My BFF is an Alien won 3rd place in the 2020 Readers' Choice Awards! Here's a recap of the event, afterthoughts and a longer heartfelt thank you speech.
My BFF is an Alien won 3rd place in the 2020 Readers' Choice Awards' English children's book category! Thank you to everyone who had voted for my book! This is a huge encouragement for me as a writer, especially since this is my first children's novel. It's truly an honour to be amongst the renowned names of Secrets of Singapore and Sherlock Sam!
Here's the awards ceremony if you missed it. I come in around the 19 minute!
The ceremony is usually held annually as part of POPULAR's Bookfest event at Suntec City. It would have been nice to be able to meet readers and fellow authors in person at the event, but I guess given the current situation, a virtual event is for the best. And I have to say, I'm pretty impressed at how POPULAR has organised the virtual ceremony. We (authors) were admitted into the virtual broadcast room efficiently before our categories and gave our thank you speeches soon after. It was such a smooth process!
My heartfelt thanks to my publisher, Epigram Books, especially my editor Lynette Teo and book cover illustrator, Ng Min Min. Thank you, Epigram Books, for taking a chance on this unknown writer, and believing in her story of a Singaporean girl going on an adventure with her alien BFF.
Thank you to Popular Bookstore Singapore for holding the RCA every year to promote Singlit. I've shopped at POPULAR since I was a kid and it's a bookshop I'm most familiar with given that its stores are accessible at so many neighbourhoods. I never thought one day I would receive an award from one of my favourite bookshops.
Thank you to my family, friends and Instagram and FaceBook community who have supported me from the get-go. I haven't met some of my friends for a while now not just because of COVID but because when you become a parent, your kids, household chores and things-to-do take up so much of your time. It's nice to still be able to keep in touch with my friends via FaceBook, see what what they've been up to and how their kids have grown. And I'm grateful that when I asked my friends to vote my book, many of you came through for me. So, thank you, my friends.
I have not met many of my IG followers in person but I so enjoy interacting with all of you, many of whom, are parents like me. When I was canvassing for votes for the awards, so many of you had commented and messaged me to tell me you had voted for me and hope I'd win. I'm touched, really. One day, I hope I'd get to meet all of you in person to tell you how much your support means to me.
This award isn't one awarded by a panel of judges or critics but by readers and the mass audience, which is really meaningful to me. I had set out to write a book that will entertain and inspire children, and it is their opinions (and their parents' of course) that matter the most to me. And if this award reflects what readers love, I'm truly happy.
This morning, I woke up to a report on the awards in The Sunday Times.
At the end was a mention of the English children's book category. It's a brief mention but I do feel honoured and humbled to be one of the top three, and very proud for Epigram Books who made a clean sweep of the top three spots for the English children's titles.
Congrats to Catherine Nadira Tan of Secrets of Singapore and AJ Low of Sherlock Sam for clinching the top two prizes! Thank you again for voting for My BFF is an Alien! Keep reading and keep supporting Singlit, everyone! 💕
Disclaimer: My opinions and reviews here are strictly my and my family’s own.
©Vivian Teo. All content and photos are copyrighted to Vivian Teo unless otherwise specified.