The SABA is the joint initiative of The National Book Development Council of Singapore (NBDCS) and Scholastic. The NBDCS founded in 1969 promotes reading and literature and champions literary works of Singaporeans and Asians. Apart from organising a series of arts-related programmes, it currently manages the Singapore Literature Prize and the Hedwig Anuars Children’s Book Award.

Scholastic, founded in 1920, is the largest children’s publisher and distributor in the world.

a)The Author
The Scholastic Asian Book Award is awarded each year to an unpublished manuscript (original or translation) targeted at children of ages 6 to 12 years, written by writers in Asia or of Asian origin who are 18 years of age and above. It is also open to writers who are permanent residents of Asian countries or have lived in Asia for the last 10 years. Proof of permanent residency or 10-year residency must be provided. For the purpose of this award, Asia comprises the following countries: Bangladesh, China, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam, S. Korea, Bhutan, Nepal, Maldives, East Timor and Negara Brunei Darussalam.

The authors must be either residing in the countries listed above or the diaspora living in any part of the world.

b)The Manuscript
i) The manuscript must be unpublished or uncontracted to a publisher until the prize is announced.

ii) All submissions must be in English.

iii) For Short Stories: Each entry should have a minimum length of 15,000 words. An entry could consist of a single story of 15,000 words or more, or could be a collection of stories (up to a maximum of 6), where the cumulative word count is 15,000 words or more.

iv) For Novels: Each entry should have a minimum length of 30,000 words.

v) For Poetry: Each entry, in the opinion of judges, should be a substantial piece of work.

vi) Previously published authors can submit unpublished manuscripts.

vii) The story must be set in Asia.

viii) The work must be original or the translation of an original work.

ix) Entries should not be accompanied by illustrations.

c) The Format
i. In the top right-hand corner of the cover page, specify the genre (Short Stories, Novels or Poetry) and word count of the entire manuscript.

ii. 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.

iii. Use Times New Roman font, size 12, and double-spaced.

iv. Margins should be one-inch all around. Identifying information not necessary.

i) The judges reserve the right to not award a 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.

ii) In the case of translations the prize money will be shared equally by the author and the translator.

iii) Scholastic reserves the first right of refusal for publication for the award-winning manuscript and the first and second runners-up.

The Organising Committee will announce a short list of works considered for the Scholastic Asian Book Award in April 2012

The award will be presented at a prize-giving ceremony during the Asian Festival of Children’s Content (AFCC), to be held in Singapore in May, each year. Prize winners will be invited for the awards ceremony. Their travel and accommodation costs will be met by Scholastic Asia.

The Scholastic Asian Book Award will be awarded in May 2012, at the AFCC, in Singapore

The award details will be separately and officially announced in newspapers and other media in all countries, particularly countries in Asia. The details of the award will also be disseminated to interested people and organisations.

i) Each entry must include the following:
a. An official entry form, duly filled in.
b. SIX (6) copies of the manuscript.
c. A recent photograph in soft copy on CD.
d. A short biography and a summary of the manuscript, each not more than 100 words should be submitted in soft copy on CD. In case of a translation, the biography of both the author and the translator must be submitted.

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.

iii) The manuscript must be typed in double space in Times New Roman font, size 12.

An acknowledgement column is to be included, as example shown below: