2015 Silverfish Writing Programme

Silverfish Writing Programme for Jan 2015

now open for registration

The next intake for the Silverfish Writing Programme will be on Saturday, Jan 31 , 2014, and will run for 10 consecutive weeks, right through fasting month, (except for holidays) from 10.30am to 12.30pm. Registration will open on Dec1, 2014. 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) Jan 10, 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.

To register online: http://www.silverfishbooks.com/buybooks/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=13&products_id=882

TO READ MORE ABOUT THE PROGRAMME click here.

MyCreative Writers Unleashed

A quest to find the best Malaysian manuscripts of 2014

We have just received this notice from MyCreative, a Malaysian Government investment arm for the creative industry in charge of disbursing an initial fund of RM200 million, about a writing competition called "MyCreative Writers Unleashed", which hopes to "encourage and celebrate the creative juices amongst Malaysian writers".

The objectives mentioned on the website include "To promote local literature industry and to encourage more writers to produce creative contents" and "To reward excellent Malaysian literature contents."

The closing date for the competition is August 5, 2014. The rules stress that the "organiser shall not be responsible for any manuscripts lost or damaged in transit" and that the "results will be announced in October 2014".

Entry must include:
1. An official entry form duly completed (downloaded from MyCreative’s website at www.mycreative.com.my)
2. A soft-copy of the complete manuscript in both PDF and Word format.
3. A soft copy of a recent photograph of the writer (not more than 1mb).
4. A brief biodata of the writer in not more than 200 words.
5. A synopsis of the manuscript in not more than 200 words.
6. A copy of the writer’s MyKad.

The manuscript must be in BM or English, and at least 30,000 words.
5 prizes of RM2000.00, and 5 consolation prizes of RM500.00 will be awarded (although I am not sure if this will apply to BM and English manuscripts separately). This is the first time MyCreative is organising a competition of this nature.

Submissions are to be sent to
By email: writersunleashed@mycreative.com.my
For enquiries: enquiry@mycreative.com.my

Please visit the MyCreative website to read more about the terms and conditions (TOR): http://mycreative.com.my/index.php/writers-unleashed/english-version

Silverfish Writing Programme -- open for registration

Silverfish Writing Programme for July 2014 

now open for registration

The next intake for the Silverfish Writing Programme will be on Saturday, July 12, 2014, and will run for 10 consecutive weeks, right through fasting month, (except for holidays) from 10.30am to 12.30pm. Registration will open on June 1, 2014. 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) June 30, 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

The Cooler Lumpur Festival

Countdown to #FAST: 

PopDigital, British Council and BMW Group Malaysia
present
Southeast Asia’s first and only festival of ideas

Date: 20 – 22 June 2014
Venue: Publika, Solaris Dutamas

Kuala Lumpur, 3 June 2014 – The capital is set to become a nucleus of ideas and hub for creative exchange when creative media shop PopDigital, British Council and BMW Group Malaysia present #FAST: The Cooler Lumpur Festival between June 20 and 22 at Publika, Kuala Lumpur.

Last year, The Cooler Lumpur Festival’s inaugural edition, #WORD, celebrated the written and spoken word in all its forms. Founded upon the notion that words are the primary medium by which we transform the world around us, the festival aims to champion expression in all forms.

This year, The Cooler Lumpur Festival is proud to present #FAST. In expanding the scale and philosophy of the festival, #FAST will cast a wider net to include activities ranging from the abstract to the experimental, setting the agenda for Southeast Asia’s first ever festival of ideas; one that is powered by literature and the arts.

#FAST aspires to be a catalyst for Malaysia’s cultural conversation by gathering writers, artists, musicians and thinkers from around the world to create new connections as well as share and spread new ideas. It is rooted in the notion that the best way to fast-forward our cultural agenda is by sharing, engaging, and experimenting with new ideas.

“Our team has worked tirelessly to bring together the best minds for this year's festival. As always, we sought out speakers from diverse backgrounds to bring varying perspectives to the panels. We hope provocative ideas will emerge from this cultural mash-up of sorts,” said the festival’s Executive Director, Hardesh Singh.

Read more (there is quite a lot more) at: www.coolerlumpur.com

Call for Papers for Special issue of Asiatic

Special issue of Asiatic: Narratives of “Unstable homes” in Asian American Literature

Date of publication: June 2015
Co-editors: Chingyen Mayer and Mohammad A. Quayum

The advent of globalization, voluntary and involuntary migration and displacement, technological innovations such as the internet, Skype, satellite TV, and YouTube, and the accelerated speed of modern means of transportation have given the concept of “home” a renewed significance. Stable concepts of home and belonging have become the exception rather than the norm. In Shame, for example, Salmon Rushdie writes, “We pretend that we are trees and speak of roots. Look under your feet. You will not find gnarled growths sprouting through the soles. Roots… are a conservative myth, designed to keep us in our places” (84). For a myriad of reasons, a sizable segment of Asia’s population, wedged between different socio-political and cultural domains, between homes, and between different allegiances, are uprooted and residing in disaporic communities in America. The special issue seeks contributions that engage in the explorations of the “Unstable homes” in Asian American literature. Possible topics might include (but are not limited to):

•    Homing and unstable home
•    Home, real and imagined
•    Place, displacement, exile, and homelessness
•    Virtual home
•    Transnational home
•    Uprootedness and re-rooting
•    Nostalgia and the reshaping of home/lands
•    Longing for and belonging to a home
•    The global impact of media and technology on “home”
•    Diasporic spaces
•    Inclusivity and exclusivity, visibility and invisibility
•    Mobility and multiplicity
•    Home-making, migrating, and home/unmade
•    Dislocation, fragmentation, and disintegration

Please send a 300-word abstract to Dr. Chingyen Mayer (cmayer@siena.edu) or Dr. Mohammad A. Quayum (mquayum@gmail.com) by 15 September 2014. If a proposal is accepted, a full draft paper of 5000-7000 words should be submitted by 15 January 2015.

The greatest bookworms of them all

According to NOP World (a leading provider of syndicated and custom market research) individuals globally spent (each week) 16.6 hours watching television, 8 hours listening to the radio, 6.5 hours reading and 8.9 hours on computers/the internet (for non-work related reasons). (Source: PRNewswire)

I can hear it already: some of you are saying, "Is that all?", while some are going, "Oh my God."

Interestingly (Anglophiles take note) the US and UK are below average (5.7 and 5.3 hours per week) in reading, but above the average on TV viewing (19 hours per week in the US and 18 in the UK), listening to the radio (10.2 hours per week in the US and 10.5 in the UK), and just slightly below the global average for computer/Internet usage (8.8 hours per week in both the US and UK).

Thailand spend the most time in front of the television at 22.4 hours per week, followed closely by the Philippines at  21.0, Egypt at 20.9 and Turkey at 20.2 hours.  Mexicans watch the least amount of television at 11.6 hours per week, followed by Venezuelans at 11.9 and Swedes at 12.3.

Argentineans love the radio (20.8 hours), followed by Brazilians (17.2 hours) and South Africans (15.0 hours). The Chinese spend the least amount of time on the radio at  (2.1 hours) a week ahead of Koreans and Saudis (3 and 3.9 hours).

When it comes to the internet, the Taiwanese are tops (12.6 hours a week for non-work related purposes), followed by Thais  (11.7 hours) and Spainiards (11.5) hours. Mexicans (6.3 hours), Italians (6.3 hours) and Germans (6.4 hours) are not so hot online.

And most interesting of all to us: who are the greatest bookworms in the world? Indians spend an average of 10.7 hours per week reading, followed by Thais and Chinese (at 9.4 hours and 8 hours).  Koreans, Japanese and Taiwanese (at 3.1, 4.1 and 5 hours) scrap the bottom of the barrel. (US and the UK are at 24th and 27th place in the list of 31.) Fortunately, Malaysia was not in the list of countries studied. Another table-propping position would have been too much for our fragile ego to take!

Top 5 reading countries:
1. India              10.7        
2. Thailand          9.4   
3. China               8.0      
4. Philippines       7.6     
5. Egypt               7.5

Bottom 5 reading countries:
27. U.K.                5.3        
28. Brazil              5.2     
29. Taiwan            5.0   
30. Japan               4.1   
31. Korea              3.1

Short-stay scholarships from Mexico

   
(Received this from the embassy and is reproduced -- almost -- verbatim)

The Embassy of Mexico has the pleasure to announce that the 2014 Special Program of Scholarships for Foreigners is open for applications in the following categories:
•           Visiting professors
•           High level conferences
•           Mexican Studies
•           Artistic Residencies
•           Media Residencies
•           Studies to improve the Quality of Mexican Medium and Higher Education Institutions

Convinced that this Program is a valuable opportunity for strengthening the Cultural, Academic and Intellectual exchange between Mexico and Malaysia, the Embassy of Mexico respectfully recommends this information to be widely disseminated in your institution, or advertised through the channels available to you.

The general terms and conditions are available at the following link, together with the application form:
http://amexcid.gob.mx/index.php/es/oferta-de-becas-para-extranjeros/1737

The scholarships for Artistic Residencies might be particularly interesting for you.

Deadline: The original applications with all the supporting documentation should reach the Embassy of Mexico before 22 August 2014, since they have to be forwarded to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mexico before August 29 2014.

Applications will be received at:
Menara Tan & Tan, 22nd Floor
207 Jalan Tun Razak, 50400
Kuala Lumpur, Malasia
For further information please contact Ms Paula Gallegos at: pgallegos@mexico.org.my
Tel: (+60-3) 2164-6362 extension 23
Fax: (+60-3) 2164-0964

We at the Embassy of Mexico, hope that some Malaysian candidates will apply for one of these scholarships.

Volunteers to read to children

I received this Facebook message from Shantini Venugopal just before I sent out the March newsletter:

LOOKING FOR VOLUNTEERS WHO LOVE TO READ TO CHILDREN

About: Promoting literacy and creativity among underprivileged children in Malaysia via rotating mini libraries and volunteer reading programmes
Description: The Revolving Library is a social initiative to provide underprivileged children in Malaysia access to a massive collection of children's books.
The project: launched in March 2012, is based on the concept of rotating mini libraries. The idea was inspired by the collaborative consumption movement.

Each new orphanage/shelter/centre on the TRL circuit receives a mini library of about 50 to 100 books. These mini libraries will be moved from one home to another every two to three months, giving the children at each home the opportunity to read a wide selection of titles. Rotating the mini libraries also means that we get maximum mileage from each donated book and there is no need for a huge physical space to house the entire TRL collection.

Phase II - Volunteer Reading Programmes

March 2013 saw the start of the second phase of the TRL project - setting up volunteer teams for each centre on the TRL circuit. These "lit teams" will run reading programmes aimed at raising the literacy level at each home.
If you'd like to donate books, volunteer or find out how else you can contribute, please get in touch with us here or email us at info@therevolvinglibrary.org. We would love to hear from you!

The Team

The Revolving Library project is run on a voluntary basis by The Revolvers. We are a bunch of book lovers who want to share our passion for reading and books with the children at these homes by providing resources that will help them develop a love for the written word.

Want to be actively involved in the project? Join us here: https://www.facebook.com/therevolvinglibrary

Frederic Grellier, French translator

It was the Friday afternoon at the Frankfurt Bookfair, the last day of the 'trade' component, when many people have their hair down and feet up, thinking of the flight home. Someone from the Malaysian stand where I chill out when I am winding down (and where I always feel welcomed), approached my table and said, "'Che Raman, ada orang mau jumpa," and ushered in two people, one of whom looked like he was visually impaired. They introduced themselves as Frederic and Christine, and explained that they had been sent over by my friend (and Sri Lankan publisher) Sam Perera whom they had visited earlier. We started talking and soon got carried away with mutual enthusiasm for all things concerning books, reading and publishing, while Christine was patiently indulgent.

Frederic Grellier has been a professional literary translator for twenty years, having rendered into French some fifty crime novels, mainly American and British. I didn't know it when we met at Frankfurt, but I found out later when I watched his video on TedxTalks that he lost his sight very gradually, and also late. (I couldn't help thinking of Borges, whose loss of sight coincided with his appointment as the head of the Argentine National Library!) Frederic was trying to translate his fourth book when he realized that his sight was failing. He says on Ted Talk, "At first, I did not even want to hear about accessible technology. I considered changing careers, but after two years, probably because I had come to terms with losing my sight, I resumed my career as a translator with great happiness."

Certainly, he had some initial difficulty understanding and coming to terms with the technology, and learning to read by hearing rather than sight. He knew Braille but, having learned it late, did not use it professionally. As he likes to say, "I now read with the ears. And, in my opinion, it still is reading: my focus is on style, sentence structure, repetition, fluidity and rhythm."

All this is, of course, strange and fascinating to a sighted reader like me. Well, at least, initially. A computer voice is a computer voice; it would read like a robot, devoid of any sense of rhythm, nuance, emphasis and beauty. But then when you think about it, so is the printed word -- both the traditional book and digital. It is the reader who supplies the rhythm, decides where the stresses are, deciphers the subtle nuances and bathes in the beauty of the prose, which is also the reason why different people have different images in their heads that they can call their own.

"Without the computer revolution, I could not even consider exercising this profession. Only ten years ago, when I wanted audio-books in English -- keeping abreast of literary production is still the least thing for a translator! -- I had to buy used audio-books in the United States, the cost of new ones being prohibitive, and find a good soul who made the trip to impose a suitcase full of tapes, in order to save the cost of shipping. Quite complicated! Today, when an editor tells me he has just published a novelist, I just have to download the audio-book in a few clicks. What progress! And e-books open up new perspectives."

I have been told that when one sense diminishes, others make up for it. Still, it would have been crushing to lose one's sight, and I cannot help but admire Frederic's grit.

He adds, "I do not want either to portray an overly idyllic picture of my situation. In general, I need to spend more hours at my job to get the same result to that of a non visually impaired person, because the ear can never compete with the agility of the eye."

He says he takes more time to read. Well Frederic, it has been years since I stopped speed reading. I read far more slowly now, savouring the words and enjoying the minutiae in the prose. Skimming and scanning is for newspapers and magazines, anyway. And maybe trashy novels.

Children's Book Awards by Scholastic

Scholastic is pleased to announce our sixth annual Scholastic Writers’ Award. This Award is a writing competition for those who love to use words creatively, for those who want to share ideas, and for those who love to tell stories. It provides a unique opportunity for schools to showcase their students’ achievements, encourages youths to write, and gives young writers a chance to realise their talent. (Click image to see full pdf version.)

Students aged 10 to 18 are invited to submit an original short story from the title choices listed in the contest form. This writing competition – previously exclusive only to our Scholastic Book Clubs members – has a growing reputation and strong support among students and teachers who have been involved in past years. For the first time, we are opening the competition to all schools in Malaysia and Singapore.

The 2014 Scholastic Writers’ Award offers an Apple iPad 16GB with Wi-Fi for Grand Prize winners (x2), USD200 for First Runners-up (x2), and USD100 for Second Runners-up (x2).

The schools of the Grand Prize winners will each receive a trophy and 500 books from Scholastic to equip their libraries.

Entry forms can be obtained from Scholastic Book Club January 2014’s Wizard and Ace catalogues, or through our website at www.scholastic.com.my/corporate-responsibility

Entries must be received by Scholastic no later than Wednesday, April 30, 2014 and winners will be announced in October 2014.

Enclosed is the Award poster for full contest details.

For further inquiries, please contact:

Daphne Lee
Editor
dlee@scholastic.com.my

Yan Liew
Assistant Marketing Manager
ybliew@scholastic.com.my

The myth of the 10.000 hours rule

I was reading this story: Debunking the Myth of the 10,000-Hours Rule: What It Actually Takes to Reach Genius-Level Excellence in Brainpickings. Familiar with this? Basically, it is a theory (no, a hypothesis) it would take that 10,000 hours of constant practice before anyone gets good at anything -- no let me correct that -- to become a genius! Now they are saying that it's only half true. Half true? As much as that?

On the other hand, there is the Creativity Debate which asks, "What is more important, talent or practice?" Let's talk about writing because that's where I have the most experience from the Silverfish Writing Programme (a 10-week writing workshop) that I run.

• Some participants are obviously talented. You can see this in the way they craft their first stories. But they do not put in enough effort to hone that talent due to distractions from the workplace, or other personal problems. One thought she didn't have to work since she was already naturally talented. (She told me that she knew everything I was going to say. Maybe she quit because I was not dispensing pills.) Will she become a genius, or merely another wasted talent? What do you think? (Sometimes I get troubled young adults. It's a shame, because they are fun to work with once you get over their initial 'I'm bored with the world' attitude. Writing would be good therapy for them if only they persist.)
  
• Then there are some who are not obviously talented, show some aptitude, have good attitudes, and who are keen to learn and willing to work hard. I would think that 10,000 hours would certainly produce some good competent workhorses, and at least some degree of success. They may not be geniuses, but they would be way above the average. Most published writers fall into this category anyway. Some become editors, critics and reviewers, or take up some other role in the industry.
  
• A third group consists of people with no talent for writing, nor aptitude for learning it, and one wonders why they are in a writing programme when their talents lie elsewhere. Maybe they like the glamour associated with writing, or they'd like to discover for themselves. 10,000 or even 20,000 hours.
• Then there are those hell-bent in picking a genre they don't have an aptitude for.
  
• Now, when you meet someone who not only has talent, but who is also willing to work hard ... not just 10,000 hours but 20,000 or even 50,000 ... that's a real buzz! Makes everything you work for worthwhile.
  

Whatever the case maybe, psychologist and journalist Daniel Goleman (best-known for his influential 1995 book Emotional Intelligence) debunks the 10,000-hour mythology to reveal the more complex truth beneath the popular rule of thumb: he says in Focus: The Hidden Driver of Excellence (Harper, Oct 2013):

"Ideally that feedback comes from someone with an expert eye and so every world-class sports champion has a coach. If you practice without such feedback, you don’t get to the top ranks. The feedback matters and the concentration does, too — not just the hours."

The e-book world domination or 'The End is Nigh!'

Whenever, and wherever, book professionals get together the talk is always about an alarmist, end of the world scenario, where the planet is dominated by e-books. (This includes those from Frankfurt.) Comparisons are always made with the music industry. There are no figures for 2013 yet, but in 2012, 198 million CDs were sold in the US compared to 118 million digital album download. (Nielsen SoundScan). Talk to anyone and they will day that no one buys CDs anymore! I am baffled too, considering that, apart from album art and notes, there is little difference in the quality and price.

Back to books, while almost every grown human in the world listens to music in some form, a vast majority of the population on the planet will not read even one book a year that is not required for their academic pursuit. Of course, textbooks are also books, just like those that list phone numbers, teach you computer programming, how to get rich or get clever quickly, and other genres that many of us, book purists, wouldn't even consider them deserving of such an appellation. There are books you'd leave in the hotel room when you checkout, and there are those you'd keep for decades. I have yet to come across a book statistic that splits e-book and print sales by genre. If any of you have please, let me know, for I think that would be very revealing.

But arguments get a lot more emotional when digital books are discussed, as opposed to digital music. The history of recorded music is a little over 100 years, whereas mass produced books go back some 600 years, and clay tablets and papyrus started around the 3rd millennium BC, and throughout its evolution the book has become better looking (often exquisite), more functional (a design so simple that the OS hasn't changed for over half a millennium, no batteries, no charging and always on) and convenient. (To me, e-books have not cracked the third quality more or less, but not the first two.) BTW, I read both, filling up my e-reader with hard-to-get and, often, free classics. That said, if I like a certain book, I'll hunt down the print version whatever the cost.

Below are some interesting stories about e- and print books in the media in the last month:

• When asked which media teens preferred in physical form, over 60% of girls and boys aged 16 to 24 years old said physical books. (The NY Times)
• Researchers find that reading a novel exercises 'muscles' in the brain. (The LA Times)
• The most popular price point in the US for e-books is USD 1.99, and in the UK it is GBP 0.99. Profitability is something else. (It will surprise you.) (Luzme)
• Some 28% of Americans read an e-book last year, up from 23% in 2012. Even as e-books rise in popularity, Americans are still reading print books. Even those who read e-books also read print books: only 4% of readers are "ebook only".  (Digital Book World.)
• A struggling second-hand bookshop owner was stunned when his takings soar 4,000% as dozens of customers descended on the store after posting about his plight on Facebook. (The Daily Mail.)
• How Book Porn Is Revolutionizing The Book World! (PolicyMic)

Looks like, as the Chinese say, an interesting year!

Rehman Rashid at Silverfish Books

Rehman Rashid was at Silverfish Books on Saturday, 18 January, 2014 at 5.30pm talking to a full house about: Articulating a Nation. For those who missed the talk here is a short YouTube video with some highlights.

Rehman Rashid's A Malaysian Journey, when it was first published in 1993, practically exploded on the Malaysian cultural and literary conciousness with its warts and all, non-tourism approach to the society and culture. It was a nation we all knew existed, which we loved (and still do) immensely, but dared not (and many of us still dare not) speak its name. It was a book that dared to escape (no, tear off) long-existing literary (and cultural) shackles of parochialism that had confined us to our own race and religion for so long, and to embrace our real identity as all-inclusive Malaysians. A Malaysian Journey told us that it's all right to love ourselves, Malaysians, for what we are; no apologies needed. One could say, it was a much-awaited (and needed) turning point in Malaysian literature.

Rehman Rashid's A Malaysian Journey commemorated its 20th anniversary in 2013, with a new edition in hardback, with a new preface and end-paper maps. The book, that was hailed as a 'modern Malaysian classic', still is now, perhaps more than ever before, speaking to a new generation of readers, explaining why things are the way they are in this country.

Articulating a Nation  focused "on the need to speak for others in a nation now composed entirely of them." A reviewer has written in Amazon.com that "as more Malaysians become like Rehman, the accuracy of this book will fade into fable." Sorry, not happening. More Malaysians are, certainly, thinking like Rehman Rashid, but we are also seeing more circling of wagons.

Rehman Rashid was, as always, articulate and engaging. It was an interesting evening.

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

Ban lifted on Irshad Manji's book

This is old news by now; it was reported in The Malaysian Insider on the 5th of September. More importantly, is this the end of the story? TMSI reported, "In her decision, Zaleha questioned that if the book (Allah, Kebebasan dan Cinta) was prejudicial to public order, why was there no action taken to ban the English version of the book?" The book was in circulation for about two weeks before it was banned, while its original version in English has been in the market since June 2011.

All this is not new any more. But another point made by the Justice Zaleha is. "Every legal power must have limits, otherwise we will have a dictatorship." Wow! Is anyone listening?

However, we know what the reality is. Allah, Kebebasan dan Cinta will never be available to the public in this country because there are other ways of restricting the circulation of books without following the legal route. Harassment is one; walk into a bookshop when it is full of customers in the pretext of looking for contraband and disrupt business. Harass book importers at customs checkpoints, delay clearance, make them open every container in front of the enforcement officers. Harass transporters. In other words, make life hell for anyone trying to sell it.

Would that be akin to a dictatorship? Look out for interesting arguments here, possibly involving Jews and Zionist! Everything is their fault!

Jorge Luis Borges on Writing

Jorge Luis Borges' influence on modern writing is immeasurable. It is so ubiquitous that many authors don't even realise that what they are writing is Borgesian. (From Brain Pickings: 'Jorge Luis Borges was the most celebrated and influential Latin-American author of the twentieth century ... In 1972, when Borges was in his seventies and completely blind, a bright and earnest young Argentinian man of letters by the name of Fernando Sorrentino, only thirty at the time, sat down with the beloved author for seven afternoons ... Published in 1974 as Seven Conversations with Jorge Luis Borges (public library) ... (it) couldn’t be commercially distributed until the overthrow of Isabel Perón in 1976 ...')
Here are some extracts, but you should really read all of it. (I found some parts really funny.)

• Writing as amusement: A writer’s work is the product of laziness, you see. A writer’s work essentially consists of taking his mind off things, of thinking about something else, of daydreaming, of not being in any hurry to go to sleep but to imagine something . . . And then comes the actual writing, and that’s his trade. That is, I don’t think the two things are incompatible. Besides, I think that when one is writing something that’s more or less good, one doesn’t feel it to be a chore; one feels it to be a form of amusement.
  
• Literary schools; I no longer believe in literary schools now; I believe in the individual.
  
• Psychological literature: I believe in psychological literature, and I think that all literature is fundamentally psychological.
  
• Anecdotes and jokes: Each year a person hears four or five anecdotes that are very good, precisely because they’ve been worked on. Because it’s wrong to suppose that the fact that they’re anonymous means they haven’t been worked on. On the contrary, I think fairy tales, legends, even the off color jokes one hears, are usually good because having been passed from mouth to mouth, they’ve been stripped of everything that might be useless or bothersome. So we could say that a folk tale is a much more refined product than a poem by Donne or by Góngora or by Lugones, for example, since in the second case the piece has been refined by a single person, and in the first case by hundreds.
  
• Shakespeare: I think of Shakespeare above all as a craftsman of words. For example, I see him closer to Joyce than to the great novelists, where character is the most important thing.
  
• Publishing: Alfonso Reyes said that one published what he had written in order to avoid spending his life correcting it: one publishes a book in order to leave it behind, one publishes a book in order to forget it.
  
• Ageing: To reach the point of writing in a more or less uncluttered manner, a more or less decorous manner, I’ve had to reach the age of seventy.
  
• Judging a writer: A writer should always be judged by his or her best pages.
  

Read more here: http://goo.gl/91lvPA