Sing Lit Station

What Sing Lit Station does

Sing Lit Station is a Singapore-registered charity and Institution of Public Character founded in July 2016 by Joshua Ip, Daryl Qilin Yam, and Jon Gresham. It functions as a literary arts platform serving writers, readers, schools, and underserved communities in Singapore and, increasingly, the broader Southeast Asian region. Core programmes include SingPoWriMo (a community poetry challenge with ~10,000 participants), Book A Writer (school outreach), Writing The City (migrant-worker writing, 270+ members), Manuscript Bootcamp (editorial mentorship), the poetry.sg online archive, the AFTERIMAGE publishing arm, the Ten Year Series of anthologies, and the Jalan Besar, Poetry for Health, and WrICE fellowships. Distribution partners include Math Paper Press for book production and education partners across Singapore schools, with international reach via RMIT University, NTU, the British Council, and The Literary Consultancy (UK).

The underlying technology stack is intentionally low-tech: Submittable for manuscript submission workflow, a static-content archive at poetry.sg, and standard collaborative tooling. There is no proprietary AI/ML infrastructure; the organisation's intellectual property is its editorial curation, anthology catalogue, and accumulated community participation. Revenue mechanics are diversified for a non-profit but uneven in magnitude: the National Arts Council (NAC) Major Company Scheme (2022–2025) anchors core operations; the NAC Cultural Matching Fund (2017+) leverages philanthropic donations; earned income comes from book sales and royalties, workshop and masterclass fees (~$950 per cohort), event ticketing, and space rental at its 22 Dickson Road premises. The headcount is approximately 15–20 individuals.

Strategically, Sing Lit Station has compounded programme breadth rather than scale since inception — adding the AFTERIMAGE publishing brand (2025), integrating Manuscript Bootcamp under it (2025), establishing the Poetry for Health vertical with NTU, and extending community-format work regionally via SEAPoWriMo. Free cash flow from operations is not a primary metric for the organisation; the binding constraint is sustained grant eligibility and the renewal of the NAC Major Company designation beyond 2025.

Name

Sing Lit Station

Legal name

Sing Lit Station Ltd

Website

https://singlitstation.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Sing Lit Station is a Singapore-registered charity and Institution of Public Character founded in 2016 that runs literary programmes for writers, readers, schools, and migrant communities in Singapore and Southeast Asia, including community poetry challenges, editorial mentorship, and a publishing arm.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Literary Arts Community Services

NAICS

Independent Artists, Writers, and Performers (71151)

SIC

Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)

akta.pro primary industry

Literary Arts & Writing Organizations (BPAGAHAK)

Keywords

• Literary arts programming
• Creative writing workshops
• Poetry community platform
• Literary publishing services
• Writer development programmes

Headquarters

HQ city

Singapore

HQ country

Singapore

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Grants and Government Funding: Sing Lit Station receives financial support from the National Arts Council (Major Company Scheme 2022-2025), Cultural Matching Fund, Arts Fund, Speak Good English Movement, and The Majurity Trust. They are a registered charity and Institution of Public Character (IPC).
2. Donations and Patrons: Supported by donations from arts patrons and community supporters. As an IPC, donations via giving.sg are tax-deductible to 250% of value, and donations can be matched by Cultural Matching Fund.
3. Book Sales: Sells books through their online shop including Ten Year Series titles published by Math Paper Press, Paper Jam pamphlets, broadsides, and other literary works. Prices range from SGD 15-40.
4. Events and Masterclasses: Conducts ticketed masterclasses with visiting writers and other educational programmes. Example: SLS Masterclass Series 'The Long Game: Writing a Novel' by Balli Kaur Jaswal priced at $950 for 3 sessions.
5. Space Rental: Rents out office and events space to creatives at discounted rates.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Sing Lit Station is a Singapore literary arts non-profit that runs a portfolio of programmes serving the local writing and reading community. Its core offerings include school workshops (Book A Writer), annual community writing challenges (SingPoWriMo, SEAPoWriMo), an intensive Manuscript Bootcamp editorial programme, fellowships (Jalan Besar, Poetry for Health), ticketed masterclasses with visiting writers, the poetry.sg online archive, and a publishing arm (AFTERIMAGE) with the Ten Year Series editorial imprint. It also operates as a physical Writers' Centre that rents workspace and event space to creatives.

Product overview

Sing Lit Station is a literary arts platform and non-profit organisation offering a portfolio of programmes that serve the Singapore literary community across the writing and reading lifecycle. Core offerings include the workshop-for-schools programme Book A Writer; the annual community writing challenges SingPoWriMo (poetry, 30 days) and SEAPoWriMo (Southeast Asian poetry, 14 days); the intensive Manuscript Bootcamp editorial programme alternating between poetry and prose, now managed by the publishing arm AFTERIMAGE; the Ten Year Series editorial imprint published with Math Paper Press; the Jalan Besar Fellowship providing stipends for literary projects; the Poetry for Health Fellowship in partnership with NTU; Writing The City prose workshops; and the Visiting Writers masterclass series. The Ten Year Series and shop retail offer published books and anthologies. The online archive poetry.sg provides an educational repository of Singaporean verse. Sing Lit Station also serves as a physical Writers' Centre and rents office/events space.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• AFTERIMAGE: Publishing arm of Sing Lit Station, a non-profit poetry press reimagining what literary publishing can look like in Singapore.
• poetry.sg
• SingPoWriMo
• Ten Year Series

Products and services

• Book A Writer School workshop programme that brings professional writers into Singapore educational settings to engage students with literature and creative writing.
• SingPoWriMo Annual community writing challenge inviting participants to write a poem a day for 30 days in April, with daily prompts and community engagement across Facebook, Discord and Instagram.
• Manuscript Bootcamp Annual intensive editorial programme alternating between poetry and prose, gathering writers, critics, academics and publishers to critique and workshop Singaporean manuscripts.
• poetry.sg Online archive and educational resource dedicated to Singaporean poetry, serving as a directory of poets and a repository of Singapore verse.
• AFTERIMAGE Non-profit poetry press and publishing arm of Sing Lit Station, publishing poetry collections and managing Manuscript Bootcamp editions from 2025 onwards.
• Jalan Besar Fellowship Fellowship inviting writers, artists, collectives and cultural workers to propose literary arts projects for Sing Lit Station support, with fellows receiving a SGD 3,000 stipend and free office access.
• Writing The City Literary arts platform supporting new, emerging and established prose writers through write-in sessions, Writer's Cove feedback sessions and writing workshops.
• Visiting Writers Masterclasses Exclusive ticketed programmes featuring international writers conducting masterclasses in Singapore.
• Ten Year Series Editorial imprint managed by Sing Lit Station and published by Math Paper Press, specialising in poetry, fiction and creative non-fiction by Singaporean authors.
• SEAPoWriMo Southeast Asia Poetry Writing Month annual challenge spanning 14 days in August, with prompts, open mics and video presentations spotlighting different SEA countries.
• Poetry for Health Fellowship Full-time programme of up to 10 months providing a poet with a platform to develop a practice in arts for health, in partnership with NTU's Centre for Health, Culture and Society.
• Writers Immersion and Cultural Exchange (WrICE) Partnership programme with RMIT University bringing together Asia-Pacific writers for collaborative residencies.
• Sing Lit Station Shop Online retail store selling books, anthologies, Paper Jam pamphlets and broadsides published under the Ten Year Series imprint and other literary works in stock.

Quantifiable outcome

• Published authors through Manuscript Bootcamp including Singapore Literature Prize winners
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Math Paper PresscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner publisher for Ten Year Series editorial imprint, specializing in poetry, fiction, and creative non-fiction by Singaporean authors. Founded in 2015, Ten Year Series primarily selects work workshopped through Manuscript Bootcamp.
• The Literary Consultancy (UK)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUK-based editorial consultancy service partnered for Manuscript Assessment Scheme (MASS), providing detailed professional feedback to deserving literary manuscripts.
• RMIT UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with RMIT University's non/fictionLab to co-organize WrICE (Writers Immersion and Cultural Exchange) residencies between 2020 and 2022, bringing together Asia-Pacific writers.
• Singapore Writers FestivalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Singapore Writers Festival for Horizons residency programme, held between the two festival weekends.
• British CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-founded Writing The City in 2011 with support from British Council and National Arts Council Singapore.
• National Library BoardminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvides support for Writing The City monthly creative writing workshops held at libraries.
• Nanyang Technological University (NTU) - Centre for Health, Culture and SocietycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for Poetry for Health Fellowship, where fellow works with NTU researchers to assess workshops' contribution to positive health outcomes.
• Afterimage PresscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPublishing arm of Sing Lit Station, a non-profit poetry press reimagining what literary publishing can look like in Singapore. Champions local poets through beautifully made books and public programming.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• PEN Singapore: Singapore chapter of PEN International, focused on literary freedom, writers' rights, and literary events in Singapore. Comparable as a local literary non-profit serving Singapore writers and readers.
• The Arts House (Singapore): Singapore literary and visual arts venue that runs readings, festivals, and residencies. Comparable as a publicly-supported literary venue hosting programmes for writers and readers.
• Math Paper Press: Singapore independent publisher that publishes the Ten Year Series editorial imprint managed by Sing Lit Station. Closely comparable as a Singapore literary publisher focused on Singaporean poetry and fiction.
• Epigram Books: Singapore's flagship independent English-language trade publisher, partnering with Sing Lit Station on retail distribution and running its own writer development initiatives. Highly comparable as a Singapore literary publisher with overlapping author and audience base.
• The Substation: Singapore non-profit arts centre supporting independent artists and literary programming with a similar community-led, space-providing model. Comparable as a fellow NAC-supported independent arts non-profit in Singapore.
• Singapore Book Council: National literary sector developer in Singapore that runs the Singapore Literature Prize, festivals, and writer development programmes. Most directly comparable peer given shared mandate to grow local literary readership and develop Singaporean writers.

Regional players

• Poets House (Singapore / New York): Literary non-profit dedicated to poetry with library, programming, and education focus. Comparable as a mission-aligned poetry-centred non-profit combining archive/library work with community programming.

Broad incumbents

• Association of Writers & Writing Programs (AWP): US-based non-profit serving writers, writing programmes, and literary organizations through conferences, publications, and advocacy. Comparable as a larger-scale literary support organization with similar mission of nurturing writers and writers' communities.
• British Council Singapore: Co-founded Writing The City with Sing Lit Station in 2011 and supports literary programming internationally. Comparable as a publicly-funded cultural organization running writer development programmes and international literary exchange.
• National Book Foundation (US): US non-profit administering the National Book Awards and running writer outreach programmes. Comparable as an established literary non-profit supporting writers and reading culture at national scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/playlist?list=PLOulwInMHQAAye6lhH2ChiUMuENLRcB16
• Facebookfacebook.com/SingLitStation
• Instagraminstagram.com/writing_the_city/?hl=en
• Xx.com/singlitstation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/singlitstation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sing Lit Station