Math Paper Press Turns Nine With One-Day Sale At BooksActually

Math Paper Press, the publishing arm of local bookstore BooksActually, is celebrating its ninth birthday with a full-day event happening May 25.

From 12pm to 7pm, local literary heavyweights Cyril Wong, Ng Yi-Sheng, Natalie Wang and more will feature in various hour-long segments at the Yong Siak Street bookstore.

“BooksActually’s publishing arm is turning 9 this year and has churned out close to 200 titles,” reads the event description on Facebook.

“As a little thank you to all who have supported us over the years, get 40% off all MPP titles in store on 25 May!”

Founder Kenny Leck shared about the upcoming event in a Facebook post on Tuesday (May 14).

“It has been a journey of eight years in the making, numerous typos, sleepless nights, printers chasing for their unpaid invoices, back-breaking work of carrying boxes and boxes of stocks but to date we have sold 131,299 copies of Math Paper Press titles,” he wrote.

“This is truly #sglitftw and #buysinglit at its best.”

As one of the few publishing houses in Singapore, Math Paper Press was behind The Woman Who Turned Into A Vending Machine by Natalie Wang, Aria And Trumpet Flourish by Rodrigo Dela Peña, Jr. and SQ21 by Ng Yi-Sheng.

Popspoken last spoke to Kenny in 2016, where he discussed the difficulties of running an independent bookstore — chief among them: rental costs. He also spoke about creating an enduring brand in Singapore’s literary sphere.

“I have friends where I have known them as undergrads in NUS and they started visiting the bookstore,” said Kenny then. “Now, they all have kids. It is that thread and narrative that matters. So owning a space will allow us to do that. To keep that narrative going.”

Check out the full lineup of Math Paper Press Day below.

12pm – 1pm
In Conversation with Cyril Wong

1pm – 2pm
Panel — In The Trenches: A ground-level look at the people who make Sing Lit happen
with Azira Amran (Sing Lit Station), Klarissa Schmitt (Sing Lit Station), Lisa Lip (The Arts House), Shafienas Salleh (Singapore Book Council)

2pm – 3pm
Reading — Balik Kampung, Writing About Home
with Rosemarie Somaiah, Verena Tay and Yeow Kai Chai

3pm – 4pm
Book Launch — Tales From A Tiny Room by Wayne Rée (Reprint)

4pm – 5pm
Book Launch — Signs Of Life by O Thiam Chin

5.30pm – 7pm
Poems To Be Heard, Spoken and Slammed
with Jennifer Anne Champion, Stephanie Chan, Ng Yi-Sheng, Crispin Rodrigues, Natalie Wang and Topaz Winters

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Header image: Darren ‘Merovign’ Tan

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