Civica offers a creative platform to young writers in Singapore with eighth edition of Tales of ‘S’ competition

Civica supports the honourable Education Minister Ong Ye Kung’s vision “Learn for life,” which seeks to equip every young person in Singapore with skills to meet the challenges presented by an uncertain, fluid future while balancing the rigor and joy of learning.

• Tales of ‘S’ is an eagerly-awaited annual national creative writing competition organised by Civica.
• It promotes imagination, creative thinking and writing by encouraging students to express their original ideas and become a published author in the process.·
• The initiative mirrors the objectives of Singapore’s education system, which aim to bring out the best in every child by helping students to discover their talents, realise their potential, and develop a passion for learning that lasts throughout life.

Singapore, October 19, 2018: Civica, a leading global supplier of critical software applications, digital solutions and managed services that help transform the way organisations work, is delighted to publish the eighth edition of Tales of ‘S’, a compilation of winning short stories submitted by students from across Singapore.

A world-leading library solutions provider, Civica has been operating school media resources libraries on behalf of the Singapore Ministry of Education for over 13 years, with services including the cloud-based Spydus library management system, library staffing and innovative literacy programmes. During this time Civica has successfully delivered library and literacy services to more than 350 primary and secondary schools and junior colleges, and Tales of ‘S’ has been a key part of the programmes.

A world-leading library solutions provider, Civica has been operating school media resources libraries on behalf of the Singapore Ministry of Education for over 13 years, with services including the cloud-based Spydus library management system, library staffing and innovative literacy programmes. During this time Civica has successfully delivered library and literacy services to more than 350 primary and secondary schools and junior colleges, and Tales of ‘S’ has been a key part of the programmes.

Each year, Civica organises the Tales of ‘S’ annual national creative writing competition for school students that promotes creativity amongst students in Singapore. Students are invited to write an original short story to match a theme, with this year’s being “Start with a title”. The competition encourages students to get creative with their stories and includes asking them to suggest a title and images for the final compilation of winning stories. 

This year Civica received more than 420 entries from 45 schools, and the winning title of this year’s edition comprising 43 winning short stories is What is in a title; Infinite possibilities. The 43 newly published authors were recognised at an award ceremony and book launch on October 19 and received a hard copy of the limited-edition book, which will be available as an e-book in all schools shortly. (The e- book is also available for download from the Civica website: details below)

Guest speaker at the ceremony was Eva Wong Nava, whose recently published book Open: A Boy's Wayang Adventure has won the bronze medal at the Moonbeam Children's Book Award, and is recognised for its contribution as an outstanding and exemplary book to children's literature. 

Present at the ceremony alongside representatives of Civica, the Ministry of Education, teachers and the winning students, Eva said: “I am delighted to be at the launch of the recent edition of Tales of ‘S’. It is great to see so many budding writers gathered together and to read their stories. Congratulations to all the winners. I hope you continue to nurture your talent and continue to write, and one day have your name in ‘bestseller’ lists.”

Student author Candace Xuan Pei Tan, Secondary Four student from Dunman High School, said winning Tales of ‘S’ has encouraged her to be confident in her own abilities and to continue writing:

This competition provided me with an opportunity to explore and challenge my writing skills outside of the school curriculum, for which I am extremely thankful. I entered this competition after my Language Arts teacher asked me to, without any real intention of being selected, but more to test my own limits and have some fun with it. Never did I expect to be chosen as a winning author, and that honour has encouraged me to pursue writing.

Jenny Yow, Managing Director for Civica in Singapore, congratulated the winners and said that she was proud of the initiative that promoted literacy and creativity in Singapore. “Books play a key role in shaping individuals as humans, in addition to imparting knowledge, and nurturing imagination and creativity. As we aspire to develop the next generation of world leaders it is important that we help them cultivate lateral thinking to develop innovative solutions and services that can not only make an economic impact but benefit the community as well.”

The latest title in ePub format can be downloaded here. (A reader such as Adobe Digital Editions is required to read this file.)

Congratulations Tales of ‘S’ 2018 winners:

About Tales of ‘S’

Tales of ‘S’ is Civica's annual national creative writing competition for primary, secondary and junior college students from MOE schools and international schools in Singapore. It encourages students to express their original ideas, connect with and entertain their peers and the wider community, and become a published author in the process. Each year Civica sets a different theme for the stories, and this year students had to write an original short story to match a given title of an existing book. Winners are selected based on the originality and creativity of their work, and the winning entries are published every year in a book by the same name. Now in its eighth year, the competition is an eagerly-awaited event for students and schools in Singapore.

About The Civica Group

Civica (www.civica.com) is a market-leading specialist in business-critical software applications, digital solutions and cloud and managed services that help teams and organisations around the world to transform the way they work. Combining innovation, exceptional customer focus, experience and commitment, Civica supplies more than 3,000 major organisations in 10 countries around the world.