Bet you didn’t know we had Pokemon Gyms in Singapore. Well they only started late last year or early this year anyway. Nonetheless, there was a tournament at Millenia Walk for the trading card gamers and also the video gamers of Pokemon.
Month: June 2010
SDS 1.24 – Young Folks
The main opening ceremony was on the 19th but the major events were on the next day at SCAPE. Yes, the new building for the youth activities and what not. Across the road where youth park was, there was a DJ showdown and also a flee market.
A whole bunch of talks or competitions!
Woooh, a whole bunch of events! Well, usually these things tend to run in the second half of the year onwards. Click the more cut to read more. We have:
- Talk: ‘In the Footsteps of Raffles’
- Workshop: What’s Your Singapore Memory?
- Talk/ Book Launch: ‘A life of its Own’
- Competition: e-Mote Digital Storytelling
- Workshop: e-MOTE storytelling
- Competition: 2010 Adelaide Review Short Fiction
- Competition: Man Asia Literary Prize 2010
- Competition: The Iowa Short Fiction Award
- Competition: The 30th Arvon International Poetry Competition 2010
- Competition: Hedwig Anuar Children’s Book Award 2011
Uuuungh. I did wonder to split this post into two or something but whatever. I’ll put them under headlines so you can scroll and pick at it at your own pace or something. Or usually, I’d just copy just the title of the event and press ctrl+f it or apple+f depending on which computer I’m on.
Onwards we go!
SDS 1.23 – Game of Love
SPORE! If you read the previous post, you’d know I was on the panel about SFF (science fiction and fantasy) writers existing in Singapore. This post however is on the convention itself! It was at Pasir Ris Community Club. SPORE-CON is a gaming convention. You can call it “analog” gaming though and not the digital ones you’d find on the computer. These are the ones where you use cards, miniature figurines, board games etc!
Ashes to Ashes: Prologue
Helloooo, so… This story came to me from a dream. Well technically it’s original source is a gothic Cinderella dream of sorts. I decide to refix the dream to make it more logical and well, it wanted to be read like a real story. So have a short mini series of Ashes to Ashes. It should be quite short, I hope since I’m just writing it as it goes. Those who read the original dream (I posted that somewhere else) might know how it ends but eh, it always changes when you write it down properly!
Let’s just see ok?
Ashes to Ashes
Prologue
By Seriously Sarah/ sarah coldheart
In Search of the Princess of Unicorns
I was one of the panelists for the “Yes we do exist – SFF writing in Singapore” at Spore-Con (that will be a separate SDS post next Monday but this is more on the panel itself!) If you read my previous post on not getting enough support, well it would be silly just to say stuff and not do anything yeah?
So what’s this about the princess of unicorns?
It’s a metaphor because as I’ve said before, all these writers are actually hidden and perhaps on a united front we could make an impact here in Singapore? The poets are quite united in a sense that the key poets are making significant headlines and whatnot. The writers here are in their own little circles and only once the planets align, they might perchance meet each other.
Usually during the Singapore Writers’ Festival but that only happens once every two years.
SDS 1.22 – Not Gonna Get Us
This year’s License 2 Play was a disappointment.
They downscaled it by a lot and instead put booths that are quite odd in the hall. You’ll see what I mean. Oh above is a mascot for an online game. That creature is… amusing? I like mascots!
Like a cheap $2 Bra
We don’t get enough support.
There.
I’ve said it.
The we defined here refers to the writers of fiction in Singapore. Don’t give me rubbish of that we have do get some support from various ministries or councils. I said we don’t get enough support. It doesn’t include said ministries or councils. It needs to involve more than that.
Here’s a post in January at Bibliobibuli about “Singapore’s Fiction Famine”. Technically the main article is on the link on her blog but I linked to that post since it has her opinions on it too.
Well, it’s all fine and dandy that Ng Yi-Sheng did say about NAC and Jacaranda in that post but alas. That’s not enough. Amusingly, he did also say about Nanowrimo which heh, I am the municipal liaison in Singapore to know very much well about.
You know what? There are fiction writers in Singapore but they’re all hidden like rebels against the imperial army or unicorns in a forest. They’re there and difficult to find but if you did find one, you might find the rest and realize why they’re hidden. See, being the ML of Singapore’s Nanowrimo, I get to actually see or meet these hidden writers and woah if you get the chance to read their things, you’d go “WHY IS THIS NOT IN THE BOOKSTORES?”.
It’s definitely not because of their skills but more of what we write. (You might doubt my skills, whatever but I have read very well written things by others.)
And we actually write fiction. GENRE fiction. The fun stories you’d actually pick up and buy in bookstores about fantasy, science fiction or romance! Drama, crime thrillers and all sorts of genres! The stuff people read and talk about online and go “OMGOMG I SHIP THIS PAIRING!” and write fanfic about.
You’d think that’ll be interesting right? But no. See, even if we write (and yes we do) these things, they won’t get published here. If they do, it’s usually by a small press publisher or done by the writer’s own initiative. The rules of getting published in Singapore is different than those in the US. Some of those guides or “rules” that one might read in articles of becoming a published author don’t really work here.
And with an appearance…
Well hellooo.
This weekend, there is Spore-Con at Pasir Ris Community Centre. Besides gaming of the board game variety, card games and miniature table top ones, there will be some science fiction and fantasy panel there!
Let me copy and paste:
SPORE-CON SFF PANEL & BOOK SIGNING
“Yes, We do exist – SFF writing in Singaporeâ€
Room: TIA
Date: 5/6/2010
Time: 11am-12pm
We have readings and a book signing!
Yes. DO come because I’ll be there along with Rozen of Two Trees where you can ask about writing genre fiction in Singapore and such.
For more info, you can check out their page here. Have any friends who like to write and what not? Ask them to come along. After all, besides fiction, it is a gaming convention where you have to think and make up stories for your campaigns. At the time of this post, the room number is still to be advised. Fret not! You’ll probably know which room when you go there and ask if you haven’t checked the website before then.
How to get there?
Pasir Ris East Community Club
No 1 Pasir Ris Drive 4 #01-08 Singapore 519457
SBS Bus Services along Pasir Ris Drive 1:
12, 17, 21, 39, 53, 81, 358, 359 and 518
Contact Numbers for the CC is: Â 65811861
SEE YOU AROUND, you guys!