Introduction
I was having a chat with Alex, the owner of Singapore’s coolest independent bookstore – Book Bar, and he recommended an excellent title I got discounted with my SG Culture Pass.
(It’s the very last title in this list cos I saved the best for the last, so do read till the very end.)
So I thought, why not do up a list of queer titles you can buy at the Book Bar to share with y’all?
Here we go!
What books can you buy with the SG Culture Pass?
The Book Bar is one of 13 bookstores(at the time of this writing) in Singapore, where you can use your S$100 SG Culture Pass credits to purchase SingLit books.
The scheme covers titles that include poetry, fiction, and literary short essays in English that are authored by a Singaporean or permanent resident.
My definition of “queer titles”
Everyone has a different definition of what constitutes a “queer book”, and for the purposes of this article, my definition is as follows:
“A queer title is one that has at least 1 queer character present.”
An Ting, Queer in Asia
Without further ado, here is the list of 9 queer books you can purchase at the Book Bar with your SG Culture Pass credits!
1.This Is How We Come Back by Cyril Wong
Published by Rosetta Cultures, a Singapore-based literary imprint by TrendLit Publishing, This Is How We Come Back by Cyril Wong comprises one extremely long poem in a book form.
Instead of a collection of individually titled poems, this book-length poem marks a departure from Cyril’s previous works.
The book’s blurb reads intriguingly as follows:
“Marrying mystical exploration and avant-garde homo-erotica, here is a prose-poem-as-fairy-tale in the modern day about the things few of us in love may see, insights about love and loss which pierce the amnesia of ordinary time.
The poet mentioned that this type of poetry is very common internationally, but he is often hailed as a forerunner for being the first to introduce new styles in his work.
Having read the book, I’d say it’s not for everyone as it’s really pretty avant-garde, but fans of experimental poetry will definitely enjoy it.
I liked his latest book, Flung, much better, but that’s not yet been SG Culture Pass approved, so I’ll keep my eyes peeled to report when it is.
2. Singa-pura-pura, edited by Nazry Bahrawi
A stellar anthology by Ethos Books, Singa-Pura-Pura: Malay Speculative Fiction from Singapore, edited by Nazry Bahrawi brings together a series of compelling sci-fi short stories set in Singapore.
I remember being wowed by the collection when I first sped through it, and also appreciated the queer representation found within the book.
This would be one of my top 3 recommendations if anyone were to ask me what SingLit title they should get from the Book Bar because I reckon S$100 in SG Culture Pass credits can only get you 3 books max, with a little left over.
3. Ginsberg, sing me a jiwang song! by nor
I read this in a fevered rush and this is such a unique, concept-driven, limited edition chapbook from AFTERIMAGE.
This is the second book nor published in 2025, and I loved the photographs, poetry, songs, and essays they wrote about the people they loved and all the places they’d been to.
My favourite poems were the ones with a lush magenta backdrop, and my favourite essay was the one where they reflected in great detail about their grandaunt’s Malay-Muslim funeral rites which I found extremely touching.
I’d say with the mixed media present throughout the book, this is easily the most visually beautiful book of this entire list.
Pick this up and you will not regret it.
4. Utama by Ng Yi-sheng
Utama is queer Singaporean author Ng Yi-Sheng’s latest novel.
It’s part historical fiction, part imaginative mythological retelling, and I found the world-building and attention to detail most impressive.
The book is also a finalist for the 2025 Epigram Books Fiction Prize, and it’s very well deserved too.
I was pleasantly surprised by the queer representation in the book, and I think he wove it into the story pretty well.
Pick this book up if you’d like to be immersed in Sang Nila Utama’s world, but with an interesting twist.
5. Nine Yard Sarees by Prasanthi Ram
Did you know Nine Yard Sarees: A Short Story Cycle by Prasanthi Ram was awarded the Singapore Literature Prize in English Fiction two years ago?
Another fun fact: This book is so good that my personal browsing copy was stolen when I used to run The Queer Bookstore at Proud Spaces, before I shut it down due to my chronic illnesses and a lack of funds to continue sustaining the business.
(I assume however that the reader needed it more than I did, so I bear no ill-will toward them.)
According to the Ethos Books website:
Nine Yard Sarees is a multigenerational portrait of a fictional Tamil Brahmin family. Comprising eleven interlinked stories, this short story cycle traces the lives of nine women from 1950 all the way to 2019, shedding light on the community and its evolution through the decades.
One of the 11 lovely stories is about how a mother responds to her queer daughter, and I liked that it has an unassuming but encouraging conclusion.
I also really liked the centering of female voices in every one of the stories.
It’s one of the rare books I’ve read locally that provides a much needed narrative on topics such as fat phobia, sexual assault, miscarriage and more.
6. rib/cage: poems by Rosaly Puthucheary, ArunDitha & Zeha
The inaugural poetry collection by AFTERIMAGE, rib/cage: poems by Rosaly Puthucheary, ArunDitha & Zeha features a mix of poetry across 3 generations of poets.
I personally found the spoken word pieces by ArunDitha & Zeha more compelling when performed live, but maybe that’s just me.
rib/cage marks multidisciplinary artist Zeha‘s debut in print and I found their poetry extremely image-driven, lyrical and viscerally appealing.
The weaving in of Malay language within various poems works very well, and I will be looking forward to whenever Zeha’s personal poetry collection is released in the future.
7. Be Your Own Bae by Daryl Qilin Yam
I’ve always described Daryl Qilin Yam’s writing as “Murakami-lite”, and Be Your Own Bae is a series of short stories with a similar flavour.
Even though I don’t really like Murakami, I quite enjoyed the dozen short stories by Daryl that wove in both magical realism and autobiographical elements.
If you’re unfamiliar with Daryl’s longer novels, I think this would be a good introduction to his style of writing if you have commitment issues (his novels are much longer).
Here is a little bit from the blurb:
“Being your best, most authentic self can be a somewhat grievous process. The winner of a beauty pageant bursts into flames the moment she is crowned. A man enters a dream and re-encounters a former lover in Pyongyang, North Korea. A gaggle of hipsters catches news of a secret Bon Iver concert playing somewhere on Dempsey Hill, only to risk the survival of their friendship.”
I found his musings on queer love both philosophical and singular.
Pick it up if you like something a bit different than your run of the mill SingLit. No one writes quite like Daryl does.
8. Brown is Redacted edited by Kristian-Marc James Paul, Mysara Aljaru & Myle Yan Tay
Brown is Redacted: Reflecting on Race in Singapore edited by Kristian-Marc James Paul, Mysara Aljaru & Myle Yan Tay is an anthology of stories by brown people in Singapore.
In the introduction by Kristian-Marc James Paul and Mysara Aljaru, they write:
“… this anthology sets out to ask the following: How do we define brownness in Singapore? Who is brown? And how is brownness experienced?”
I quite enjoyed reading Prashant Somosundram‘s essay about growing up as a queer Sri Lankan Tamil in Singapore in the 1990s where his race would (in his own words) “cockblock” him on IRC.
Later on in his life, he rediscovered brown joy and I found the conclusion optimistic and hopeful.
This is a most necessary read in a country where microaggressions against brown people still prevail, and is the second of my top 3 recommended reads from this list!
9. Kopi, Puffs and Dreams by Pallavi Gopinath Aney
Thank you for reading till the end!
This book was personally recommended to me by Alex from the Book Bar when we had a conversation one day about queer books.
He told me that this is the first SingLit title he’s read that features an asexual character.
I was indeed pleasantly surprised to find the aro-ace character featured front and centre in the opening chapter, and all throughout the entire book.
As a historical fiction novel set in Singapore in the early 1900s, it seems pretty well-researched, and moves along at an easy clip.
I loved the imagery and could visualise how conditions were like for all the immigrants shipped far away from their home country to a foreign land.
You can see the author’s background as a lawyer coming through clearly in the book because instead of lush descriptions of food or recipes (as suggested by the title), we learn how businesses get built or destroyed by contracts – I personally loved it though.
This is the third of my top 3 books from this list I personally enjoyed that I would highly recommend.
Conclusion
I hope you enjoyed this little list I came up with.
If you’d like to see a Part 2, do show some love on social media by liking and sharing my posts on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, LinkedIn, or Telegram, whichever platform is the poison of your choice.
Do also comment on my social media page if there’s any queer book you’d like to see on my next list!
Do visit the Book Bar to purchase these books, the process is very simple and their staff will walk you through how to use your SG Culture Pass credits on your phone.
You can check out their opening hours and address on Google Maps here.
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