Ep 7: “Books of Our Own” feat. Goh Eck Kheng and Lim Li Kok
About
How did local publishing houses chart the course for the literary arts during the 1980s? Host Charlene Shepherdson speaks with Goh Eck Kheng, founder of Landmark Books, and Lim Li Kok, founder of AsiaPac Books. By talking about their publishing strategies and and the driving forces behind starting their own businesses, the duo proffer a detailed account of how the world of book publishing in Singapore really works, as well as the costs and complexities involved.
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[00:01:08] National Book Development Council of Singapore: Renamed the Singapore Book Council. Established in 1968 with the overarching goal of growing and cultivating Singapore’s books and local literary art scene. Known for organising the Festival of Books and Books Fair, National Reading Month, and awards the Singapore Literature Prize. For more information, check out Episode 6 of Backlogues.
[00:02:55] Landmark Books: Established in 1986, Landmarks Books is an independent boutique publishing house specialising in high-quality illustrated books, Asian subjects, Singapore literature and children’s books. It was founded by Goh Eck Kheng who wanted to give authors and those requiring publishing services an alternative to publishing conglomerates. Today, they also provide publishing services and consultancy.
[00:03:01] Asiapac Books: Established in 1983, Asiapac Books is Singapore's leading independent publisher of educational comics and illustrated books designed to enhance lifelong learning. Asiapac Books publishes books in many genres, mainly philosophy, history, literature and culture.
[00:03:23] Times Publishing Limited: Times Publishing Limited and its subsidiaries, collectively known as Times Publishing Group, is one of the premier media groups in Asia-Pacific highly regarded for its dedication to four core competencies – publishing, printing, distribution and retail.
[00:03:29] Flame Of The Forest Publishing: Founded in 1989 by Alex Chacko as an independent book publisher in Singapore. The publishing house made its debut with Russell Lee’s True Singapore Ghost Stories Book 1, which became an instant hit not only in Singapore but also across Southeast Asia. It is also known for titles such as Excuse Me, Are you A Model? and the Sarong Party Girl series. It publishes mainly through its imprint, Angsana Books.
[00:03:37] True Singapore Ghost Stories: First released in 1989 and published by Flame of the Forest, the first book was called The Almost Complete Collection of True Singapore Ghost Stories, a compilation of 50 supposedly real-life accounts of paranormal encounters gathered from ordinary Singaporeans. It was a major hit, selling 30,000 copies in just over two months. The success transformed the standalone book into a series. Today, the series comprises 25 volumes.
[00:03:44] Imperial Publishing House: Founded on 20 March 1991. Books published include Power House by K. Rajamanikam and Cheah Sin Ann's The House Of Lim: The Year Of The Goat collection of comic strips.
[00:03:52] Octopus Publishing Group: Foreign publisher. Local books published include Asian Cooking: The Conventional And Microwave Style by K. Karuna, and What If There Had Been No Lee Kuan Yew? by Anthony Oei.
[00:03:55] What If There Had Been No Lee Kuan Yew?: This Mandarin paperback recounts Mr Lee's early years as a student in Britain, his anti-colonialist struggle, his role in Singapore's merger with Malaysia and the subsequent de-merger, and ends with his handing over the reins of leadership to Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong.
[00:08:02] Eastern Universities Press: Publishing house that Goh Eck Kheng’s father managed. It was later sold to Times Group.
[00:08:11] United Publishers Services (UPS): Founded on 17 Apr 1975, it was later sold to Times Group.
[00:08:40] The Times Group: Parent company of bands including Times Publishing Limited, Marshall Cavendish, Times Printers, Print Lab, Office & Schools Solutions, Times Distribution, Pansing, Times bookstores, Kaboom and GoGuru.
[00:08:58] Malaysia Publishing House (MPH): First established in 1890 as Amelia Bishop Press by Captain W.G. Shellabear, the company began by publishing Christian literature. In the 1900s, the company expanded its activities to publishing secular works, alongside printing, bookselling and book distribution. In 1906, the company’s name was changed to Methodist Publishing House, giving rise to the acronym MPH, as the company is known today. For decades, the company’s headquarters, including the administration and editor’s office, was housed at the corner of Stamford Road and Armenian Street in Singapore. In 2020, MPH closed most of its bookstores and concentrated its efforts on selling books online. Today, MPH Group remains the largest vertically integrated Malaysian entity in the book industry in Malaysia and Singapore, comprising MPH Bookstores, MPH Distributors, MPH Group Printing, MPH Group Publishing and MPH Group Magazine.
[00:09:00] Oxford University Press (OUP): With its first book printed in 1478, it has the mission of creating the highest quality academic and educational resources and services and making them available across the world.
[00:09:01] Heinemann: A publisher of professional resources and a provider of educational services for teachers, kindergarten through college.
[00:09:30] TheatreWorks: Renamed T:>Works in 2020. A non-profit English-language theatre company established in 1985 by Lim Siauw Chong, Lim Kay Tong and Justin Hill. Goh Eck Kheng was one of the founding members. Check out Episode 3 of Backlogues for more information.
[00:10:15] The Straits Times: Launched on July 15, 1845, The Straits Times is a Singaporean daily broadsheet newspaper owned by the SPH Media Trust. It was first established as The Straits Times and Singapore Journal of Commerce.
[00:10:27] Army Daze: First written as a play by Michael Chiang in 1987, Landmark Books created a comic version. It was staged by Theatreworks in 1987, and directed by Lim Siauw Chong. It was released as a film in 1996, and was distributed by Cathay Asia Films. Check out Episode 3 of Backlogues for more information.
[00:10:49] We Remember: Cameos of Pioneer Life: First released in 1986 by Landmark Books, and written by Yvonne Quahe. The book is an oral history of some of Singapore's pioneers in the 1920s and 1930s.
[00:11:22] National Archives of Singapore (NAS): Established in 1967 as the official custodian of Singapore’s collective memory. Ranging from government files, private memoirs, historical maps and photographs to oral history interviews and audio-visual materials, the NAS is responsible for the collection, preservation and management of Singapore's public and private archival records.
[00:11:53] Oxford Union: Founded in 1823, the Oxford Union is the most famous debating society in the world.
[00:12:26] The Teenage Textbook: Written by Adrian Tan and published by Landmark Books in 1988. The book attracted considerable attention when it was published, and appeared at the top of local bestseller lists. The novel, set in the fictional Paya Lebar Junior College (PJC), is about a group of students as they go through the "friendship, courtship, hatred, love" phases of being a teenager. Together with the sequel The Teenage Workbook, they were adapted into the 1998 film, The Teenage Textbook Movie, directed by Philip Lim.
[00:12:27] The Teenage Workbook: Sequel to The Teenage Textbook, released in 1989. Its first print run of 6,000 copies was snatched up within a week. Together with The Teenage Textbook, they were adapted into the 1998 film, The Teenage Textbook Movie, directed by Philip Lim.
[00:13:18] Eh, Goondu!: First published through The Sunday Times’ comic column to explain Singlish words, it was made into a collection and published as a book in 1982.
[00:13:31] The Sunday Times: The Sunday edition of The Straits Times, launched on December 20, 1931.
[00:14:43] Marshall Cavendish: First established in the United Kingdom in 1968, it was acquired by Times Publishing Group in 1980. Today, as a subsidiary of Times Publishing Group, it is an international publisher of varying formats such as books, directories, magazines and digital platforms.
[00:15:03] Speak Good English Movement: A Singapore Government campaign to encourage Singaporeans to speak and write standard English and provide resources to learners who wish to improve their English. Goh Eck Kheng was the committee chairman in 2008.
[00:15:53] Penguin Books: Originally founded in the UK in 1935 by Allen Lane, who envisioned a collection of quality, attractive books affordable enough to be “bought as easily and casually as a packet of cigarettes.”
[00:15:57] Nancy Drew: A long-running series for children and teens that was first published in the United States in 1930. The series features a teenage amateur detective solving mysteries in her small town of River Heights.
[00:15:58] The Hardy Boys: A long-running mystery series for children and teens that was first published in 1927 by publishers Grosset & Dunlap. It was so successful that Nancy Drew was created as a female counterpart series.
[00:25:56] Hodder & Stoughton: One of the UK's biggest publishing groups and a major publisher within Hachette.
[00:28:26] Superskill Graphics: Superskill Graphics Pte Ltd was established in 1978 as a modest typesetting firm by the husband and wife team, Mr Kelvin Tan and Mrs Tan Soo Buay.
[00:31:51] SingLit: SingLit is an amalgamation of the words “Singapore” and “literature”. In 2016 the Singapore Book Council started the #buysinglit movement, which aims to encourage the community to read books by homegrown authors.
[00:34:36] Words Go Round: Commissioned by the National Arts Council, Words Go Round (WGR) is a school outreach programme that began in 2011 as part of the Singapore Writers Festival, with the objective of bringing literary authors and programmes directly to students in our schools.
[00:34:39] “Book A Author” (Book A Writer): A programme by Sing Lit Station that provides creative writing workshops and classes to students of Secondary Schools and Junior Colleges across Singapore.
[00:35:34] Singapore's River, A Living Legacy: Written by Linda Perry and published by Eastern Universities Press in 1982.
[00:37:07] MediaCorp: Singapore’s largest content creator and national media network, operating a suite of TV channels, radio stations and multiple digital platforms.
[00:43:52] Stand Alone: A thought-provoking anthology that explores issues challenging Singaporeans: identity, emigration, education, infidelity, cultural differences, class divisions, heritage, and individualism. Written by Simon Tay and published by Landmark Books in 1992.
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[00:01:10] Hedwig Anuar: The first female and first Singaporean director of the National Library of Singapore from 1965 until her retirement in 1988, and the National Book Development Council of Singapore’s Director from 1981 to 1988. Tune in to Episode 6 to find out more.
[00:03:26] Russell Lee: Singaporean author of the bestselling True Singapore Ghost Stories.
[00:03:50] K. Rajamanikam: Author of Power House.
[00:03:56] Anthony Oei: Author of What if there had been no Lee Kuan Yew?, he also worked as a journalist with The Straits Times and Radio & Television Singapura, public relations manager of the Economic Development Board and a writer with several advertising agencies.
[00:09:44] Ong Keng Sen: A critically-acclaimed theatre director. Currently artistic director of TheatreWorks, which was founded in 1985. Also known for his curation of festivals, including the Singapore Arts Festival (now known as SIngapore International Festival of Arts).
[00:09:52] Ovidia Yu: Writer of short stories, plays, novels and a children’s book, The Mudskipper. Her works are known for their strong female characters.
[00:09:55] Desmond Sim: A playwright, poet, short-story writer and painter, his accomplishments include winning the Singapore Literature Prize for Poetry (Merit) for his collection of poems Places Where I’ve Been (1993); his double victory at the NUS/Shell Short Play Competition for Storyteller and Red Man, Green Man in 1990; winning the first Hewlett-Packard/Action Theatre 10-minute Play Contest with Drunken Prawns in 1993; and winning the Best Original Script award at the 2002 DBS Life! Theatre Awards with Autumn Tomyam.
[00:10:08] Michael Chiang: prolific playwright and screenwriter. Chiang’s foray into playwriting began in 1984 when he was invited to submit a light-hearted play for the Singapore Arts Festival’s Bumboat production because he wrote humour columns for The Sunday Times newspaper. Apart from Army Daze, Chiang has written several popular musicals including Beauty World and High Class.
[00:10:52] Yvonne Quahe: Author of We Remember: Cameos of Pioneer Life.
[00:12:25] Adrian Tan: Author of the bestselling novels The Teenage Textbook and The Teenage Workbook. His books have inspired television, film and stage adaptations.
[00:12:47] Peter Schoppert: Currently the Director of NUS Press, Peter Schoppert has vast experience in publishing, with time spent in Times Editions and Editions Didier Millet. He was also elected as President of the Singapore Book Publishers three times.
[00:13:16] Sylvia Toh Paik Choo: Author of Eh, Goondu!. Also a Singaporean newspaper columnist and humour writer.
[00:13:57] Jacinta Abisheganaden: A Singaporean singer, actress and theatre practitioner, who was a founding member of Theatreworks.
[00:19:10] Cai Zhi Zhong: Famous Taiwanese cartoonist specialising in retelling Chinese classics.
[00:25:52] Edward England: One of the most important figures in Christian publishing. He spent 14 years of his career at Hodder & Stoughton, where he rose to become a director of the main board and head of religious publishing.
[00:29:39] Tan Soo Buay: Mrs Tan Soo Buay serves as the Managing Director of Superskill Graphics Pte Ltd.
[00:35:36] Linda Berry: An award-winning copywriter and art director, with an interest in literature and the visual arts.
[00:43:52] Simon Tay: Born in 1961, Simon Tay is a Singaporean author, law professor and former Nominated Member of Parliament. His collection of short stories, Stand Alone, was awarded the Highly Commended prize from the National Book Development Council of Singapore Awards. His novel City of Small Blessings won the 2010 Singapore Literature Prize.
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[00:10:19] National Service: National policy in Singapore mandated by statutory law that requires all male Singaporean citizens and second-generation permanent residents to serve a period of compulsory service in the uniformed services.
[00:14:28] Swensen's: Restaurant chain that started in San Francisco. A household name in Singapore.
[00:14:29] Plaza Singapura: Shopping mall located along Orchard Road, Singapore. First opened in 1974 and is one of the oldest malls located along Orchard Road. Currently managed by CapitaMalls Asia.
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[00:27:22] “不耻下问”: Do not be ashamed to ask.
About our Speakers
Charlene Shepherdson is a Singaporean poet and community organiser focused on language in written, performative and visual forms. She is the Station Control (General Manager) of Sing Lit Station.
Goh Eck Kheng is a book editor, publisher and founder of Landmark Books, a boutique publishing house known for producing quality books on Asian subjects. He is a founding member of Theatreworks and author of two children’s books, Jun and the Octopus and Friends: A Counting Book. Goh also served as a board member of the Media Development Authority from 2007 to 2008.
Lim Li Kok is a book editor and founder of Asiapac Books, a Singaporean publisher known for its educational comic books and illustrated books on Asian subjects. Established in 1983, its publications are now sold in more than 20 countries and have been translated into more than 20 languages. Lim’s love of books once led her to opening a bookstore in 1976.