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ABOUT FLAME OF THE FOREST PUBLISHING
Flame Of The Forest Publishing has been focused on book publishing since its inception in 1989. Right from the outset, Flame's aim has been to entertain its readers and it has never sidetracked from this goal. The contributions of Flame Of The Forest are best seen through its books and authors.
Russell Lee's "True Singapore Ghost Stories Book 1", Flame's first title published in September 1989, instantly caught the imagination of the public. Now, 16 years and 13 books later, Russell Lee is a household name and has achieved a phenomenal total sales figure of over 750,000 books!
More than anything else, the appearance of Russell Lee and Flame Of The Forest marks a watershed in Singapore's publishing scene. For the first time, books published in Singapore struck a chord with the majority of Singaporeans.
Books - Russell Lee's being the first - were published without false, myopic notions that they should follow pre-conceived norms. While Singapore politicians had parted with colonials and struck out in bold new directions, the British literature model still had a firm grip on the mindsets of academia and publishers. Russell Lee has contributed to rooting out this outdated, servile thinking.
Before Russell Lee, books were considered bestsellers if they could sell more than 3,000 copies. Lee's sales of 30,000 copies in three months sent hearts racing and observers gasping in disbelief. Soon, other authors joined in and books began to take on a distinctly Singaporean voice.
The new authors give readers a chance to read books about Singapore by Singaporeans and for Singaporeans.
Bonny Hicks' "Excuse Me, Are You A Model?" is one such book and her candid style crashed headlong with the old ways. Whatever you may think of Bonny's book and her style, you certainly cannot ignore Hicks' impact. "Excuse Me, Are You A Model?" is the biggest book sensation in the annals of Singapore publishing, creating countless news stories. Bonny passed on in 1997, a victim of the SilkAir crash over Indonesia.
Having developed an almost uncanny ability to publish bestsellers, Flame set its sights at a larger Asian audience. In 1998, Flame launched "Mr Midnight", a series for Asian children by James Lee. Kids loved it and it's so popular that the series is outselling the Harry Potter books in Singapore and Malaysia. Since its launch, the "Mr Midnight" series has sold over one million copies! And it's growing steadily in popularity. "Mr Midnight" is now found in Hong Kong, China, Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam. Negotiations are underway to sell translation rights to almost all Asian countries. "Mr Midnight: The Movie" is scheduled for worldwide release next year. The sales rate of "Mr Midnight" books is increasing with 12 new titles every year. Spurred by the overwhelming demand, a new series by James Lee, "Mr Mystery", was launched in early 2006. This new series is selling just as well as the "Mr Midnight" books.
Unlike his predecessors, author Damien Sin was able to empathise with Singapore's poor, the main subject of his stories. Although down and out, Sin's characters refuse to bow to their plight and stand tall with pride, dignity and grace. His writing betrays a brutal honesty that is sometimes shocking but always sincere. Sin wrote the screenplay to "Mee Pok Man", a story from one of his "Classic Singapore Horror Stories" books. The film sparked a revival in movie making in Singapore.
When George Nonis did "Hello Chok Tong, Goodbye Kuan Yew", a book of political cartoons, in August 1991, bookshops refused to carry the title because of its perceived political content, a major taboo in Singapore. Distributors too backed off. It was only after the then Prime Minister, Mr Goh Chok Tong, told reporters that he thought Nonis had a "sense of humour" and that the book was "rather perceptive, rather good" that the title began to appear on the shelves in bookshops. Once again, old ideas began to give way to a new order.
"Daughters of Asia" by Dawn Tan broke new ground in publishing: Women leaders from 10 Asean countries contributed to a book detailing their life journeys. Together with some spectacular photography, the book is a collection of inspiring accounts of hope, courage and an all-out determination to survive against the odds of social oppression, war, imprisonment and even torture. A section of the book features recipes from the women leaders. Contributors include women leaders in Southeast Asia, including then President Megawati of Indonesia, President Arroyo of the Philippines, Mrs Urmila Nathan (First Lady of Singapore), Mrs Hun Sen (First Lady of Cambodia) and Mrs Thongvanh Siphandone (First Lady of Laos).
A new group of authors were introduced to an excited Singapore/Asian readership: Jim Aitchison and Theseus Chan ("Sarong Party Girl" series), Jonathan Holburt ("Kyuden"), David Brazil ("No Money, No Honey!"), Colin Goh ("Coxford Singlish Dictionary") and Dawn Tan ("Broken Mirror", "Awakenings", "Khameleon" and "Daughters of Asia").
Flame Of The Forest's books are a Singaporean phenomenon that is spreading in ever-increasing circles in Asia, with Singapore as its epicentre. Under four imprints - Angsana Books, Bamboo Books, Chiku Books and Flame Of The Forest Books - Flame now publishes a range of titles: Fiction, non-fiction, poetry, children's books, horror, humour, cookbooks and business.
Recently, Flame forged a partnership with Amazon.com to sell its books online to any part of the world. Flame's titles are available through most major online websites in the United States, where it has also established an office. Flame's staff attend key book fairs in the United States, Europe, Australia, Hong Kong and other parts of Asia so that Flame's titles can have a global reach.
The founder and publisher of Flame Of The Forest Publishing is Alex Chacko, a journalist with extensive experience in television, print and radio in Singapore and overseas. Alex holds an MBA from the Australian Graduate School of Management.
Flame Of The Forest has managed to build on its small and humble beginnings and has grown from strength to strength. It's now the biggest book publisher in Singapore and is well on its way to becoming one of the most successful book publishers in Asia and the world. True to its roots and its very soul, Flame Of The Forest Publishing continues to be "a people's publisher". |
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