Poet Joshua Ip's Ownself Say Ownself wins Book of the Year at Singapore Book Awards
Poet and editor Joshua Ip's collection is the first poetry book to win Book of the Year at the Singapore Book Awards
SINGAPORE – Poet Joshua Ip's Ownself Say Ownself is the first poetry collection to win Book of the Year at the Singapore Book Awards, in a ceremony held at The Pod at the National Library Building on July 24. The collection of his poems, translations and performance pieces was published by Landmark Books in 2024.
Ip told The Straits Times after learning of his win: 'Poetry doesn't make money. Translations don't sell. Spoken word poems published in book form will never work. I'm glad to see that, despite the prevailing wisdom, 'foolish' publishers like Goh Eck Kheng of Landmark Books still persevere in making the literary a little bit less 'airy fairy' and a bit more 'lit' – and are occasionally rewarded for it.'
The book, which also won the Markono Best Literary Award, bested the winning books in 13 other categories to snag the top prize. The 11th edition of the annual industry awards, organised by the Singapore Book Publishers Association (SBPA), recognises the best of books published in Singapore.
Mr Kenny Chan, former senior director at Books Kinokuniya and one of the judges for Book of the Year, said the judging process was 'much tougher'. He called Ip's title a 'monumental book' which tipped over the other contenders for its 'length and breadth', covering original poems, translations, musical excerpts and a crowd-sourced Dante-inspired poem.
About 150 titles were submitted across the 14 award categories, said the organisers. Judges comprised 18 industry figures including booksellers, librarians, content creators, educators and authors.
The late lawyer Adrian Tan's If I Were King Of Singapore , a posthumous collection of his online socio-political writings, was given a special mention by the judges for Book of the Year. Tan's book, published in 2024 by Landmark Books, won in the Best Non-Fiction Title category.
The inaugural winner of the newly created Best Graphic Novel category is Amber & Blue And The Hunt For DNA by Claudia Flandoli, published by World Scientific Publishing in 2024. Landmark Books was the biggest winner of the night with four awards, followed by Epigram Books with three.
The 2025 edition also marked the first time four awards were named after the sponsors, namely the Markono Best Literary Work Award, the KHL Best Custom Publishing Award, the Class Best Textbook Award and the Juliet David Best Food Book Award.
In 2024, playwright and author
Myle Yan Tay took home the two top prizes for his debut novel Catskull (2023) .
The full list of winners
Book of the Year and Markono Best Literary Work Award: Ownself Say Ownself by Joshua Ip (Landmark Books)
Best Graphic Novel: Amber & Blue And The Hunt For DNA by Claudia Flandoli (World Scientific Education)
Best Non-Fiction Title: If I Were King Of Singapore by Adrian Tan (Landmark Books)
Best Illustrated Non-Fiction Title: BMT Sketchbook by Asher Ong (Landmark Books)
Best Professional Title: Behind The Banyan: Ho Kwon Ping On Building A Global Brand by Aaron Low (World Scientific Publishing)
The Juliet David Best Food Book Award: Lala-Land: Singapore's Seafood Heritage by Anthony D. Medrano (Epigram Books)
Best Young Person's Fiction Title: The Travelling Library Chronicles Of Maizey Lee: The Road To Bangkok by Erni Salleh (Epigram Books)
Best Young Person's Non-Fiction Title: The Rainforest Adventures Of Biogirl MJ: Exploring Our Tropical Rainforests To Solve A Magical Mystery by Kong Man Jing and Raye Ng (World Scientific Education)
Best Picture Book: Jemma Dreams Of Sushi by Ruo-Ting Goh and Mark Chen (Epigram Books)
The Class Best Textbook Award: Digital Literacy And Computing Grades 1 To 6 by Mohammad Kamil, Islani Ishak, Charlie Chew, Tay Wan Jing, Chua Teck Chai (Marshall Cavendish Education)
Best Educational Supplement: Singapore Maths Calendar 2025 (Child Educational Co)
Best Cover Design: Sister Snake by Amanda Lee Koe (Ethos Books)
The KHL Best Custom Publishing Award: Timmy & Bill Meet The Explorers Of Sentosa (Sentosa Development Corporation)
Best Marketing Campaign: Hue City by Claire Betita de Guzman (Penguin Random House SEA)
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