Promoting translations of S-E Asian writing

IMAGINE not being able to enjoy the works of Stieg Larsson, Haruki Murakami or Miguel de Cervantes if they had stayed in their native languages. Now, a new non-profit organisation in Singapore wants to do the same for South-east Asian writing by raising the standards of literary translation, thus creating a wider audience for these works.

The Select Centre takes its name from the respected local bookstore, but is run as a separate entity, not a subsidiary. The link is Select Books' co-owner Tan Dan Feng, who runs the centre with William Phuan, formerly of The Arts House.

Mr Phuan, director of The Arts House at the Old Parliament from 2009 till January, said the opportunity came about when he was planning his next step after having left the Arts House.