Past Sessions
Programmes by SBC
22 August 2017
Tue
6:30pm – 8:00pm
The Co. @ 99 Duxton Road
Twilight Tales #12 Wendy Tan
During this cosy session, we met with Wendy Tan, author of Wholeness in a Disruptive World: Pearls of Wisdom from East and West! The non-fiction book, written after her physical breakdown from trying to “do it all”, combines the wisdom of East and West thinking, along with extensive interviews with leaders and executives. Wendy is an entrepreneur, speaker and mother of three school-going children.
A big thank-you to The Co., for hosting the event at their lovely space!
Programmes by SBC
1 July 2017
Sat
5:00pm – 6:30pm
That Spare Room @ The Fabulous Baker Boy
Twilight Tales #11 Balli Jaswal
This time, our guest speaker was Balli Kaur Jaswal!
Balli is the author of Inheritance, which won the Sydney Morning Herald’s Best Young Australian Novelist Award in 2014, and Sugarbread, a finalist for the 2015 inaugural Epigram Books Fiction Prize. Her third novel, Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows, was released internationally earlier this year. She has been a writer-in-residence at the University of East Anglia and Nanyang Technological University.
Thank you to Pooja Nansi for moderating the session, and the good folks at The Fabulous Baker Boy for hosting the event!
Programmes by SBC
1 April 2017
Sat
7:00pm – 8:30pm
That Spare Room @ The Fabulous Baker Boy
Twilight Tales #10 Joshua Ip
On 1 April 2017, we had Joshua Ip as our featured poet for Twilight Tales!
Joshua is the award-winning author of three volumes of poetry: Sonnets from the Singlish Upsized Edition (2015), Making Love with Scrabble Tiles (2013), and Sonnets from the Singlish (2012). He has also co-edited three poetry anthologies: A Luxury We Cannot Afford (2014), SingPoWriMo 2014: The Anthology (2014), and SingPoWriMo 2015: The Anthology (2015).
This session was moderated by Jennifer Anne Champion.
Thank you again to The Fabulous Baker Boy for hosting the event at The Spare Room.
Programmes by SBC
25 February 2017
Sat
5:00pm – 6:30pm
That Spare Room @ The Fabulous Baker Boy
Twilight Tales #9 Desmond Kon
We kickstarted the first session of Twilight Tales this year with Desmond Kon Zhicheng-Mingdé, author of an epistolary novel, two hybrid works, and seven poetry collections! A former journalist, he has edited more than fifteen books and co-produced three audio books. Among several other accolades, Desmond is the recipient of the IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award, Independent Publisher Book Award, Poetry World Cup, and the Singapore Literature Prize. He also helms Squircle Line Press as its founding editor.
Held on 25 February, the session was moderated by poet and critic Daryl Lim Wei Jie, and organised as part of the inaugural #BuySingLit movement.
That evening, the audience was treated to an intellectually stimulating session where Desmond and Daryl spoke about their educational backgrounds and the influences in their writing. Desmond also touched on his foray into prose and poetry, and shared anecdotal stories behind several of his works.
A big shout-out to The Fabulous Baker Boy for hosting the event at their lovely space.
Programmes by SBC
26 November 2016
Sat
5:00pm – 6:30pm
That Spare Room @ The Fabulous Baker Boy
Twilight Tales #8 Pooja Nansi
On 26 November, Pooja Nansi, author of two collections of poetry, and recipient of the Young Artist Award, shared with us inspirations behind some of her literary works, including those from Love is an Empty Barstool.
Award-winning poet Cyril Wong (our previously featured Twilight Tales poet!) also joined us at the session. Together, the two candidly spoke about a range of topics including love, race, relationships, performance, poetry, and everything in between.
Read more about this session in our SBC blog here!
Programmes by SBC
6 August 2016
Sat
6:00pm – 7:30pm
Salon du Sens
Twilight Tales #7 Cyril Wong
More than 50 people turned up for the latest session of Twilight Tales, featuring Cyril Wong!
Cyril is the award-winning author of several poetry collections such as The Lover's Inventory, Unmarked Treasure, Tilting Our Plates to Catch the Light, The Dictator's Eyebrow, and After You. He has also published Ten Things My Father Never Taught Me and Other Stories and a novel, The Last Lesson of Mrs de Souza.
During Twilight Tales, Cyril spoke about the ins and outs of writing, and also shared his thoughts on his latest poetry collection, The Lover's Inventory, which won the Singapore Literature Prize 2016 in the Poetry category.
This session was moderated by Christine Chia, author of The Law of Second Marriages and Separation: a history.
Programmes by SBC
23 April 2016
Sat
6:00pm – 7:30pm
The Music Salon
Twilight Tales #6 O Thiam Chin
This time, our featured author was O Thiam Chin!
Thiam Chin is the author of five story collections and winner of the 2015 Epigram Books Fiction Prize. He was also shortlisted for the 2014 Singapore Literature Prize for Fiction, and longlisted for the Frank O’Connor Short Story Award three times – in 2010, 2012, and 2014.
During Twilight Tales, Thiam Chin shared his thoughts on the creative writing processes behind his works, in particular, Love, or Something Like Love, and The Rest of Your Life. Guests were also treated to a spontaenous reading of a short story by the author himself!
This session was moderated by Noelle Q. de Jesus, author of Blood (Collected Stories).
A big thank-you to the good folks at The Music Salon for hosting this session at their wonderful space at Niven Road!
Programmes by SBC
30 January 2016
Sat
6:00pm – 7:30pm
Aesop @ Club Street
Twilight Tales #5 - Dave Chua
On 30 January, 40 guests turned up for Twilight Tales!
This first session of 2016 featured guest writer Dave Chua, author of published works like Gone Case, which was awarded a Singapore Literature Prize Commendation in 1996 and adapted into a two-volume graphic novel series and a telemovie. His other titles include The Beating and Other Stories, which was longlisted for the 2012 Frank O’Connor International Short Story prize, as well as The Girl Under the Bed, a young-adult graphic novel set during the Hungry Ghost Month.
At Twilight Tales, he talked about the creative processes behind his stories, and shared wise words to aspiring writers in the audience.
Our gratitude to Mr Fong Hoe Fang, Founder of Ethos Books, for moderating this session.
Special thanks also to Aēsop, for hosting Twilight Tales at their cosy space at Club Street.
View all photos here!
Programmes by SBC
10 October 2015
Sat
6:30pm – 9:00pm
Private Residence
Twilight Tales #4 - Felix Cheong
Twilight Tales is a literary gathering and meet-the-author session organised by the Singapore Book Council. This time, the guest writer is Singapore author and poet Felix Cheong, recipient of the National Arts Council (NAC) Young Artist Award for Literature in 2000!
Felix has written ten books, including four volumes of poetry and two young adult novels. His third poetry collection, Broken by the Rain, was shortlisted for the Singapore Literature Prize, and his collection of short stories, Vanishing Point, was longlisted for the Frank O’Connor Award in 2013.
At Twilight Tales, Felix shared his thoughts on the creative writing process, and also touched on his latest satirical flash fiction Singapore Siu Dai and Singapore Siu Dai 2. The audience were also treated to his spontaneous and lively readings of his works.
Thank you to everyone who joined us, and also to Ken Hickson, who was the host and moderator for the evening!
View all photos here.
Programmes by SBC
11 July 2015
Sat
6:30pm – 9:00pm
Private Residence
Twilight Tales #3 - Josephine Chia
This time, the guest writer is Peranakan author Josephine Chia, recipient of the Singapore Literature Prize in 2014 for her non-fiction book, Kampong Spirit: Gotong Royong, Life In Potong Pasir 1955 to 1965.
At Twilight Tales, Josephine spoke about her award-winning title Kampong Spirit, as well as her memoir, Frog Under A Coconut Shell (which has been translated into Bahasa Indonesia). Approximately 40 people attended the session, where Josephine shared anecdotes from her past, and also thoughts on writing both fiction and non-fiction. Guests were eager to ask her questions, and even experienced singing aloud a pantun (a Malay poetic form)! The moderator for the sesssion was Tara Dhar Hasnain.
Thank you to everyone who joined us, and also to Monica Li, author of The Dragon Phoenix Bracelet, for being such a lovely and gracious host. Don't miss our next session of Twilight Tales in October!
View all photos here.
Programmes by SBC
11 April 2015
Sat
6:30pm – 9:00pm
Private Residence
Twilight Tales #2 – Suchen Christine Lim
On 11 April 2015, approximately 50 guests signed up for Twilight Tales.
The second session featured guest writer Suchen Christine Lim, recipient of the S.E.A Write Award in 2012. Her novel, Fistful of Colours, was awarded the Singapore Literature Prize in 1992. She is also the author of The River’s Song, which is an exploration of identity, love and loss set against the social upheaval created by the rise of Singapore. During Twilight Tales, she gave an animated reading of her works, and guests, who included writers/authors, reading enthusiasts and members of the public, were invited to ask her questions.
Jane Wong, an Assistant Professor in the Division of English at Nanyang Technological University, helped to moderate the session.
Check out all the photos here!
Programmes by Singapore Book Council
24 – 26 June 2019
Mon
10:00am – 1:00pm
Singapore Book Council Training Room
Open: Singapore Young Writers Lab | Flash Fiction: From Portfolio to Pitching
Learn how to improve your story and portfolio to pitch for publication!
Programmes by SBC
24 January 2015
Private Residence
Twilight Tales #1 – Meira Chand
Thank you for the overwhelming response for Twilight Tales!
On 24 January 2015, approximately 50 guests turned up for Twilight Tales, an all-new literary arts initiative by SBC.
The inaugural session, which was held at Ceylon Road, featured guest writer Meira Chand, bestselling author of eight novels including A Different Sky and House of the Sun. During Twilight Tales, she spoke and shared insights on her works and her creative writing process. Guests, who included writers/authors, reading enthusiasts and members of the public, were invited to chat with her and mingle with each other.
Joanne Lim, author of the prize-winning non-fiction book The Leader, The Teacher & You, helped to moderate the session.
The host, Vemala Raja, served refreshments, and the setting was informal and cosy.
Held and hosted by friends in their homes, each Twilight Tales session will feature well-known writers and/or story-weavers. Through Twilight Tales, we hope to encourage more people to join us in discovering the wonders and joy of stories, and to also expose them to the expertise of professionals. It is SBC's small but targeted attempt to partner our fellow professionals, and to grow our audience for the literary arts.