#BuySingLit asks readers to support local books

JAMIE Teo, 22, is pursuing Arts Management at Lasalle College of the Arts. And though the course doesn't include compulsory reading of Singapore literature - also known among fans as "SingLit" - she spends much of her free time exploring the writings of Boey Kim Cheng, Tania De Rozario, Alvin Pang, Pooja Nansi and other local writers.

She enjoys the works of well-known Western writers such as Sylvia Plath and Margaret Atwood also. But she makes sure that at least one book out of every three she buys is a local one. Teo explains: "SingLit speaks to me in ways that no other literature can. Ever since I was introduced to Stella Kon's Emily of Emerald Hill in secondary school, I've been hooked."

So hooked, in fact, that she frequently creates embroidery artworks with quotes taken from her favourite Singapore writings. Fifteen of these artworks will go on sale at BooksActually for a month starting Feb 24, to coincide with the launch of a movement called #BuySingLit…