Singapore, 8th April 2015 - The longlist for the first Scholastic Picture Book Award (SPBA) was announced on 8th April by the National Book Development Council of Singapore (NBDCS). SPBA is a joint initiative between NBDCS and Scholastic Asia, the world's largest children’s books publishing and distribution company.
The new award will be presented biennially to an outstanding unpublished picture book with distinct Asian themes by a writer and illustrator team of Asian descent living in Asia. As well as a $10,000 cash prize, the winning book will also be published by Scholastic Asia. There were a total of 136 entries from all over Asia, including Malaysia, the Philippines, Cambodia, Thailand, China, Taiwan, Japan, India, Pakistan, and Turkey. Only nine made it to the long list.
The Longlist:
Name | Title | Country |
Roya Yadollahi Shahrah and Vajihe Golmazari | The Bundle | Iran |
Phung Nguyen Quang and Huynh Kim Lien | The First Journey | Vietnam |
Shoba Dewey Chugani and Lyly Young | The Janggan Dragon Kite | Indonesia |
Emily Lim and Patrick Yee | Mooncake Panda | Singapore |
Ary Nilandari and Dewi Tri K. | Pandu, the Ogoh-Ogoh Maker | Indonesia |
Ichinnorov Ganbaatar and Bolormaa Baasansuren | Purchased Dream | Mongolia |
Jina Heo | The Small Fox | South Korea |
Kim Seon Young | Somi and the Clouds Gardener | South Korea |
Wendy Aw and Alan Choong | Wandering Off | Singapore |
Mr R Ramachandran, Executive Director of NBDCS said, “This award is an extension of our partnership with Scholastic Asia that began with the Scholastic Asian Book Award (SABA). SABA has successfully encouraged more writers from across Asia to write Asian-themed fiction for children and teens. The Scholastic Picture Book Award is intended to similarly encourage more Asian-themed content for younger children.”
Selina Lee, Director of Scholastic Asia, said, “We are delighted by the positive response to the new Scholastic Picture Book Award. A total of 136 entries were received from countries the length of Asia from Turkey to Japan. The overall standard of entries was very high which made selecting the nine titles for the longlist a tough but necessary job. Scholastic is looking forward to working with the eventual winners and bringing their Asian stories to the world.”
The shortlist will be announced in early May, and, befittingly for a competition for Asian-themed content, the winner will be announced during the Awards Night of the Asian Festival of Children’s Content (AFCC) on 2nd June.
For more information, please contact:
Adan Jimenez
National Book Development Council (NBDCS)
D +65 6848 8294
M +65 9770 4876 E adan@bookcouncil.sg
- Distributed via http://www.AsiaToday.com