Every vote counts, people!
Choose your favourite local books as the PopularThe Star Readers’ Choice Awards rolls into town again.
THE power is in your hands, dear reader, so choose wisely when you cast your vote ....
That’s right, the Popular-The Star Readers’ Choice Awards (RCA) has rolled into town again, to celebrate the best in local writing (what did you think we were talking about?).
Now in its 11th year, the RCA – which is organised by Popular Bookstores Malaysia – is held annually to reward and encourage local authors, and also to foster a love of reading in Malaysians. Its nominees are chosen from last year’s bestselling local fiction and nonfiction titles in Popular and Harris bookstores nationwide. And you – yes, you – get to choose the winners when you vote for your favourites among the 10 fiction and 10 nonfiction titles nominated.
This year, a number of titles by prominent names go head-to-head on the road to victory, especially in the nonfiction section. Both Tony Fernandes’ Flying High: My Story and Captain Lim Khoy Hing’s Sky Tales are nominated – which one will fly away with top honours? Or will sugar king Robert Kuok taste sweet victory for his mega popular self-titled memoir? Also in the running are Cheryl Ann Fernando’s T For Teacher and The Tudung Anthology edited by Azalia Zaharuddin.
In the fiction category, sinister things are afoot, as Tunku Halim’s Dark Demon Rising, Xeus’s Dark City and Remang: An Anthology Of Ghostly Tales, edited by Daphne Lee, are all nominated. Yesterday, Felicia Yap’s sci-fi world of limited memories is also in the running, as well as Once We Were There, Bernice Chauly’s tale of love and loss amidst politics and street protests. (See full list in the form on the right.)
RCA voting begins today and will continue until May 13 this year. Winning authors will be presented with their awards during a ceremony at the Main Stage of Hall 1 of the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre at 10.30am on June 9.
By voting for your top three favourite titles in the fiction and nonfiction categories (that’s six choices all together), you will also be in the running for prizes: 100 selected RCA voters will receive a one-year-freemembership Popular Card, as well as a RM50 gift voucher.
There are several ways in which you can vote: You can fill up contest forms that you can get at Popular and Harris bookstore outlets nationwide or in The Star newspaper – today’s form in on the right. You can also vote online at popular.com.my, facebook. com/popularmalaysia, bookfestmalaysia.com or facebook.com/bookfestmalaysia.
All nominated titles will be sold at a 20% discount at Popular and Harris outlets worldwide during the voting period.
Not sure who to vote for? Don’t worry. Star2 will be running a complete list of all the titles nominated in both categories soon. So, as they say in the elections: choose wisely! Every vote counts!
The Popular-The Star Readers’ Choice Awards are a precursor to BookFest@Malaysia 2018, which will take place from June 9 to 17 at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre. Look out for more information on the region’s biggest book event in these pages soon. Star Media Group Bhd is a media partner of BookFest@Malaysia 2018.