Epigram book deal takes Singapore novels regional

SINGAPORE – Singapore novels will get a chance to reach readers in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines and Myanmar after publishers in these countries agreed to a landmark book deal.

Home-grown publisher

, formerly Epigram Books, initiated the pioneering regional agreement that will take effect from 2026.

The compact was signed on Oct 17 at the recently concluded Frankfurt Book Fair. It means the four winning entries of the

will be simultaneously released across six South-east Asian countries, with their initial print fun boosted by thousands.

Since 2020, the Epigram Books Fiction Prize, which began as a Singapore prize for unpublished manuscripts in English in 2015, has been open to citizens and permanent residents of South-east Asia.

Epigram Literary Foundation founder and director Edmund Wee says: “Together, I hope we can leverage our combined scale to drive book sales and introduce readers to a wider range of South-east Asian stories.”

The surprise pact, negotiated over six months, is the first multilateral agreement of such scale to be inked, and will continue for an initial period of three years for Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Myanmar, and five years for the Philippines.

Participating publishing houses are The Biblio Press from Malaysia, Elex Media of Indonesia, River Books from Thailand, Milflores Publishing from the Philippines and NDSP Books from Myanmar.

Mr Wee tells The Straits Times that the exact numbers of books these publishers will print are left to their discretion, but that Elex Media has committed to 1,500 copies for each title, giving a sense of the deal’s multiplier effect.

Starting print runs in Singapore typically range from a few hundred to 1,000 due to its smaller population. Mr Wee has long believed that tapping the regional market, numbering some 700 million people, is the way for local publishers to not only balance the books, but to also attract the best authors in the region into their fold rather than lose them to Western publishers.

He says: “This was only possible because of the relationships built over many years of meetings at rights fairs and book fairs. A big element of trust is involved because they are agreeing to publish titles they haven’t even read.”

This “radical nature of the deal” meant precise financial terms took some wrangling, he adds. Some publishers pulled out during the process and he also eventually could not secure a Vietnamese partner.

“Thankfully, the Thai publisher has access to the Laotian and Cambodian market. So, Vietnam – not counting Brunei and Timor Leste – will be the major Asean country missing. Maybe if it works, it will come in a year later.”

It is his hope that this could mark the start of a more extensive regional collaboration. Epigram Literary Foundation has already offered participating publishers first dibs on translation rights to the novels.

In recent years, more of Epigram Literary Foundations’ titles

, most obviously two-time winner of the Epigram Books Fiction Prize

, which has secured releases in Britain, the United States, Albania and Italy.

The new publishing deal could also have the effect of raising awareness and prestige of the prize in overseas markets to attract more submissions, which numbered 58 in 2025.

Other Singapore publishers have also recently marked significant milestones in exporting local literature.

Singapore-based independent comics publisher Difference Engine’s Tiger Girls (2025) – a South-east Asian-inspired dystopian fantasy created by Felicia Low-Jimenez and Claire Low – has found a ready audience in regional markets. It has also sold global English rights to American publisher Mad Cave Studios and Danish translation rights to Danish media company Forlaget Bogoo.

Meanwhile,

has become an unexpected home for regional boys’ love fiction and comics as well as translations. Boys’ love is a genre focusing on male-male homoerotic stories, primarily created by women for women.

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