Blow by blow account of a book project

This is a new strategy of the Silverfish Writing Programme. We are often asked if there will be a second (or advanced) module, and our answer has always been that they should start writing first. This new system is to end the Writing Programme with a book project. This new system  is to set them on each other. Let them decide what is good enough and what is not. And it seems to be working. Can you feel the enthusiasm? We can. As YM says: Awesomeness!

Can't wait to read the stories.Let these guys inspire you; they have the same problems you have: motherhood, jobs, social commitments, etc. Any of the former SWP students can get together and see us at Silverfish Books for suggestions and support. (BTW, surprisingly, we still have places for next month's intake of the Silverfish Writing Programme -- we are normally booked up within the first week!)

Below: a blow by blow account
YM: ... The task is for us to each come up with 5 stories that he will publish as a group compilation.
So if you are keen to be a part of this group publication..drop me a line so that we can clue you in for meetg dates etc..to kickstart things, we are each to write a story a week. (September 25, 2013)

TS: I would love to be a part of this. Let's discuss soon.

AZ: Thanks YM. Count me in!

VD: Hi all, Apologies, I wont be able to make it again tomorrow and im afraid wont be able to commit to the writing project.

LW: Count me in! I am so sorry as I am still in Singapore currently (last min interview today) and I won't be here tomorrow as well. But do keep me in the loop for future meetups. I do want to be a part of this.

YM: Hi, all, as follow up to last saturday's discussion...Dec 31st is deadline to submit min 5 articles and more..
Please create dropbox and share the logins later so that we can all access each other's dropbox and read the articles..or maybe (pls let me know which is better way) we can one dropbox which we share..( haha i hv never used dropbox before) Addil, pls advise us.. Later when AZ n TS are back we make a date (maybe just before CNY) when LW woudl be ard to meet upop , discuss n critique the articles...
This is an open forum, pls feel free to respond, suggest, comment etc...
Lets be committed to the objective and also to get the best out of all of us and be open to all possibilities..

YM: Thanks for taking the lead on organising this Yet Mee. I'm excited! Teja (October 01, 2013)

SAK: Hi YM, Thank you. By the way, I wont be available from beginning of March onward as I am pregnant and have a baby due at that time. Hopefully we can get things done by then :).

TS: All, Congratulations Shazwani! I also need to wrap things up by March. I think we can do this if we are disciplined.

YM: Ok people..we hv a new deadline for completion n publication. .congrats Shazwani!

YM: Hi, all , how are yous doin'? Been almost two months since we last communicated, hope things are going well and creative juices are flowing, and putting pen to paper hehe (confession, a bit struggling here hehehe, got idea no 3 and now need to write it down.) But nonetheless, (hear the crack of the whip people? :-) dont forget our date on 31st december..btw, anyoen know how to create dropbox acct for all of us, I am a bit of a comp dunce, am afraid..
Cheerio.. (November 06, 2013)

LW: Ill help create it tonight !

YM: Awesomeness.

TS: Hi guys, Was out of town and didn't have email access. The deadline is getting closer and closer but I can't wait to read all your stories.

LW: hi guys, I've sent all of you a dropbox invite. please let me know if you have not received any (November 12, 2013)

TS: Just downloaded it. Thanks for setting this up!

SAK: Received it. Thanks Liwun.

YM: Thanks so much..

SAK: Hi guys, How is everyone?
As the deadline is approaching, just want to catch up with you all on how your writing is going :)? (December 14, 2013)

YM: Heya..SAK..I hv 3.5 pretty stories which i m still fine tuning. Hope to drop into dropbox by next weekend. ..oh pressure. .hehe

SAK: hehe...just started my 4th one. hope can meet the deadline.

YM: Hi, all, yes last minute rush as well..

AZ: hi guys! so we just put in the files in the dropbox folder right? correct me if i'm wrong :). i've already put in 3. i'm leaving for somewhere today and might not have internet connection til 1 jan. so maybe you'll only see my other 2 on 1 jan. happy new year everyone!

YM: Ok..yes..awesome. ..
Gotta finish up mine. ... How r the rest doing?
Happy new year btw...

Malaysia: Theme Nation at Tokyo International Book Fair 2014

A Bernama report carried in the mainstream newspapers (but largely ignored online) says that Malaysia has been chosen as the Theme Nation for the Tokyo International Book Fair 2014 from July 2-5, 2014, apparently "in recognition of the nation for achieving the status as Asia's largest book hub." Really? Larger than Japan, India, China, Singapore ..? Biggest in what way?

To most people in the Malaysian book industry the Tokyo International Book Fair is not very well known -- Frankfurt, London, Bologna, Delhi and Beijing are the famous ones. But Tokyo must be huge, and it's our loss that we do not engage with them more.

The official 'showcase' website says: "The largest international book fair in Japan, organised by the TIBF Executive Committee, which is comprised of major publishing associations and Reed Exhibitions Japan. Ideal platform for rights negotiations, co-publishing projects, and direct exports." At least they are not bragging that they are the biggest in the world, or Asia, or whatever. Guess they don't have an inferiority complex. The official website has very little by way of information, except that Malaysia is the 9th theme nation, and the coming fair appears to be the 21st event.

There is very little news about the TIBF in general, but the following is culled from the internet:

1. A 2-year-old Publishing Perspective report: "The TIBF used to be popular because if offered consumers the opportunity to buy books at a discount, typically 20% off the catalog price – this is more important in Japan because of its fixed book prices in bookstores." Ah! so it is a consumer fair.

2. A current Biztradeshows report: "Tokyo International Book Fair will be visited by exhibitors and visitors coming from different parts of the world. They will come from more than 25 countries such as Japan, Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Denmark and many more." This sounds like boring sales talk.

But it is easy to guess what the Malaysian stand will look like. It will be well designed (ie., expensive). Food will be served every day (as much for the Malaysian staff as for the visitors.) There will be wau bulan, bunga mangga, gasing spinning, wayang kulit, makyong, and tourism brochures. Books will be a sideshow, with the usual suspects exhibiting.

Why does anyone think we have a vibrant book industry? We must be the most anti-intellectual nation in the world!

Silverfish Writing Programme for spring 2014 now open for registration

Silverfish Writing Programme for 15 February, 2014 now open for registration


The next intake for the Silverfish Writing Programme will be on Saturday, Feb 15, 2014, and will run for 10 consecutive weeks (except for holidays) from 10.30am to 12.30pm. Registration will open on Dec 1, 2013. The past few programmes have been extremely popular and we have had to turn away many late inquiries, because the maximum number of participants we can accommodate is 10 (ten). We have, to date, received 30 inquiries already. So we encourage those who are interested to register early and avoid the last minute rush. (Please, tell your friends who are interested, too.) The registration fee will be RM1000.00 per participant for the full ten week programme, but an early bird discount of 10% will apply until (and including) January 1, 2014.

The world is full of stories. Humans are the only storytelling animals on the planet. We may miss meals (ask your teenager buried in a book or your aunt or mum hooked on a television soap) but not our stories. Even in famine-stricken zones, while people wait for the food trucks to arrive, they tell one another stories to keep alive. In war zones, where life is in danger every single minute, people cannot resist telling stories. All religions have tons of stories that are constantly repeated. Stories are part of our very being, our claim to be human.

We are surrounded by stories every waking minute of the day. When we turn on our radio or television to listen to the news, or to watch a drama or sitcom or even a cooking show, when we open our newspapers or surf the net for news, when we go to the movies, to a dance, listen to a song, or look at a painting, when we go to the office, pitch a proposal to our boss, our clients, meet our co-workers when we relax over tea and gossip, or tell them about our day, or listen to their stories. When we read books, we read stories. And stories will make us laugh or cry, or be angry, and invoke dozens of other emotions. We will love characters, or we hate them. Good stories never leave us indifferent. We have a desperate need to tell stories in whatever form. That’s why some of us want to become writers: to tell our stories. But what do publishers want?

That's what the Silverfish Writing Programme is all about: what publishers look for.

READ MORE ABOUT THE PROGRAMME and REGISTER

Year-end offers -- 50% off

We have changed our site layout (again). (Yes, we have itchy fingers). We have decided to make the online bookstore the home page. Why? Because it comes with a nifty little slideshow and we thought it would be great for advertising. And it's FREE!

We know what it's like to be a small publisher. We certainly don't have huge budgets, and mainstream media often ignore us. So we're offering the space on our website 'home' page for book related advertisements for free for one week (renewable on request, subject to availability). So if you have a new book, or an offer or an event; send us a visual (550px by 250px -- landscape -- in png or jpg format, about 50k) and we'll put it up for you at no charge. Call it our small contribution to the book industry in Malaysia. (And hence the caveat; the ad-space is offered for books, offers, services or events pertaining to Malaysian writers, authors or publishers. Eg. a new book or event by Tash or Twan Eng will be welcomed, but not Fifty Shades. Fair? Ah, yes, one more thing. The book or offer must be available at Silverfish Books.)

To celebrate the new website and year end, we are offering 50% off (yes, 50 % off) on all titles three Inspector Mislan titles by Rozlan Mohd Noor and the three books by Isa Kamari. You'll have to pay for the postage, of course, but if you are a resident of Malaysia that will come up to RM12.00 for up to 3 kilos! That is, it will cost you RM8.00 for one book, or up to 10 books if it's like Rawa (and fewer for others). Please check the postage online before you order. Since you can mix and match (and kongsi with friends) you can save yourself a bundle. Of course, if you want to pick it up from the shop then you save the whole lot on postage. There are no limits as to how many you can order (or who can order), but it will be subject to the availability of stock. So enjoy.

Publishers turned booksellers

I read this in Goodreads: "With the advent of digital reading and the popularity of social media interaction with bestselling authors, an interesting phenomenon is taking place. Reading consumers are developing not only a loyal following of their favorite authors, but also developing a measure of brand loyalty to certain publishers. For their part, publishers have responded with shopping websites where readers can purchase digital and print titles, as well as other potential perks like being selected to read content before it is officially released."

Well, well, well. Silverfish Books started this trend 12 years ago and have been advocating the creation of strong brand-recognition ever since. There was a time when book imprints meant something. In the seventies, one never went wrong choosing a Faber and Faber for good contemporary (literary) fiction and a Penguin for the classics. Later, big houses came out with premier imprints like Vintage and Picador. Then there were the Serpent's Tails and Harvills for the even more eclectic. Then everything disintegrated and became a boring soup, making book discovery a real pain. Fifty Shades was published under Vintage. Need I say more!

The book industry (the Anglo-American version at least) became a fast-food outlet selling burgers and oily fries to the masses. That market will not go away; there will be enough children to keep it profitable. But adults, after showing some initial interest, will crave for something more in their lives. New restaurants will open for them to enjoy good meals, instead of a pizza takeaway everyday; an occasional haute cuisine, even.

The book industry will evolve likewise."... UK-based publisher Five Leaves Publications is opening an actual brick-and-mortar bookstore in response to the need for more independent book shops, as well as a way to further the discovery of its client list. This will be the first independent bookstore to open in the store’s area of Nottingham since 2000."

Three cheers to Five Leaves Publicatons. Hip hip hooray! x3