First Literary Magazine For Chinese Migrants


The Xinguomin Zazhi, the associate magazine of the daily newspaper, Xinguomin Ribao, was fi rst published in 1919 and provided an outlet for literary activity of early Chinese migrants. The term ‘Nanyang Style’, later used to refer to art works, was fi rst used to describe writing that emphasised local subject matter.


Earliest Surviving Malay Book


The Substance of Our Saviour’s Sermon on the Mount, published in 1829, was the earliest surviving Malay book.


First Published Tamil Book


The 1887 book by Yazpaanam Sadhasiva Pandithar on Singai Nagar Anthathi, Chithira Kavigal sings the praise of Lord Subramani- ayam.


First Romanised Malay Newspaper


In 1894, Song Ong Siang, the fi rst Singaporean to be conferred a British knighthood, produced the fi rst Romanised Malay-language news- paper, Bintang Timor. However, due to poor support, it survived for only nine months.


First Chinese Newspaper


The fi rst Chinese daily in Singapore and South- East Asia was the Lat Pau (Le Bao), started on 10 Dec 1881 by Melaka-born See Ewe Lay. The Lat Pau continued for 52 years before folding in Mar 1932, making it the longest running pre-war Chinese daily.


Youngest Published Poet


Lim Kar Min, born in Octo- ber 1993, has been writing poetry since she was six. To date, she has a large col- lection of writing in the form of prose, poems and short stories. In 2002, her collection of 20 poems - You Can Be A Poet Too! was published. She was then 8 years 10 months old.


First Tamil Newspaper


First Newspapers Published In Singapore


Fredrick James Bernard established the Singa- pore Chronicle, the fi rst issue published on 1 Jan 1824. It closed down in 1837. Singapore’s second newspaper, Singapore Free Press was founded by William Napier. The fi rst issue appeared in Oct 1835.


The Straits Observer, a Singapore English daily, in its 29 Feb 1876 issue mentioned the Singai Varthamani and the Dinidaya Press. Hence the Tamil newspaper must have started before that.


First Offi cial Street Directory


In Nov 1954, the Government Survey Depart- ment issued the fi rst offi cial street directory. Costing S$3, it featured 115 detailed road maps, bus routes, taxi stands, post offi ces, police stations and electoral district maps.


Most Published Poet


First Published Letter To The Editor


The fi rst letter written to a newspaper, which was published in The Straits Times on 29 Jul 1845, argued that some of the fees received by St Andrew’s Church should go towards paying for an organist.


Prof Edwin Thumboo started writing poetry as an undergradu- ate student in the 1950s. He has published seven volumes of poetry, amongst them Rib of Earth (1956), Gods Can Die (1977), and Ulysses by the Merlion (1979). He won the National Book Development Council of Singapore Award for poetry in 1978 and 1994, and received the Cultural Medallion for Literature in Singapore in 1980. Thumboo has compiled and edited several key anthologies on Singapore literature such as The Second Tongue, The Flowering Tree and The Anthology of ASEAN Literatures.


Youngest Comic Writer


11-year-old Vivian Too not only did the drawings but also wrote the 10 original fables for her book, The Comic Garden. She was then a Primary 5 pupil at Ahmad Ibrahim Primary School. The book was published in Jul 2007 and sold in bookstores.


First Malay Newspaper


The fi rst Malay language newspaper in Singa- pore and the region, The Jawi-Peranakan, was published in Singapore in 1876 by Mohammed Said bin Dada Mahyiddin. It was published weekly with an initial circulation of 250 copies. It remained in circulation until Jul 1895. The second Malay newspaper, Sekola Melayu, pub- lished by Munshi Mohammed Ali bin Ghulam Al-Hindi, came out on 1 Aug 1888.


Most Prolifi c Playwright


Haresh Sharma (born 1965) has written more than 70 plays that have been staged all over the world, including Singapore, Melbourne, Glasgow, Birmingham, Cairo and London. Sharma achieved a Masters in Playwriting in 1994 from the University of Birmingham.


Youngest Published Author


Dayna Tan read 320 books in one year when she was 9 years old. At 10, she took nine months to write I Read 320 Books at 9, So Can You. The book was launched in 2007. Currently she studies in New Zealand.


Best Selling Author Of Motivational Books


Adam Khoo’s I am Gifted, So Are You, Master Your Mind Design Your Destiny and Secrets of Self-Made Millionaires have sold above 20,000 copies each. A millionaire by the age of 26, Khoo owns and runs three companies with a combined annual turnover of S$20 million.


Largest Collection Of Chinese Literature Writers


Singapore Chinese Writers’ Directory was published in May 2005 by the Singapore Literature Society, Singapore Association of Writers and Bukit Timah Community Club Chinese Literary Centre. It has the largest coverage of Singapore Chinese literature writers, including 485 living writers and 100 who passed away.


First To Win China Essay Writing Competition


In 1990, trainee teacher Chua Chim Kang became the fi rst Singaporean to win an inter- national Mandarin essay writing competition, organised by the China Times in its 13-year history. He won the award in 1990.


First Singapore Literature Prize Winner


Christine Suchen-Lim’s book, A Fistful of Colours, won the fi rst Singapore Literature Prize in 1992. The novel chronicles about 80 years of Singapore history.


Most Widely Read English Novelist


Catherine Lim is the most prolifi c and widely-read writ- er of English fi ction. From 1978 to now, she has written eight novels and 11 short story collections. Her fi rst two books, Little Ironies - Stories of Singapore


(1978) and Or Else, The Lightning God and Other Stories (1980), were incorporated into texts for the GCSE. Her best-selling novel, The Bondmaid from 1995 was reported to have sold 75,000 copies.


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