The Keepers of Stories

Author: Suffian Hakim

ISBN: 9789814901468

Pages: 256

Year of Issue: 2021

Longlisted for the Epigram Books Fiction Prize 2020

In post-independence Singapore, tradition clashes with modernity in this compelling tale of the importance of defining one's own story.

When their father Sujakon comes home late one night, raving about bad people coming to take them away, siblings Zuzu and Hakeem are forced to leave everything behind and live in a tent at Changi Beach, with a secret community called Anak Bumi—the Children of the Earth. Here, they learn to live off the land and fend for themselves, and partake in a communal storytelling ritual under the stars called the Wayang Singa. But just as they’ve acclimatised to their new lives, their father disappears without a word and a strange man washes ashore warning of mortal danger from just offshore.

Read a preview here.

Suffian Hakim is the bestselling author of 'Harris bin Potter and the Stoned Philosopher' and 'The Minorities' both originally self-published and then re-released in new revised editions by Epigram Books. The Straits Times has called him “undoubtedly one of the most whimsical, creative and unpretentious young voices in Singapore literature”. Suffian is currently a writer at Big 3 Media. He was previously a regional content lead at media agency GroupM and has written for television shows such as 'Random Island' and 'The Noose', and publications Esquire (Singapore) and August Man.