It’s here! Some 40 plus authors and illustrators in Singapore have come together to create a beautiful anthology for kids age 6-9 (and the young at heart). Inside this book, there will be stories, comics, poems, letters, artwork and even a recipe! All profits will be given two children’s charities, SuperheroMe and Child At Street 11. . Pre-order A Book of Hugs: Stories to Keep You Company now at Closetful of Books website.
Congratulations to Leila Boukarim, Dave Liew and Denise Tan for pulling this off while in quarantine! What a feat!
For sneak peeks and how this project came about, check out this article I wrote for The Pride.
About my contribution:
As an author, part of my job is to visit schools, museums, and libraries, where I meet a very young audience to talk about my occupation. I usually read from one or two of my books. All my engagements have been cancelled since beginning of the year. Then, at the start of the Circuit Breaker, I asked readers to write to me while they were stuck at home. I received mail in the form of email and snail mail, and I replied to every single letter. I was surprised that I even received mail from children who hadn’t yet read my books (or older than my usual audience), because they were just as curious about what an author does, and maybe they wanted to see if I would actually reply. Many of you shared with me what was happening in your homes, “I’m bored”, “I ate noodles for lunch”, while others shared their concerns, “I’m scared of the virus”, “I’m worried about my exams because HBL”, and still others shared about their dreams, “I want to join the badminton team”, “I want to be an author too”. I so enjoyed writing to you all - thank you for writing to me! It certainly made me feel less bored at home. So when Leila Boukarim asked if I would participate in this fundraising anthology, I agreed, even before I knew what I was going to write. “Write a letter,” she said, and it clicked! So I did. I hope my letter is encouraging to all who read it.
I’m honoured to be among so many of these creatives in Singapore, locals and expats alike. Excited to read and admire all your work as well!
List of contributors
Alice Bianchi-Clark | Barbara Moxham | Ben Lai | Chan Wai Han | Colin Goh | Darel Seow | Darius Cheong | David Liew | Denise Tan | Elieth Sardinas | Emily Lim-Leh | Evelyn Sue Wong | Felicia Low-Jimenez | Fleur Vella-Chang | Hwee Goh | James Lim | Josef Lee | Josephine Chia | Katherine Wallace | Katie Van Camp | Leila Boukarim | Lianne Ong | Melanie Lee | Melissa Tan | Moniza Hossain | Moses Sia | Namita Moolani Mehra | Nani | Nurulhuda Izyan | Ovidia Yu | Patrick Ng | Patrick Yee | Paula Pang | Pauline Loh | Pippa Chorley | Quek Hong Shin | Rosemarie Somaiah | Sarah Ang | Si-Hoe S. S. | Simon Wray | Srividhya Venkat | Tammar Stein | Tan Si Qi | Tina Jimin Walton | Zahira Mohamed Sedik