3rd Gaudy Boy Poetry Book Prize

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We're pleased to announce that the 3rd Gaudy Boy Poetry Book Prize is now open for your entries. The Prize is awarded annually to an unpublished manuscript of original Anglophone poetry by an author of Asian heritage residing anywhere in the world. The winner receives book publication and USD1,000.00. Past winners were Lawrence Lacambra Ypil and Jenifer Sang Eun Park (2018 co-winners selected by Wong May), and Paula Mendoza (2019 winner selected by Vijay Seshadri).

This year, we're honored to have the poet, fictionist, and critic Cyril Wong judge the prize. Cyril Wong is the Singapore Literature Prize-winning author of poetry collections, Unmarked Treasure and The Lover’s Inventory. A past recipient of the National Arts Council’s Young Artist Award for Literature, his poems have appeared in anthologies by Norton and Everyman’s Library, and have been translated into various languages.

You can find the guidelines for entry here. The deadline is May 15, 2020.

In other news, a group of college students have come together to form the Freedom of Information Singapore Working Group. They have submitted a policy proposal for a Freedom of Information Bill to the Ministry for Communications and Information. As of 2019, there are 129 countries in the world with Freedom of Information Acts. Singapore is not one of them. This initiative from FOISG is especially timely in view of the recent passing of the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA), or, more colloquially, the "fake news" act, which has been criticized for the overly expansive powers granted to government ministers to censor and censure. A Freedom of Information Act will help restore some of the balance in the information asymmetry between government and citizens. Singapore Unbound strongly supports FOISG's work. Please find out more about the Working Group and support them in whatever way you can.

Jee Leong Koh
February 13, 2020

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