SINGLIT fans, come on down to Kinokuniya Singapore Main Store on Saturday, 22nd April at 2.00 p.m., to support local writers Kevin Martens Wong, Daryl Qilin Yam and Imran Hashim, who will be jointly holding a panel discussion to further engage readers with their respective works – Altered Straits, Kappa Quartet and Annabelle Thong – all of which were long-listed for the 2015 Epigram Books Fiction Prize. This event is held in conjunction with World Book Day that takes place annually on 23rd April.
Kevin Martens Wong’s Altered Straits takes place concurrently in 1947 and 2047. In an alternate 1947 filled with creatures that possess extraordinary abilities, Singapuran boy-soldier Naufal Jazair is bonded to the merlion Bahana. He is enlisted for service in a war against Singapura’s aggressive neighbour Sarawak. Meanwhile, in a dystopian Singapore in 2047, SAF officer Titus Ang is tasked to enter Naufal’s universe and retrieve a merlion to save Singapore from Concordance – a hive intelligence that is close to consuming what remains of humanity.
Daryl Qilin Yam’s Kappa Quartet tells the story of Kevin, a young man without a soul who is holidaying in Tokyo and meets Mr. Five, the enigmatic kappa. Little does Kevin know that kappas, which are river demons in Japanese folklore, desire nothing more than the souls of humans.
And lastly, in Imran Hashim’s Annabelle Thong, devout Catholic schoolteacher Annabelle Thong has never thought that her chastity is a liability – until she runs away to Paris to find Prince Charming. This book takes a hilarious look at the sparks that fly when East meets West, and the passions these ignite.
VENUE: Kinokuniya (Main Store)
ADDRESS: 391 Orchard Road, #04-20/20B/20C/20E, Ngee Ann City, Singapore 238872
EVENT WEBSITE: Kinokuniya
DATE AND TIME
22 Apr 2017, 2pm-3pm