Epigram Books

Epigram Books
Industry Publishing (and Design)
Founded 1991
Headquarters Singapore
Products Literary Fiction and Non-fiction
Website Epigram Books

Epigram Books is an independent publishing company in Singapore. It is known for publishing works of Singapore-based writers, poets and playwrights.

History

Epigram was set up in 1991 by Edmund Wee as a design agency.[1][2] Epigram started with the publishing and designing of annual reports. The stable of clients under the company includes OCBC Bank, Media Development Authority and CapitaLand.[3][4] Epigram has won numerous international awards for their designs of annual reports including the Hong Kong Design Awards and the Graphis Gold Award for Annual Reports.[5][6] They are also the first company in the world to win the Grand Prix award at the Red Dot consecutively.[7] The success of the company in designing annual reports led to commissions for commemorative books for agencies such as National Trades Union Congress and Ministry of Foreign Affairs.[8] Epigram continues to provide services such as art direction, publication design, branding, signage and way-finding, and editorial development. The company Epigram Books, the publishing arm of Epigram set up in 1999, published its first book with mountaineer David Lim’s Mountain to Climb: The Quest for Everest and Beyond. Epigram Books bore the design and printing costs of the book and sold 5000 copies. Epigram Books was incorporated as a separate entity from the parent company in July 2011.[9]

In 2015, Epigram Books launched a fiction prize with an award of $20,000, the richest literary award in Singapore.[10] The first edition was won by O Thiam Chin.[11]

Notable publications and reception

Epigram Books have published a series of cookbooks, under the Heritage Cookbook series.[12] In 2010, they published There’s No Carrot in Carrot Cake, a guide book to Singapore’s street food (or hawker food in colloquial terms). The book sparked off a debate in the media about the need for a culinary school to preserve Singapore’s food heritage.[13][14]

A short story, “Moving Forward” included in the compilation of Andrew Tan’s Monsters, Miracles & Mayonnaise was nominated for an Eisner Award for Best Short Story in 2013. Monsters, Miracles & Mayonnaise is one the three graphic novels that was published by the company in 2012. Epigram Books is also the first Singapore publishing house to have a comic book nominated for this prize.[15][16] Another graphic novel, Ten Sticks and One Rice by Oh Yong Hwee and Koh Hong Teng won an International MANGA Award (Bronze) in 2014.[17]

Other than publishing books by debut authors, Epigram Books has also taken to republish books that are out-of-print Singapore classics like, Jean Tay’s Boom and Everything but the Brain, and the late Goh Poh Seng’s book The Immolation.[18][19] The company has also launched the Cultural Medallion series, where non-English works of Literature award recipients are translated into English.[19] Some of the works include Singai M. Elangkannan’s Flowers at Dawn, Suratman Markasan’s Penghulu and Wong Meng Voon’s Under the Bed, Confusion.[20]

In 2016, Epigram Books was shortlisted for the Bologna Prize for the Best Children’s Publishers of the Year at the 53rd Bologna Children’s Book Fair. The award rewards creative, innovative publishers based on “the editorial projects, professional skills and intellectual qualities of work produced by publishing houses all over the world”.[21][22] In the same year, Epigram Books won four out of eight prizes at the Singapore Book Awards, including Book Of The Year for Sonny Liew's The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye and Best Fiction Title for Amanda Lee Koe's Ministry of Moral Panic.[23]

References

  1. ↑ (2013, 12 Sep) Award-winning designer receives University of Waikato award. Fuseworks Media.
  2. ↑ Yap, S. (2007, 28 Jan). Immaculate conceptions. The Straits Times. Retrieved from http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes20070128-1.2.57.7.3.aspx
  3. ↑ (2008, 2 Dec). Winning Designers. The Straits Times. Retrieved from http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes20081202-1.2.33.15.aspx
  4. ↑ Matrin, Mayo. (2008, 2 Dec) The art of annual report. Today. Retrieved from http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/today20081202-2.2.31.2.aspx
  5. ↑ Phan, M. (2008, 3 Mar) Designed to send the message across. The Business Times. Retrieved from http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/biztimes20080303-1.2.18.1.aspx
  6. ↑ Chang, R. (2007, 4 Sep) SLA’s annual report snags global graphic design accolade. The Straits Times. Retrieved from http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes20070904-1.2.57.18.2.aspx
  7. ↑ Phan, M. (2008, 3 Mar) Designed to send the message across. The Business Times. Retrieved from http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/biztimes20080303-1.2.18.1.aspx
  8. ↑ Yap, S. (2007, 28 Jan). Immaculate conceptions. The Straits Times. Retrieved from http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes20070128-1.2.57.7.3.aspx
  9. ↑ Nanda, A. (2011, 11 Jul). The Monday interview with Edmund Wee: Novel way of life. The Straits Times. Retrieved from Factiva database
  10. ↑ http://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/new-prize-for-fiction-raises-20000-question
  11. ↑ http://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/arts/o-thiam-chin-wins-inaugural-epigram-books-fiction-prize
  12. ↑ Huang, L.J. (2008, 10 Feb) Preserving Mum’s recipes. The Straits Times. Retrieved from http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes20080210-1.2.45.7.7.aspx
  13. ↑ Tan, R.L. (2011, 22 Jan) Hawker Masters. The Straits Times.
  14. ↑ ] Seetoh, K F. (2010, 25 Aug) Can our makan go global? The New Paper.
  15. ↑ Martin, M. (2013. 18 Apr). Graphic success: S’pore comics artist Drewscape nominated for Eisner Award. Today.
  16. ↑ Yong, N. (2013, 18 Apr). Local comic artist up for Eisner Award. The Straits Times.
  17. ↑ http://www.manga-award.jp/en/award_7th.html
  18. ↑ Nanda, A. (2011, 11 Jul). The Monday interview with Edmund Wee: Novel way of life. The Straits Times.
  19. 1 2 Oon, C. (2013, 26 Feb). Local book’s next chapter. The Straits Times.
  20. ↑ (2012, 20 Dec). 18 Princes of print. The Straits Times.
  21. ↑ Martin, Mayo (2 March 2016). "Epigram Books shortlisted for children's publisher award". MediaCorp. TODAY. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
  22. ↑ Said, Nabilah (7 March 2016). "Epigram Books in the running for Bologna Prize for Best Children's Publisher of the Year". Singapore Press Holdings. The Straits Times. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  23. ↑ Lee, Jian Xuan (10 May 2016). "Epigram Books scores big with 4 wins at Singapore Book Awards". Singapore Press Holdings. The Straits Times. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
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