Media Advisory For Immediate Release GOLDEN POINT AWARD 2017 OPENS FOR REGISTRATION Singapore, 2017 The Arts House is pleased to announce that it has been appointed by the National Arts Council (NAC) as the secretariat to Golden Point Award 2017 (GPA), Singapore s only multi-lingual national creative writing competition for Short Story and Poetry. The Golden Point Award is Singapore s most important multi-lingual platform to identify, encourage and grow the pool of literary talents. Over the years, many past winners have gone on to forge a name for themselves locally and internationally. This year, we are happy to be working with The Arts House, a key literary arts centre, who is experienced in managing such events, says Ms May Tan, Acting Director, Sector Development (Literary Arts) of NAC. Writers such as Daryl Lim Wei Jie, Mohammad Farihan Bin Bahron, Yu Yan Chen and Prempathi D/O Mahalingam are among the accomplished alumni, who have continued to write and be published following the exposure from GPA. Daryl Lim Wei Jie, 2015 s 1st prizewinner for the English Poetry category published his first poetry collection, A Book of Changes, last year. Yu Yan Chen, 2015 s 1st prizewinner in the Chinese Poetry category, was awarded a residency at Sing Lit Station in 2016 and was supported by a Creation Grant from the NAC. Premapathi D/O Mahalingam, who won the 3rd prize in the Tamil poetry category in 2013, had her works published in the anthology Saingapoor Kurunaavalgal (Singapore Novellas) this year. Past winner Mohammad Farihan Bin Bahron went on to win the 3rd prize of Mencari Kristal, the short story writing competition and talent development programme organized by Berita Harian, in collaboration with NAC. Mohammad Farihan Bin Bahron was the 1st prizewinner for both Malay Poetry and Malay Short Story categories in the 2015 edition of GPA. Submissions are open from 1 May 2017 till 14 July 2017. The submission form can be found and available for download at bit.ly/gpa2017 1
To help prepare for the submissions, award-winning and established writers will conduct public workshops in May to help participants refine their works for submission. The results will be announced at the awards ceremony held in November, in conjunction with the Singapore Writers Festival 2017. Please refer to Annex A for the GPA 2017 Factsheet and Annex B for GPA 2017 Workshops s Details. ### 2
For more information, please contact: Willy Beh Asst Manager, Marketing & Communications Arts House Limited T: +65 6332 6921 M: +65 9841 9794 E: willy_beh@artshouse.sg Bernadette Yew Asst Director, Marketing & Communications Arts House Limited T: +65 6332 6901 M: +65 9793 3140 E: bernadetteyew@artshouse.sg About National Arts Council (Singapore) The National Arts Council (NAC) was established in September 1991 to spearhead the development of the arts in Singapore. To realise its vision of developing Singapore into a distinctive global city for the arts, NAC provides total support to nurture artistic talent, promotes the practice and appreciation of the arts among Singaporeans, builds up capabilities and resources, facilitates internationalisation and advocates the value of the arts. Through its holistic range of programmes and initiatives to develop the entire arts value chain, the Council champions the growth of a vibrant arts sector where the arts is accessible to all, and the community of artists, arts groups and arts businesses can innovate, excel and achieve sustainability in the long term. www.nac.gov.sg About The Arts House Occupying the almost 200-year-old building that was Singapore s first Parliament House, The Arts House has played an active role in the Singapore arts and creative scene. The House promotes and presents multi-disciplinary programmes and festivals such as literary arts, film, performing and visual arts. The Arts House is run and managed by Arts House Limited. For more information, visit www.theartshouse.sg. About Arts House Limited Arts House Limited (AHL) is a not-for-profit organisation committed to enriching lives through the arts. AHL runs The Arts House, a multi-disciplinary arts centre with a focus on literary programming located in the heart of Singapore s Civic District; presents the Singapore International Festival of Arts, an annual celebration of performing arts; and manages Goodman Arts Centre and Aliwal Arts Centre, two creative enclaves for artists, arts groups and creative businesses, and the exhibition and performance spaces located at ARTrium @ MCI. 3
ANNEX A: GOLDEN POINT AWARD 2017 FACT SHEET About the Golden Point Award Chinese: 笔奖 Malay: Anugerah Pena Emas NAC Tamil: என ஏச தங க ம ன வ ர த The Golden Point Award is Singapore s premier creative writing competition for Short Story and Poetry in the nation s four official languages: English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil. Established by the National Arts Council since 1993, the national literary writing competition is a significant platform for literary excellence and launching new writers. The competition aims to identify and nurture new creative writing talent, develop the literary penmanship of writers in Singapore and to create a conducive environment for creative thinking and literary expression in Singapore. Categories The competition consists of the following two genre categories for all four languages: Genre Short Story Poetry Language English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil Prizes The following prizes will be awarded for each of the four languages in the two categories: 1 st Prize $4,000 cash, certificate, trophy and $6,000 enrichment grant* 2 nd Prize $3,000 cash & certificate 3 rd Prize $2,000 cash & certificate Up to three Honourable Mentions, with a cash prize of $500 each, can be awarded for each category. Who May Participate There is no age limit and entries may be written on any subject and theme. The competition is open only to writers who, at time of application, have yet to publish a solo work in the specific genre they are competing in. A solo work refers to a full-length work published by a Singapore or international publishing company, sold or distributed commercially. Writers whose works have been published in journals or anthologies (whether online or in print) are eligible to enter. *The enrichment grant is awarded to first prize winners to assist writers in honing their skills through manuscript assessments, editorial services, participation in writing seminars, workshops and residencies in Singapore or overseas. 4
ANNEX A: GOLDEN POINT AWARD 2017 FACT SHEET How to enter Online submissions via gpa@artshouse.sg is open from 1 May to 14 July 2017 (11.59pm) while in-person submissions at The Arts House is open from 2 May to 14 July 2017 (7pm) on weekdays, excluding Public Holidays. Registration fee for each separate entry is $16. The Arts House Box Office Opening Hours Level 1, The Arts House Mon - Fri: 10am 7pm Sat, Sun & Public Holiday: Closed 5
ANNEX B: GOLDEN POINT AWARD 2017 WORKSHOPS Date Time Venue Description Facilitated by 10am 1pm Living Room Poetry - English Desmond Kon 20 May 2017 2pm 5pm Living Room Short Story - English O Thiam Chin 10am 1pm Council Room Poetry - Tamil Sithuraj Ponraj 2pm 5pm Council Room Short Story - Tamil Jayanthi Sankar 10am 1pm Play Den Short Story - Chinese Huai Ying 10am 1pm Living Room Poetry - Chinese Chow Teck Seng 27 May 2017 10am 1pm Council Room Poetry - Malay Noor Hasnah Adam 2pm 5pm Council Room Short Story - Malay Yazid bin Hussein Each workshop is $25 and participants are entitled to a waiver of the GPA submission fees ($16). For details on the workshops and the links for signing up, please visit theartshouse.sg 6