Singapore Press : Berita Harian and National Arts Council embark on talent search for creative writers through short-story writing competition

Mencari Kristal is a partnership between Berita Harian and the National Arts Council which hopes to uncover new and emerging talents in the Malay literary scene. The idea is to get the scene excited again as Berita Harian hopes to expand the pool of writers and help them make their mark on the regional and international stage.

The concept of the programme is similar to a reality-based approach, filled with much fun, dramatic social experiment and entertainment, and driven by media hype and fanfare. Mencari Kristal will centre on a short-story writing competition open to all Singaporeans, from students to retirees.

Registration and submission of entries is free. The theme for the short-story competition is: Debar Cinta (Love Thriller). All entries must be submitted in the Malay language and selection of entries will be based on a two-stage process:

1. Preliminary round (open call from Wednesday, 1 June until Friday, 22 July 2016, 5pm)
2. Final round (Saturday, 13 Augustuntil Saturday, 15 October 2016, 5pm)

The shortlisted writers will get the chance to take part in a series of exclusive workshops conducted by local and foreign award-winning writers. Among others, the workshops provide participants to master the techniques on the various aspects of creative writing, 'knowing-your-audience' and responding to market trends.

A panel of adjudicators will select eight best entries among the finalists. Winners will be announced on 1 November 2016and will walk away with trophies or plaques and cash prizes. The champion winning story will also be captured in a short five-minute video.

For more information, please visit http://mencarikristal.sg.

Attached: Media release in Malay


Issued by Singapore Press Holdings Ltd
Co. Regn. No. 198402868E For more information, please contact:

Puad Ibrahim
Digital Editor, Berita Harian
Singapore Press Holdings Ltd
DID: 6319 5126
Email: puad@sph.com.sg

Chua Pei Ling
Executive
Corporate Communications & CSR Division
Singapore Press Holdings Ltd
DID: 6319 1895
HP: 9382 3158
Email: plchua@sph.com.sg

About Singapore Press Holdings Ltd

Incorporated in 1984, main board-listed Singapore Press Holdings Ltd (SPH) is Asia's leading media organisation, engaging minds and enriching lives across multiple languages and platforms.

Media The English/Malay/Tamil Media group comprises the print and digital operations of The Straits Times, The Business Times, The New Paper, Berita Harian, My Paper (English section) and two student publications IN and Little Red Dot. It also consists of Tamil Murasu Ltd, which publishes Tamil Murasu and tabla!; book publishing arm Straits Times Press; SPH Data Services, which licenses the use of the Straits Times Index, in partnership with the Singapore Exchange and FTSE Ltd; financial data company ShareInvestor; and the two English stations of SPH Radio - Kiss92 and ONE FM 91.3.

The Chinese Media group publishes three Chinese newspapers - Lianhe Zaobao, Lianhe Wanbao and Shin Min Daily News; the digital editions of Lianhe Zaobao and Lianhe Wanbao, four student weeklies - zbCOMMA, Thumbs Up, Thumbs Up Junior and Thumbs Up Little Junior, ZBBZ Newsgazine and My Paper (Chinese section). It also operates SPH Radio's Chinese radio station, UFM100.3, and Focus Publishing, which produces a range of books and magazines including U-Weekly.

SPH's other new media initiatives include AsiaOne, Stomp, zaobao.sg, omy.sg and SPH Razor. On an average day, 2.8 million* individuals or 68 per cent of people above 15 years old, read one of SPH's news publications in print copies or one of our digital platforms.(* Nielsen Media Index 2015, Monday-Sunday, read any SPH newspapers in print or digital format)

SPH Magazines, SPH's wholly-owned subsidiary, publishes and produces more than 100 magazine titles and has various online sites, like hardwarezone.com, herworldplus.com and luxuryinsider.com in Singapore and the region, covering a broad range of interests from lifestyle to information technology. It has also invested in digital newsstand Magzter.

SPH also provides out-of-home (OOH) advertising options where it manages large format screens and static billboards at key locations in the Central Business District, Orchard Road, City Fringe as well as major heartland hubs.

SPH Buzz is a modern retail convenience chain with a network of stores around the island.

SPH has a 20 per cent stake in MediaCorp TV Holdings Pte Ltd, which operates free-to-air channels 5, 8 and U, and a 40 per cent stake in MediaCorp Press Limited, which publishes the free newspaper, Today.

PropertiesSPH REIT is a Singapore-based REIT established to invest in a portfolio of income-producing real estate primarily for retail purposes. SPH REIT comprises Paragon, a premier upscale retail mall and medical suite/office property in Orchard Road and The Clementi Mall, a mid-market suburban mall in the centre of Clementi town.

The Seletar Mall, located in Sengkang, is SPH's latest retail development. This property is a potential asset to be injected into SPH REIT. SPH's wholly-owned subsidiary, Times Development Pte Ltd, also developed a 43-storey upmarket residential condominium, Sky@eleven, at Thomson Road.

Other Businesses

Online Classified

SPH's online classifieds include the leading online marketplace for jobs (STJobs, FastJobs), property (STProperty), cars (STCars) and general classifieds (STClassifieds,Trezo), sgCarMart and StreetSine.

SPH's regional joint venture online classified business has a number of leading online classified sites in the region.

Events and ExhibitionsSphere Exhibits, Sphere Conferences, Exhibits Inc and Bizlink Exhibition Services organise innovative consumer and trade events and exhibitions as well as large scale conferences in Singapore and the region.

EducationSPH has a 22 per cent stake in preschool and enrichment provider MindChamps.

For more information, please visit www.sph.com.sg.