The Poppies Bloom Again

The lists for this year's Popular-The Star Readers Choice Awards have been announced :

Fiction :

1. Velvet & Cinder Blocks by Ioannis Gatsiounis

2. Map Of The Invisible World by Tash Aw

3. Scary Ever After by John Ho

4. Or Rauby Kuan Guat Choo

5. Kirkby: The Life And The Loves by Dr Shaari Isa

6. Never Been Better by O Thiam Chin

7. Inspector Singh Investigates: A Most Peculiar Malaysian Murder by Shamini Flint

8. Little Hut Of Leaping Fishes by Chiew-Siah Tei

9. Chinese Stories In Times Of Change by David T.K. Wong

10. Match Fixer by Neil Humphreys

Non-fiction :

1. 50 Days: Rantings by MM by Marina Mahathir

2. I, Too, Am Malay by Zaid Ibrahim

3. Taxi Tales on a Crooked Bridge by Charlene Rajendran

4. Yasmin Ahmad’s Films by Amir Muhammad

5. Malaysian Politicians Say The Darndest Things Vol.2 by Amir Muhammad

6. Tropical Affairs: Episodes From An Expat’s Life In Malaysia by Robert Raymer

7. Even Madder About Malaysians by Dean Johns

8. Do You Wear Suspenders? by Lydia Teh

9. Ceritalah 3: Malaysia, A Dream Deferred by Karim Raslan

10. Life, The Malaysian Style by Peggy Tan Pek Tao

 The award is a mighty good thing for local authors who fully deserve recognition, and introduces us to titles that we may not have heard of. (For me, that's several of the above, including John Ho's graphic novel.)

When the award was first initiated, I wasn't too sure that a book prize awarded according to public votes was the best way to decide the thing, but I do actually love the way the public are involved and the books are proudly displayed upfront in branches of Popular (because let's face it, local books have too often been the poor relations).

The voting forms are in the print copies of The Star (details here) and there are prizes to be won. Closing date is July 31st. The winners will be announced at BookFest@Malaysia 2010, which will be held at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre from Sept 4-12.

Postscript :

More on each of the fiction titles here.

The Winners Are…

The cover story of Starmag's ReadsMonthly supplement was of course the results of the Popular-The Star Readers’ Choice Awards.

Tan Sri Abdullah Ahmad (left) who edited and compiled Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s Selected Letters to World Leaders talks about how the idea for the winning book came about during a casual meeting with the former PM three years ago. The English edition of the book book has apparently sold more than 15,000 copies, but it hasn't been reviewed in the press at all. There is apparently sufficient material for a second collection.

Robert Raymer, the fiction winner says :

I felt that I had a good chance of being in the top three, and I really thought that either Preeta Samarasan or Tan Twan Eng would win!

He says that in writing his stories :

I always take notes of people I see and hear. For Lovers and Strangers, most of the characters were developed through real people like my ex-wife, my mother-in-law, and an uncle.

(Shall I be nervous next time Robert comes to stay?)

Also in today's Starmag, Daphne Lee writes about books with furry covers!

Robert Wins a Poppy!

I just got back from Bookfest@Malaysia at KL Convention Centre. I'm sure you are all dying to hear the results of the Star-Popular Book Awards so straight to it! :

The Star Reader's Choice Awards

Fiction Category :

Robert Raymer - Lovers and Strangers Revisited
Preeta Samarasan - Evening is the Whole Day
Tan Twan Eng - The Gift of Rain

Non-Fiction :

Tun Mahathir & Tan Sri Abdullah Ahmad - Dr. Mahathir's Letters to World Leaders
Adibah Amin - Glimpses : Cameos of Malaysian Lives
Kee Thuan Chye : March 8: The Day Malaysia Woke Up

Berita Harian Anugerah Pilihan Pembaca 2009 *

Fiction :

Siti Rosmizah - Andai Itu Takdirny (If It's His/Her Fate)
Aisya Sofea - Selagi Ada Dia - (As Long as He's Here)
Ramlee Awang Murshid - Hijab Sang Pencinta (My Darling's Hijab)

Non-Fiction :

Dr Tengku Asmadi - Teknik Memotivasikan Anak Cara Positive (Positive Ways to Motivate Your Child)
Hadiah Untuk Muslimah (Gifts for Muslim Women)
Langkah Bijak Ushahawan Terbilang Ushawan Terbilang (Wise Steps for Entrepreneurs)

I will put up pictures of the event and add a bit more commentary soon.
(*Translations of titles are my own feeble attempts and I've included them here for overseas readers who will be interested to see what is most popular here - please correct me if I haven't got it right and I'll make changes.)

Winners@Bookfest@Malaysia

BookFest@Malaysia 2009 organised by Popular Bookstore kicks off at the KL Convention Centre on August 22. Starmag today features a list of author events at the Reading Room.

And, of course, the winners of the Popular-Star Readers’ Choice Awards 2009 will be announced. Who will win? Starmag asks. Well, if you want to find out who Malaysian readers have chosen as the best fiction and non-fiction authors, be at BookFest@Malaysia’s main stage at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre at 2pm on Aug 26.

Voting Time!

The other day I blogged the shortlist for The Popular-Star Readers Choice Awards 2009, and now you get to chose your favourites and stand to win a prize at the same time. You can pick up an entry form at any one of the 62 Popular Bookstores nationwide. Voting closes on July 15th.

The slogan for the awards is Read to Vote, Vote to Win. If you want to make an informed choice of what to vote for, get reading. There's a tasty 20% off the longlisted titles.

The awards will be handed out at Malaysia’s largest book exhibition, BookFest@Malaysia 2009, at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre from Aug 22-31.

Longlist for the Poppies 2009

Popular Bookstores are running their Reader's Choice (for books in English) and Anugerah Pilihan Pembaca (for books in Malay) awards again this year. Kimmy of Popular was kind enough to send me a copy of the lists of nominees (based, I believe on sales instore) so I guess I have the scoop before the newspapers!

I will blog the Readers Choice award first, and here's the list which I have subdivided into categories, although there is just one overall prize. (Wouldn't it be nice to have more, so that we could celebrate different categories?) *

Fiction (Novels/Novellas) :

Preeta Samarasan - Evening is the Whole Day
Tunku Halim - Juriah's Song
Brian Gomez - Devil's Place
Tan Twan Eng - The Gift of Rain
Kuan Guat Choo - Mouse Clutching Winter Melon
Khoo Kheng-Hor - Nanyang : The Lure of Southern China to Lands of Opportunity and Danger

Fiction (Short Stories) :

Wena Poon - Lions in Winter
Robert Raymer - Lovers and Strangers Revisited

Matthew Thomas - Tales from the Court and other Stories

Non-Fiction :

Yvonne Lee - Vanity Drive: The Vagaries of Women's Vanity
Sheik Mustapha Shukor Al-Masrie - Reach for the Stars
Adeline Loh - Peeing in the Bush
Adibah Amin - Glimpses : Cameos of Malaysian Lives
Paddy Bowie - Datuk Teh Hong Pow : Banking Thoroughbred
Kee Thuan Chye : March 8: The Day Malaysia Woke Up
Tun Mahathir & Tan Sri Abdullah Ahmad - Dr. Mahathir's Letters to World Leaders
Rustam A. Sani - Failed Nation? Concerns of a Malaysian Nationalist
Amir Muhammad - New Malaysian Essays 1
Awang Goneng - Growing Up in Terengganu

In case you're wondering, this year, unlike last, overseas published Malaysian authors have been included provided that their books were in mass market paperback during the qualifying period. Thus Chiew-Siah Tei's Little Hut of Leaping Fishes is expected to be on next year's list. Shih-Li Kow's collection of short stories, Ripples, wasn't published in time to qualify for this year's list but should make it for next.

It's a shame isn't it there is only one prize, with so much of interest on the list and so much diversity!

We have authors who have achieved acclaim for their work overseas and who have each been nominated for one the world's most prestigious literary prizes (Tan Twan Eng - Booker, Preeta Samarasan - Orange).

We have one Singaporean author (Wena Poon) eligible because she was published in Malaysia.

We have last year's winner Adibah Amin, coming back for another bite of the cherry.

We have one former prime minister.

We have two authors who have passed away since their books were written - Rustam A. Sani and Sheik Mustapha Shukor Al-Masrie who wrote about his brother Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor Sheikh Mustapha, Malaysia's first "astronaut" and died just one day before his brother landed from his voyage to the international space station.

Voting will be once again via the Star's Reads Monthly Supplement (though I'm not sure when that will be). The bookstore is organising promotions of the books and from June onwards, customers that visit POPULAR outlets will get 20% discount when they buy any of the nominated books. The winner will be announced at Bookfest @ Malaysia 2009.

Yes, it is a popularity contest and yes, in that sense it cannot be considered a serious literary award.

But it does shine the spotlight on local authors and create some conversation about their books, which cannot be at all a bad thing.

Congrats to all the listed authors and their publishers.

Postscript :

Sorry for misleading info. There are separate prizes for fiction and non-fiction, and three prizes in each category - which means 6 winners. Whee!!

Postscript 2 :

The question of whether Khoo Kheng-Hor's book is fiction or non-fiction comes up in the comments to this post. Shirley Ng of MPH forwarded me an interesting note about this from Khoo herself who says :

... my case stories from China were based on what my aunts told me about my grand-father ... If you want to categorize it under non-fiction then it is not entirely true. If it is fiction then it is not entirely true too. So what shall we call it?

I didn't notice on the initial list but Yvonne Lee's Vanity Drive has been categorised as fiction. Hmmm ... creative non-fiction okay, but ....

The Poppies Have Authors Smiling

More coverage in Starmag today of the Star-Popular readers-Choice Awards 2008.

Elizabeth Tai writes :

More than any amount of cash, though, it was the recognition that had everybody at the award ceremony walking about with big smiles on their faces.

When we contact her later, Popular’s executive director, Lim Lee Ngoh, says, “We are very happy because, as (Transport Minister) Datuk Ong Tee Keat (who gave out the awards) said, it’s the first of its kind on Malaysian soil.

“We’re also happy that our local authors are very appreciative of the effort made by the organisers, but most of all of the support and attention from their readers.

“I think it was a very successful event and we will certainly continue to organise it. Our hope is that this is a seed of an idea, and if we cultivate it, nurture it, given time, it will even bigger and better.”

With more support, we will see more locally produced Malaysian work, says Lim: “(The awards) gives authors greater motivation to produce better work,” she adds.

I'm glad that everything went off so well, despite the dodgy voting system. It's so nice to see local authors rewarded.

(Pics - of Adibah Amin (above left) and Lydia Teh (above right).

Adibah's Double!

The results of the Star-Popular Readers' Choice Awards were announced today at Popular's Bookfest. (Got the results via Chet who got them from Kam, and from Lydia ... I should have gone but.)

The winners :

Fiction :

1. This End of the Rainbow by Adibah Amin (Winner)
   
2. Confessions of an Old Boy: The Dato’ Hamid Adventures by Kam Raslan
3. Sweetheart from Hell by Lim May-Zhee

Non-Fiction

1. Honk! If You’re Malaysian by Lydia Teh (Winner)
2. As I Was Passing by Adibah Amin
3. Malaysian Politicians Say the Darndest Things by Amir Muhammad

Well done to all!

More discussion of this to follow, of course.

Update (28/5/08):

Short piece in The Star this morning with photo.

(Authors in the pic : (far left) Lim May Zhee, (fourth from left) Lydia Teh, (far right in smart suit) Kam, (next to him) Amir. Adibah wasn't able to attend as she was not well enough.

I had not realised that there were also Bahasa Malaysia awards and that Popular teamed up with Malay language newspaper, Berita Harian to award these!

Anis Ayuni (left) won in the fiction category for her novel Bayangan Rindu, while Fazli Yunus (right) and Datuk Dr. Mohd Fadzil Yusof won in the non-fiction category for Kuasa Hijrah Kuasa Untuk Berubah. (The whole Malay language longlist can be viewed here.)

As Others See Us

The Literary Saloon, the blog of The Complete Review, and my first port-of-call for information on the literary scene worldwide has picked up the news of the The Star-Popular Readers Choice Awards which were announced last Sunday :

Not our favourite kind of set-up -- readers get to vote, and they get to do so as often as they like (and there's an incentive to vote for the book you think is likely to win, rather than the one you think is best, because voters who 'get it right' are also eligible for prizes ...), and the prize is limited to the ten bestselling titles (in fiction and non-fiction) at the local Popular stores. But at least that leads, for example, Elizabeth Tai to briefly describe what were the 10 bestselling fiction titles last year, in her Guide to the prizes, which gives us some idea of what's popular in Malaysia (and these are, after all, book you probably haven't seen at your local bookstore).

But as Louise Adler notes in The Age (another piece I found via Saloon.com) :

Prizes that attract publicity inevitably also attract criticism ...

But it can't be anything but good if word of local books and authors gets out into the wider world, and if Malaysian readers are encouraged to pick up the books. The award has also put a smile on the faces of the nominated authors I've met spoken to over the past few days, every single one of them saying that they aren't bothered if they win, and are just happy to have been recognised.

And talking of wider attention for our local publishing scene, Wena Poon's Lions in Winter (published here by MPH) is reviewed by Neel Chowdhury in Time magazine.

New Award for Local Authors

A new award for local authors is announced in Starmag today by Malini Dias. Sponsored by Popular Bookstores and Star Publications (M) Bhd, it is to be called The Star-Popular Readers Choice Awards.

The shortlist for the award is based on titles which proved the most popular in Popular and Harris Bookshops last year. Readers will get a choice to vote for their favourites by filling in the forms which will appear in Starmag's and StarTwo's book pages over the coming weeks.

The top authors in the two categories will each receive RM1,000 and a trophy; authors of the second and third most popular book titles in both categories will each receive RM300 cash and certificates of recognition. There are also book vouchers to be won by those who send in the forms.

Here's the list. I've added links to relevant posts on this blog.

Non-fiction

Honk! If You’re Malaysian by Lydia Teh

I Am Muslim by Dina Zaman

The Reluctant Politician: Tun Dr Ismail and His Time by Ooi Kee Beng

In Good Faith: Articles, Essays, and Interviews by Zaid Ibrahim

As I Was Passing by Adibah Amin

The Unmaking of Malaysia: An Insider’s Reminiscences of Umno, Razak, and Mahathir by Ahmad Mustapha Hassan

Tanah Tujuh by Antares

From Small-Town Boy to World Class Surgeon by Mangai Balasegaram

Malaysian Politicians Say the Darndest Things by Amir Muhammad

The Sky is Crazy by Yvonne Lee

Fiction

Confessions of an Old Boy: The Dato’ Hamid Adventures by Kam Raslan

Mamasan by Khoo Kheng-Hor

The Red Cheong Sam by Ralph Modder

This End of the Rainbow by Adibah Amin

44 Cemetery Road: The Best of Tunku Halim by Tunku Halim

Sweetheart from Hell by Lim May-Zhee

The Boy Who Talks to Ghosts by Benny & Alice Wong

Silverfish New Writing 6 edited by Dipika Mukherjee

Long Road to Merdeka by Kamarul Zaman Kamarulzaman

Nine Lives by Teoh Choon Ean

There are several books here I've read in part but not written about. Several more I've glanced at in the bookshop, but given a limited budget I haven't bought. (The canny publisher slips the litblogger a free review copy!!) I may start to fill in some of those gaps now.

But congrats to all those nominated and I hope that this very useful initiative gives local authors and publishers a much needed boost.

The great thing about any literary award, is of course the discussion it creates, and so it's open season in the comments to this post.

What do you think of the books nominated? How many have you read?