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Rules & Regulations

The Scholastic Asian Book Award is the joint initiative of Scholastic Asia and the Singapore Book Council.

The objectives of the Scholastic Asian Book Award are as follows:

  1.  To recognise excellence in fiction in Asian stories for children
  2.  To showcase the diversity of literary talent within Asia
  3.  To encourage and inspire more books and stories with Asian content

1. Organisers

The Scholastic Asian Book Award is the joint initiative of Scholastic Asia and the Singapore Book Council (SBC). SBC, founded in 1968, aims to support Singapore literature and develop the literary arts sector through its programmes. Scholastic, founded in 1920, is the largest children’s publisher and distributor in the world. Scholastic continues this successful history by remaining focused on encouraging children to learn to read and love to learn.

2. Eligibility

a) The Author

i. Entries will be accepted from writers of Asian descent, living in Asia, who are 18 years of age and above. For the purpose of this award, Asia comprises the following countries:

1. Afghanistan

18. Jordan

35. Qatar

  

2. Armenia

19. Kazakhstan

36. Russia

  

3. Azerbaijan

20. Korea

37. Saudi Arabia

  

4. Bahrain

21. Kuwait

38. Singapore

  

5. Bangladesh

22. Kyrgyzstan

39. Sri Lanka

  

6. Brunei

23. Laos

40. Syria

  

7. Bhutan

24. Lebanon

41. Taiwan

  

8. Cambodia

25. Malaysia

42. Tajikistan

  

9. China

26. Maldives

43. Timor-Leste

  

10. Cyprus

27. Mongolia

44. Thailand

  

11. Georgia

28. Myanmar

45. Turkey

  

12. India

29. Nepal

46. Turkmenistan

  

13. Indonesia

30. Oman

47. UAE

  

14. Iran

31. Pakistan

48. Uzbekistan

  

15. Iraq

32. Palestine

49. Vietnam

  

16. Israel

33. Papua New Guinea

50. Yemen

  

17. Japan

34. Philippines

 


ii. The author must not be a salaried employee of, or a family member of a salaried employee of, either the organiser, the Singapore Book Council, or the sponsor, Scholastic Corporation, or any of their subsidiaries.


iii. Works created as assignments or coursework for an educational institution or for academic assessment purposes will not be considered eligible.

 

b) The Manuscript

  • The manuscript must be unpublished or uncontracted to a publisher until the prize is announced.
  • All submissions must be in English.
  • A chapter book or novel with 6,000 words or more.
  • A short story collection comprising a minimum of six stories, with a total minimum of 6,000 words.
  • Previously published authors can submit unpublished manuscripts.
  • The story must be set in Asia.
  • The work must be original or the translation of an original work.
  • Entries should not be accompanied by illustrations.

 

c) The Format

  • On the top right-hand corner of the cover page, please specify the word count of the entire manuscript.
  • The title of the entry should be in the middle of the cover page. The beginning of the manuscript should start on a new page.
  • Use Times New Roman font, size 12, double spaced.
  • Margins should be one-inch all around. Identifying information is not necessary.
  • Manuscripts are to be submitted via the online application form.

 

3. The Prize

  1. The best entry will be awarded the Scholastic Asian Book Award, and win a prize of SGD 10,000 and a certificate. The winning manuscript, as well as the shortlisted manuscripts, will be considered by Scholastic Asia for publication.
  2. In the event of the text being created by two or more individuals, the prize will be shared.
  3.  The first and second runners-up will be awarded a certificate and will be offered advice by Scholastic Asia on editing their manuscripts to submit for publication.
  4. The judges reserve the right to not award the prize should the entries fail, in the judges’ opinion, to meet the required standard. Judges could also decide not to award the prize to consecutive winners.
  5. Scholastic Asia reserves the first right of refusal for publication of the award-winning book and the first and second runners-up.
  6. The closing date for the 2023 Scholastic Asian Book Award is on 31 October 2022, 5.00 pm (SGT). The results will be declared at the 2023 Asian Festival of Children’s Content.

 

4. Number of Entries

Limited to ONE (1) submission per writer.

 

5. Selection

SBC will check details concerning the eligibility of the authors and the manuscripts submitted. Only manuscripts of authors who meet the criteria will be accepted and sent to the judges. An independent panel of three judges, who are experts in the field of children’s books, will select the winner from the manuscripts submitted by SBC. The judges’ decision is final, and no appeals or correspondence will be entertained at any point.

 

6. Shortlist

The Organising Committee will announce a short list of works considered for the Scholastic Asian Book Award. Shortlisted candidates are strongly encouraged to attend the award ceremony at the 2023 Asian Festival of Children’s Content.

 

7. Award Presentation

The award will be presented at a prize-giving ceremony during the Asian Festival of Children’s Content (AFCC), to be held in May 2023. Shortlisted applicants will be invited to attend the awards ceremony.

 

8. The Award

The 2023 Scholastic Asian Book Award will be awarded in May 2023, at the AFCC, in Singapore.

 

9. Media Promotion

The award details will be separately and officially announced to regional and international media and via digital channels. The details of the award will also be disseminated to interested people and organisations.

 

10. Conditions of Entry

i. Applicants can submit their application via the online entry form. Each entry must include the following:

  1. A recent profile photo for each creator working on the book (1 MB, JPG format)
  2. A short biography of each creator working on the book, not more than 100 words. In case of a translation, the biography of both the author and the translator must be submitted.
  3.  A summary of the manuscript, not more than 100 words.
  4. The full text manuscript (in DOC format)

ii. Entries can be submitted either by the author or translator. In case of a translation, the translator must indicate that the author (or his or her estate) is aware of the fact that a translation of the original work is being submitted for the award.

 

11. Submission

All entries must be submitted via the online submission form: https://saba2023.paperform.co.

If you do not receive confirmation of your submission, please contact programmes@bookcouncil.sg.

Entries that fail to comply with any of the above rules and conditions of entry will be disqualified.