Non-fiction

Translated by Shelly Bryant “For many years, I have made my living by the pen. In 2005, when my autobiography was published in Chinese, I gave it the title 文字就是生命 or A Life in Words. These words encapsulate the beautiful connection between me and my lifelong devotion to the literary arts. Literature and I have transformed into a single entity, and I can feel Chinese characters bobbing along through my veins.” Acclaimed author You Jin recounts her life as a daughter, writer and mother in this ...

Award-winning poet and playwright Alfian Sa'at calls for greater support for the arts in our city-state.Paperback: 48 PagesProduct Dimensions: 120 x 175 mmISBN: 9789814845007Published by Epigram Books

We are currently accepting pre-orders for this title. Orders of this title are expected to be fulfilled by late-November 2021. Click here to find out more about when your pre-order will ship. Esteemed architect Tay Kheng Soon is known for his out-of-the-box architectural designs—think iconic, multifunctional brutalist buildings such as the People’s Park Complex and the Golden Mile Complex. Tay seeks to implement Asian philosophy and local design elements for the enhancement of spatial plannin...

Awesome Women of Singapore is a collection of stories of the inspirational women found throughout the country’s past to the present day, including Hajjah Fatimah binte Sulaiman, the businesswoman and philanthropist to whom the mosque at Beach Road is dedicated; Laurentia Tan, Singapore’s most decorated Paralympian; and Hedwig Anuar, who was the director of the National Library for 28 years. Lawyers, activists, soldiers, swimmers and scientists, these women, from all colours and creeds, fought...

In Beyond Wilderness, photographer Chua Chye Teck explores the fast disappearing natural wilderness in Singapore through a series of black and white photographs. Using the forest structure to express the idea of emotional layers, his photographs are a reflection on memory and transformation, and present the dualities of isolation and the unknown. Beyond Wilderness charts the artistic and spiritual journeys of the photographer, and is as much one man’s personal encounter with nature as it is a...

Hokkien Button is no ordinary dog. She was trained as a therapy pet who understands Hokkien, winning the hearts of many. When Fiona first meets Button, something clicks. Here is a loveable dog who is being mistreated and unloved. So Fiona decides to steal her, and they soon transform each other’s lives. In fact, Fiona used to have a terrible fear of dogs—so how does she become the founder of Hope Dog Rescue, saving strays and finding them forever homes? For her part, Button learns affection a...

Former diplomat Bilahari Kausikan highlights two global trends that can shape Singapore's future—identity politics and the rise of China—and how China is using them to influence the Singapore identity.Paperback: 48 PagesProduct Dimensions: 120 x 175 mmISBN: 9789814845045Published by Epigram Books

At the turn of the millennium, American-born Paige Parker and investment guru Jim Rogers spend three years—1,101 days to be exact—driving over six continents in their "sunburst yellow" coupe and trailer, ultimately setting a Guinness World Record. During the epic journey, Paige's world view is turned upside down, eventually leading her and her family to their ideal home in Singapore. On the road trip, she meets women from every walk of life, inspiring monks in China, boy soldiers in Angola an...

Translasted by Jeremy Tiang In this mix of memoir, essay and nature writing, Wong Yoon Wah evokes the beauty and seduction of the tropical rainforest and rubber plantations of his childhood in Malaya. He examines what surrounds us: the fruits we grow, the food we eat, the trees and animals that thrive in our midst. Along the way, we gain fascinating insights: how thunder tea rice acquired its name; how early settlers used the rain tree to tell time; how the behaviour of ants can tell us when ...

Why would someone leave a shining career in management to work among the dead? Angjolie Mei, funeral director and "life celebrant", recounts how the death of her father—a veteran known as ‘The Coffin King’ in the funeral industry—prompted this dramatic choice. What exactly happens during embalming? What kind of post-death restoration is needed for second-degree burn victims? What are the little-known facts surrounding suicide in Singapore? Angjolie offers the insider’s view on these and other...

Excavations, Interrogations, Krishen Jit & Contemporary Malaysian Theatre recounts the interventions and interactions of Malaysian theatre doyen and arts leader Krishen Jit (1939–2005). Best known for his cross-disciplinary takes on the avant garde and unflinching engagement with the differences and ruptures of multicultural identity, Krishen saw theatre’s critical function as inseparable from daily life. Krishen's keen collaborations across a range of arts institutions, organizations, an...

Eye on the World is the third and concluding volume of Tan Kok Seng’s autobiography, where he and his young family go to bustling Hong Kong. He writes with endearing honesty about a place that seems a lot like home, yet is vastly different in many ways, and this affectionate sense of observation is carried through a round-the-world trip he embarks on. Told from the perspective of a Singaporean everyman, Kok Seng’s stories and reflections about the world are told in charmingly simple prose, en...

Singapore’s 2020 general election saw its fair share of drama and comedy, and the results were not unexpected. But beyond the polls, the hard truth is impossible to avoid—the electoral system is in dire need of an overhaul. Former journalist and university lecturer Bertha Henson takes you through the days leading up to 10 July 2020 and peels apart the veneer of Singapore politics. Aided by a team of NUS undergraduates, she draws on her past experience covering Singapore’s polls to give you a ...

Ten years ago, Liyana Dhamirah was in a precarious situation: at 22, she was heavily pregnant and had no place to call home. For Liyana, home was often unstable. Once a bright teenager full of optimism, she faced uncertainty and found no support from family, government agencies and welfare groups. She had nowhere to go, no one to turn to. When she started living on a beach in Sembawang, she discovered a community of people—families—who were homeless just like her. They stuck together and watc...

For the first time ever, a comprehensive guide to Singaporean cuisine is available. Featuring over 1,000 recipes of familiar home-cooked and hawker favourites from the various ethnic groups, as well as contributions from some of Singapore’s most exciting chefs, cooks can find something to satisfy every palate—from simple comfort food to the more gastronomically adventurous. Compiled and tested by Denise Fletcher, executive chef at Quentin's Bar and Restaurant, Sentosa, these authentic recipes...

Chiam See Tong (b. 1935) is Singapore’s longest serving opposition politician. A member of parliament for nearly three decades, Chiam is also one of Singapore’s most iconic, influential and beloved political figures. Through his efforts in shaping Potong Pasir into a “model constituency”, the veteran statesman has greatly contributed towards an increasingly pluralistic Singapore. When he first entered politics in 1976, there was not a single opposition member in Parliament. As the founder of ...

Having turned 85 years old this year, Madam Choy has a collection of Cantonese recipes which she has kept from newspapers and magazines over the last fifty years—all of them fondly adapted to her own style. Born in a well-to-do family in Seremban, she didn’t really have a chance to cook until she was married at 16 and came to Singapore. Her love for cooking grew only in 1957, when she moved to a bigger house with a large kitchen of her own. As someone who has a discerning tongue, Madam Choy o...

What do you do when you’re homesick for some Singapore food, but you can’t really cook, mum’s nowhere nearby, or there’s no hawker centre you can shuffle to in your shorts and flip-flops? Cook some yourself! Adopting the loving authority and voice of one who’s accustomed to creating friendly recipes for those who are simply clueless or just rather lazy about cooking, Denise Fletcher, a proud-born-and-bred Singaporean, devotes her culinary experience to creating a companionable book for all th...

Food writer and cooking teacher Christopher Tan busts the world of home baking wide open, with unique recipes, stories and detailed knead-to-know advice from the deepest corners of a true oven nerd’s mind. Explore over 60 breads, cakes, cookies and dishes inspired by his life, travels and food obsessions. Geek out with him over ‘intelligent’ black rice cake, homemade Pocky, the tangled histories of puff pastry and a breathtaking luncheon meat extravaganza. Learn how to make Banhmiclairs, smok...

Translated by Shelly Bryant In Other Cities, Other Lives, travelogues are populated with swindlers and enterprising tour guides, where nothing is as it seems. Closer to home, stories capture husbands, wives and children struggling with upheaval in the family. Told in the elegant, spare style of a Chinese scholar, Chew’s micro-fiction reflects the voice of his generation, living through a time of immense change in the region. This is the first collection of his writing to be translated into En...

This comic by award-winning graphic novelist Sonny Liew and Hsu Li Yang from National University of Singapore Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health answers questions and dispels the myths and misconceptions about antibiotics. Can antibiotics be used to treat the common cold? How much antibiotics should we be taking? In this easy-to-read book, Liew and Hsu break down the complexity of the medication, effects of overusage and its adaptation in the farming industry.Paperback: 36 Pages Product Di...

Based on extensive interviews and archival material, The First Wave tells the story of the opposition in Singapore in its critical first thirty years in Parliament. Democratisation has been described to occur in waves. The first wave of a democratic awakening in post-independence Singapore began with J. B. Jeyaretnam’s victory in the Anson by-election of 1981. That built up to the 1984 general election, the first of many to be called a “watershed”, in which Chiam See Tong was also elected in ...

In 26 conversations with 26 naysayers, this book is aimed at reflecting the spectrum of naysaying in Singapore's civil society. Each person is interviewed against the backdrop of his or her bookcase, putting front and centre a life of ideas and imagination. This is a book club for curious minds. Featuring: Tan Tarn How / Constance Singam / Tay Kheng Soon / Yeoh Lam Keong / Cherian George / Claire Leow / Remy Choo Zheng Xi / Teo Soh Lung / Thirunalan Sasitharan / Jennifer Teo / Dan Wong / Chua...

Former Nominated Member of Parliament Kuik Shiao-Yin shares the concerns of young voters and how a new generation of leaders can rise up to serve them.Paperback: 48 PagesProduct Dimensions: 120 x 175 mmISBN: 9789814845021Published by Epigram Books

Activist and journalist Kirsten Han examines the relationship between government and political journalists in Singapore.Paperback: 48 PagesProduct Dimensions: 120 x 175 mmISBN: 9789814845069Published by Epigram Books

Activist and vice president of Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2), Alex Au explores Singapore’s addiction to cheap labour, and the consequences it has on the vulnerable migrant worker community.Paperback: 48 pagesProduct Dimensions: 120 x 175 mmISBN: 9789814845083Published by Epigram Books

Cooking instructor and author Christopher Tan is back with the definitive book on kuehs, sharing everything you need to know about kueh culture in Singapore. More than just a collection of recipes, The Way of Kueh delves into kueh culture with a lyrical, and at times humourous, contextually rich approach, focusing on kueh families and genres, key kueh heritage cooking techniques, and kuehs with special historical or social significance, or particularly endangered status. It includes well-rese...

No hotel is as inseparably linked to its city than Raffles Hotel, writes Pico Iyer, arguably the world’s greatest travel writer alive. Drawing upon numerous stays in Raffles over 35 years and the fast-ascending city all around it, Iyer—a lifelong global soul—reflects on the “Grand Old Lady’s” literary legacy and its mark on writers everywhere. In the process, he finds new ways of considering not just yesterday, but tomorrow. How have Singapore and its white-stucco monument evolved to meet the...

We are currently accepting pre-orders for this title. Orders of this title are expected to be fulfilled by late-October 2021. Click here to find out more about when your pre-order will ship. Explore Singapore’s identity presented on stage with this complete, detailed look at Wild Rice’s beginnings and canonical plays. Packed with intimate insights, thought-provoking interviews, collector’s ephemera, archival photographs, behind-the-scenes stories and more, this full-colour visual journey is o...

Celtuce? Fingerroot? Tatsoi? If you've never heard of these produce names, local chef Pamelia Chia is here to help. Wet markets promise charm and authenticity that supermarkets and online grocers cannot replicate. Local chef Pamelia Chia explores uncommonly used vegetables, fruits and herbs found in Singapore wet markets, using over 80 recipes to bring out their unique flavours and textures. Writing in a frank and easy-to-read manner, Pamelia shares stories from wet-market vendors, memories o...