What chance a Singaporean Booker Prize winner?

With a new literary world order seemingly dawning, going by the Man Booker Prize and the Nobel Prize for Literature, the question of how soon Singapore’s writers will make their mark on the international stage can no longer be considered a moot one.

Yesterday (Oct 15), the 2013 Booker prize went to New Zealand’s Eleanor Catton who, at 28, is the youngest ever winner in the 45-year history of the award.

Last week, the distinguished Canadian short-story writer Alice Munro became the 13th woman to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature since its inception in 1901.

Asian writers have been been gaining prominence at the two awards, as well.

China’s Mo Yan won the Nobel last year, becoming the second China-born author to win that prize after Gao Xingjian in 2000, and Japan’s Haruki Murakami was some bookmakers’ favourite in this year’s race.

Malaysian author Tash Aw was longlisted for the 2012 Booker Prize, following the success of Tan Twan Eng, who was shortlisted for the Booker this year.

Correction: The original article stated that Malaysian author Tash Aw was longlisted for the 2012 Booker Prize, following the success of Tan Twan Eng, who was shortlisted for the Booker this year. This is incorrect. Aw was longlisted for this year's Booker Prize, following the success of Tan, who was shortlisted for the Booker in 2012. This article was edited at 9pm on Oct 17.

Given the changing landscape of the literary world, why are we not seeing Singaporean authors enjoying similar success?

It is not that we lack talent. What is holding our writers back is a lack of exposure and recognition both here and abroad.

AIMING FOR A WIDER READERSHIP

It doesn’t help that the vast majority of Singaporeans think that our writers are simply not good enough. I beg to disagree.

We have an incredibly talented pool of Singaporean authors who construct thoughtful, brilliant prose exploring, among other things, the depths of the human condition (Catherine Lim), relationships, sexuality and love (Cyril Wong), the complexities of life in Singapore (Simon Tay) and the Singaporean identity (Suchen Christine Lim).

And the list runs on.

In the last few years, several Singaporean works have made forays into the international literary market. Kevin Kwan’s debut satirical novel Crazy Rich Asians, which was published to rave reviews across the globe and continues to sit on bestsellers’ lists, is one example.

Another case in point is the critically acclaimed food memoir, A Tiger In the Kitchen, by Manhattan-based Singaporean writer Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan.

I am not positing that we should measure the success of our local authors on whether or not they make these international lists.

Rather, it is the wider readership that such global literary awards – or simply being shortlisted – can bring that should motivate Singaporean authors to dream big, much like how the Anthony Chen film Ilo Ilo catapulted to global fame after having won the coveted Camera d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, thus widening its reach beyond Singapore’s borders.

INTERNATIONAL EXPOSURE

Could the problem be due in part to a lack of international exposure for Singaporean works? Possibly, judging by the small number of Singaporean works that have been read by an international audience.

To this end, the National Arts Council (NAC) could ramp up efforts to spread locally authored works far and wide. The council’s various grants have thus far helped firms like Epigram Books and Books@Jacaranda LLP make its presence felt in international book festivals, such as the just-concluded Frankfurter Buchmesse.

Poet Alvin Pang and writer Colin Cheong have also received International Travel Grants this year to attend the London Book Fair in April.

The NAC could join forces with more such home-grown publishing houses and authors to explore ways of taking local works to the international stage.

The annual Singapore Writers Festival is also a wonderful avenue to showcase local works to a global audience. The festival organisers have done a laudable job of wooing the who’s who of the literary circles – among them Britain’s poet laureate Professor Carol Ann Duffy and Jung Chang, author of the international bestseller Wild Swans – to this year’s event, running from Nov 1-10.

Having such prominent literary figures participate in the festival will hopefully generate plenty of interest in the event and attract a wider audience from Singapore and beyond.

This year’s festival will also see an unprecedented 69 new titles being launched, a bumper crop according to festival organisers. I think this new wave of book launches sends a clear signal on two fronts – that publishers are optimistic there is a burgeoning market for locally authored works and that readers are ready to embrace them.

How, then, can we turn around the dismal readership of local works? To the Singaporean reader who has shunned local works for various reasons, take a leaf from Haruki Murakami: “If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking.”

In this spirit, I hope Singaporeans will show up in force to lend their support to these newly published works. Buy a book, read it and spread the word – post a message on your Facebook wall, write a note on your Twitter feed, upload a review on your blog and tell your friends about it.

EDUCATION IS KEY

On the education front, schools have a vitally important role in promoting Singapore literature. To start the ball rolling at the ground level, teachers have a moral imperative to inculcate a love for Singapore literature in our students.

I aver some students would enjoy Singapore literature more than they would, say, American literature, as the former, being set in a local context, is more relatable and accessible. Furthermore, growing up in Singapore, students will be in a better position to appreciate the nuances of language and emotion in such works.

Our educational architects must not shy away from incorporating lesser-known Singaporean works into the literature curriculum, so that students are fed a rich and varying diet of literature. Often, little-known works could prove to be diamonds in the rough, gems waiting to be discovered.

Local literary agents, on their part, could identify local works that display great potential for success and try to actively push these works internationally. For instance, Suchen Christine Lim’s latest work The River’s Song was picked up by the British publishing firm Aurora Metro and is her first internationally published novel.

With writers, literary agents, book publishers, distributors and the Government working in concert to take Singapore literary works to the international arena, I am hopeful that, in time to come, Singapore will see her very own Munro, Coetzee or Naipaul emerge.

The question is no longer whether it will happen, but how soon it will.