said Mumfar, whipping out a card and shoving it into
Duffy's mouth.  Duffy couldn't read since he was a donkey, but the
card was very delicious and he swallowed it in one gulp.  "I'm very
famous, you know. I'm the best animal merchant in the world.   If
you ever want to be put in a zoo or be served up as the main dish at
a wonderful banquet, I'm the man you should call.”
"I'm donkey meat," Duffy gulped.  He brayed loudly because he didn't want to be sold to a zoo or served as a main dish at a banquet.    "Oh do be quiet. I have extra special
plans for you.   I'm going to present you to the king as a birthday
gift.  He's always wanted a creature like you. You'll live in a fine
palace and have a wonderful life. And I shall be well-rewarded."

"Hmmm," Duffy thought.  "Why has the king always wanted a donkey
like me? Maybe I'm meant to do something wonder  So Duffy agreed to be the king’s birthday gift and Mumfar stuffed him in a cage, covered it with a thin linen cloth, and then brought him to the palace for the King's birthday party.

ful at the palace. Mum did say I was extra special."
Duffy peered through the small holes in the linen and was amazed at the scene before
him - hundreds of people, lining up to present the King with
magnificent birthday presents.

They carried platters of gold and silver and precious stones. Mumfar
huffed. "Ha the king has hundreds of jewels and piles of gold and
silver.  You will be the best gift by far."
Finally, it was timefor Mumfar to present Duffy to the king.  The King was not in a very good mood as he had not gotten the one thing he wanted the most for his birthday.
"Your Majesty, let me present this wonderful gift for you.” “It better not be jewels, or gold or silver,” the King snapped. “Or else!””Mumfar laughed…. “Haahaaa, I, Mumfar the great animal trader wouldn’t even consider that.  It's an animal you've always wanted.”
The King's face lit up with excitement and he clapped his hands with glee. “Yes, Yes, you shall be well rewarded for this,” he told Mumfar. “Where is it? Where is it?” he asked looking around with great excitement.

"Voila," said Mumfar, unveiling Duffy with  dramatic flourish.  The
King blinked once and twice, just to make sure that he wasn't seeing
things.  Then he leapt up on his throne and screamed. "I wanted a
monkey, not a rat!"   "I'm not a rat, I'm a donkey," Duffy
protested, but no one listened.  "Take this man to away" bellowed the king. “How Dare he give me a scrawny rodent for my birthday.”
The guards dragged Mumfar away to the dungeons and Duffy was thrown out with the garbage.

To be Continued....

Duffy the Donkey: A Story for Palm Sunday/Easter

A long time ago, there lived a famous donkey farmer, who bred the biggest, strongest and finest donkeys anyone had ever seen. People would travel for miles around just to buy one of his magnificent animals, but no one ever wanted to buy Duffy. the scruffiest donkey on his farm.He had a shaggy coat, an unruly mane and a tangled tail.  He was also crossed-eyed and bow-legged. So this meant that Duffy was terribly clumsy and terribly
clumsy donkeys were not very useful at all.
All the other donkeys were big, strong and had shiny coats.  They could carry heavy loads, help farmers plough their fields, and they could even take part in the famous donkey races - this is way before anyone  ever thought of racing horses.   But Duffy couldn’t do any of those things.


"What's wrong with me? Why can't I be like the other donkeys?” asked Duffy as tears streamed down his furry cheeks.  "Now, now,” said his mother as she gently nuzzled him. “Why do you want to be like those others?” They are all the same. But you, you’re extra special and you’re going to do something wonderful someday, just wait and see.”   



But Duffy didn't think he was special or that he would ever do anything wonderful, not as long as he stayed on the farm. So that night, when everyone was asleep, he decided to run away. Now running away wasn't very easy, especially since he was cross-eyed, bow-legged and very clumsy.  After bumping into bales of hay, the stable door, the trough and every thing in his path, he finally stumbled off the farm.
He walked for miles and miles on a long winding road before he came across a big, fine strong donkey named Darwin.  

Darwin was glad to have some company on this dark, scary and lonely night, but Darwin snorted indignantly, “You're the sorriest donkey I've ever met.  Please don't walk too close too me.  I don't want to  be seen with something like you. I have a reputation and I don't mix with riff-raff.”   

He was about to trot off when suddenly a pack of hungry wolves surrounded them. "Eat him," said Darwin, prodding Duffy with his hoof. "He's far tastier than I am. Just look at how soft he is." He said, poking Duffy's stomach.  "He's nice, soft and so delicious. I'm too strong and have too many muscles. Just look at this," he said, flexing his leg muscles.   "I'd be too tough to eat. My muscles would get stuck in your teeth and then you'd get cavities and all your teeth would fall out.  And you wouldn't want that, would you?" 
The wolves looked at Darwin and then Duffy and they all rolled on the ground
with laughter.  "He won't do at all," they said. "If we eat him, he'll give us a stomach ache for days."
“But…but…” Darwin protested, but it was no use.  Before he could utter another word, the wolves pounced on Darwin, gobbling him up within minutes.

To Be Continued.....