BooksActually is an

independent bookstore An independent bookstore is a retail bookstore which is independently owned. Usually, independent stores consist of only a single actual store (although there are some multi-store independents). They may be structured as sole proprietorships, cl ...

operating online. It was formerly located in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

Tiong Bahru Tiong Bahru is a housing estate located within the Bukit Merah Planning Area, in the Central Region of Singapore. Tiong Bahru was constructed in the 1920s by the Singapore Improvement Trust, the predecessor to the Housing Development Board and ...

district till 2020.

History and description

BooksActually was established by Kenny Leck and Karen Wai in 2005 on the second floor of a shophouse along

Telok Ayer Telok Ayer Street is a street located in Singapore's Chinatown within the Outram district, linking Church Street to Cecil Street. Telok Ayer MRT station is located at the junction of Cross Street and this road. Etymology Telok Ayer Street w ...

Street with capital pooled from savings and family. The bookstore subsequently moved to

Ann Siang Hill Ann Siang Hill (Chinese: 安祥山, ms, Bukit Ann Siang) is a small hill, and the name of a one-way road located in Chinatown, Singapore. It was named after Chia Ann Siang, a wealthy businessman. The road links Club Street and Ann Siang Road ...

in 2007, and opened a second outlet at

Club Street Club Street () is a street located in Chinatown within the Outram Planning Area in Singapore. Club Street links Cross Street with Ann Siang Hill, which leads to South Bridge Road. The street is lined with conserved shops that are occupied by ...

in 2008. Due to an increase in rent, they closed up Ann Siang Hill and moved from Club Street to Yong Siak Street in Tiong Bahru in 2011. BooksActually regularly hosts literary events including book launches and poetry readings, acoustic sessions, and mini exhibitions. In 2011, the bookstore organised the exhibition ''An Ode to Penguin'' held at

The Arts House The Arts House (formerly the Old Parliament House) is a multi-disciplinary arts venue in Singapore. The venue plays host to art exhibitions and concerts. Built in 1827, the Old Parliament House is the oldest government building and perhaps the ...

, that showcased over 1,000

Penguin Books Penguin Books is a British publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.Monocle A monocle is a type of corrective lens used to correct or enhance the visual perception in only one eye. It consists of a circular lens, generally with a wire ring around the circumference that can be attached to a string or wire. The other ...

Seasonal Shop in Shop in 2013,. For three years, ''

The Straits Times ''The Straits Times'' is an English-language daily broadsheet newspaper based in Singapore and currently owned by SPH Media Trust (previously Singapore Press Holdings). ''The Sunday Times'' is its Sunday edition. The newspaper was established ...

'' listed Kenny Leck, co-founder of BooksActually, as one of the top 20 Most Powerful People in the Arts in Singapore. In 2015, BooksActually celebrated its 10-year anniversary by holding an exhibition entitled "10 Years of BooksActually" at the Substation from 18 Nov to 22 Nov. A special hardback edition of

Cyril Wong Cyril Wong (; born 27 June 1977) is a poet, fiction author and literary critic. Biography Born in 1977, Cyril Wong attended Saint Patrick's School, Singapore, and Temasek Junior College, before completing a doctoral degree in English literature ...

's short story "The Boy with the Flower that Grew out of his Ass" was printed for the occasion. In June 2016, BooksActually placed automated book vending machines at the

National Museum of Singapore ms, Muzium Negara Singapura ta, சிங்கப்பூரின் தேசிய அருங்காட்சியகம் , native_name_lang = , logo = , image = 2016 Singapur, Museum Planning Area, Narodowe Muzeum Singapuru (02) ...

, Singapore Visitors Centre and Goodman Arts Centre as an alternative means of book distribution. In 2018, BooksActually launched the "BooksActually Shophouse Fund" in order to raise funds to purchase a new premises to avoid having to pay rising rent. This was done through the sale of bricks that sold at $10 and $50. On 13 September 2020, due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, BooksActually closed down its store and became a fully online book store.

Math Paper Press

BooksActually runs a boutique publishing house, Math Paper Press, focusing on developing new literary voices in Singapore, and has published more than 90 titles since its inception in 2011. Math Paper Press also distributes books from independent presses like Giramondo (Australia) and design firms like Hjgher and Anonymous Pte Ltd, and recently expanded into publishing comics and graphic novels. It has published award-winning authors such as

Alvin Pang Alvin Pang (Chinese: 冯啟明; pinyin: ''Féng Qǐ Míng''; born 1972, Singapore) was named 2005 Young Artist of the Year (Literature) by the National Arts Council Singapore. He holds a First Class Honours degree in English literature from the ...

Alfian Sa'at Alfian bin Sa'at (born 18 July 1977), best known as Alfian Sa'at, is a prolific Singaporean playwright, poet, and writer. He is known for penning a body of plays, poems, and prose that often tackle issues considered taboo in the island-state, ...

and Cyril Wong. In the 2016

Singapore Literature Prize The Singapore Literature Prize (abbreviation: SLP) is a biennial award in Singapore to recognise outstanding published works by Singaporean authors in any of the four official languages: Chinese, English, Malay and Tamil. The competition is organis ...

shortlist, the press placed four of the six titles for the English Poetry category. The press co-won the 2014

in English Poetry for Joshua Ip's "sonnets from the singlish". Subsequently, the 2016

in English Poetry was shared between Cyril Wong's "

The Lover's Inventory ''The Lover's Inventory'' is a poetry collection by the Singaporean poet Cyril Wong inventorying objects, places, sensations, and other memorabilia that serve as springboards for memory and philosophical insight; its Confessional verse "confesses w ...

" and

Desmond Kon Desmond Kon Zhicheng-Mingdé (born 1980) is a poet, former journalist, interdisciplinary artist and founder of Squircle Line Press. He has authored six poetry collections, an epistolary novel, and edited more than fifteen books. He has an MFA in c ...

's "I Didn't Know Mani Was A Conceptualist", both Math Paper Press titles.

External links

References

{{reflist Bookstores of Singapore Retail companies established in 2005 Book selling websites