Established by Christian missionaries in 1823, the Mission Press was the first printing press in Singapore. It published Christian literature in various languages, textbooks and children’s books. In addition, it accepted printing jobs from the government and the ...

Lim Hung Chang (林汉精 ; b. 17 October 1949, Singapore– ), better known by his pseudonym Lin Gao (林高), is one of the leading figures in the Chinese literary scene in Singapore. He has used various pen names, such as Lin Yifei (林一飞), Sanmuzi (三木子) and Lin Jingshan ...

Suratman Markasan (b. 29 December 1930, Singapore– ) is a prolific poet, novelist and respected literary pioneer in Singapore. His literary career spans from the early 1950s to the present. The numerous awards he has received include: the Southeast Asian Writers ...

Na Govindasamy (b. 1946, Singapore−d. 26 May 1999) was an educator, writer and an Internet researcher. He started writing in the 1960s. His works, which include plays, dramas and short stories for radio and television, furthered the development of literature in ...

The Southeast Asia (SEA) Collection is a significant collection of the National Library. It includes the Ya Yin Kwan Collection, the Rost Collection, the Gibson-Hill Collection and a wide range of early-19th-century literature. Its most valuable titles come from ...

The Substation is the first independent contemporary arts centre established in Singapore. Located on Armenian Street, it is regarded as a key venue for the production and staging of young, experimental and contemporary works in dance, literature, music, theatre, ...

Ho Minfong (b. 7 January 1951, Myanmar–), is an award-winning author of literature for children and young adults. Ho won the Cultural Medallion Award, the highest arts accolade in Singapore, in 1997. Although Ho is a Singaporean, she has spent most of her life ...

Founded by “Tiger Balm King” Aw Boon Haw, the Chinese-language Sin Chew Jit Poh (星洲日报) newspaper was first issued on 15 January 1929. It was one of the leading Chinese dailies in Singapore until its merger with Nanyang Siang Pau (南洋商报) on 15 March 1983 to form ...

Edwin Nadason Thumboo (b. 22 November 1933, Singapore–), Emeritus Professor at the National University of Singapore’s Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, is widely regarded as the unofficial poet laureate of Singapore. He is best known for writing on national ...

Literary festivals in Singapore play host to readers and writers alike, and include book festivals, writers’ festivals as well as language festivals. These events are not only platforms for promoting reading and authors, but also an appreciation for writing and ...

Wong Yoon Wah (b. 13 August 1941, Perak, Malaysia–) is one of the few Singaporeans who excel as an international poet, critic and scholar. Prolific in both creative and academic writing, Wong has published more than 20 collections of prose, poetry, and academic ...

Mohamed Latiff Mohamed (b. 20 March 1950, Singapore–d. 13 October 2022, Australia) was a prolific poet and writer in Singapore’s Malay literary scene. A teacher by training, he was best known for his works about the struggles of the Malay community in post-independence ...

Lee Tzu Pheng (b. 13 May 1946, Singapore–) is one of Singapore’s distinguished poets. A retired university lecturer, she has published in anthologies and journals internationally. Her three volumes of poetry, Prospect of a Drowning (1980), Against the Next Wave ...

Yeng Pway Ngon (英培安; b. 26 January 1947, Singapore–d. 10 January 2021, Singapore) was a well-known poet, novelist and critic in the Chinese literary scene in Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Yeng was a prolific writer, and his works have been translated ...

Lew Poo Chan (b. 1943, Kuala Kangsar, Perak, Malaya), better known by her pseudonym Dan Ying, is a well-known poet in Chinese-speaking communities around the world. Her poetry has won a number of literary awards and has been translated into several languages. For ...

Kirpal Singh (b. 1949, Singapore–) is a poet, literary and cultural critic, and university lecturer in English language and literature. He has written and published four collections of poetry and edited numerous literary journals and books. He was a founding member ...

Singapore’s array of literary awards and prizes recognises writers and works of literary merit. The honours are applicable to works in all four official languages of Singapore – English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil – and genres such as poetry and drama. The official ...

P. Krishnan (b. 1932, Johor, Malaya–), also known as Puthumaithasan, is regarded as one of Singapore’s Tamil literary pioneers. He is a prolific short-story writer, playwright, poet and radio broadcaster, with an oeuvre comprising more than 40 stories, 100 essays ...

Li Rulin (李汝琳; b. 5 July 1914, Qinyang, Henan, China–d. 17 March 1991, Singapore), real name Lee Hung Pen (李宏贲), was one of Singapore’s Chinese literary pioneers. During his lifetime, Li also published under a number of other pseudonyms, including Li Lin, Li Jiguang, ...

Liang Wern Fook (Dr) (b. 1964, Singapore) is a writer, singer-composer and educator in Chinese literature and the Chinese language. A pioneer of xinyao, a genre of Mandarin songs that is unique to Singapore, Liang’s name is synonymous with the xinyao movement. ...