So I’ve just submitted separate Presentation and Participation grant applications for two publications I’ve been working on:
- The Zookeeper’s Boy and Other Poems, a collection of 30 poems which I’ve written over the last six years (inclusive of my time at Toji – in fact, the bulk of the poetry was written while I was at Toji); and
- Standing On The Shore, a graphic novella that I wrote last year, and which will be illustrated by a Singaporean artist.
I know we’re only at the applications stage, but I’m really so proud of how everything materialised and coalesced.
From the project management i.e. coordinating meetings and pulling together the team, to getting quotations, to calculating the budget, to figuring out how to fill out the forms, and – allow me this moment to humblebrag – all while having to work on the documents during pockets of time at night when I got home from the day job, or on weekends, or during my days off.
But the going was really made easier with the encouragement I received from the different people who provided active constructive responses at all points of the journey, such as how to improve my work and, at the very minimum, acknowledging and indicating – verbally or otherwise – their support for my artistic goals.
Suffice to say, I’m pretty pumped and looking forward to finally publishing my work – if I secure funding, that is.
Keep your fingers crossed for me and wish me luck!
