Winners of the 2025 Book Awards

THE MARKONO BEST LITERARY WORK AWARD

WINNER: Ownself Say Ownself by Joshua Ip (Landmark Books)

FINALISTS

• Be Your Own Bae by Daryl Lim Wei Jie (Epigram Books)
• Burn After Dawn by Chim Sher Ting (Landmark Books)
• Deplorable Conversations with Cats and Other Discussions by Yeoh Jo-Ann (Penguin Random House SEA)
• Neverness by Fairoz Ahmad (Ethos Books)

BEST GRAPHIC NOVEL

WINNER: Amber & Blue and the Hunt for DNA by Claudia Flandoli (WS Education)

FINALISTS

• Classroom Critters: Birds Let Loose! by Maureen Yeo and Vandana Tjendana (Epigram Books)
• Vanishing Point: The Comic Book by Felix Cheong ((Marshall Cavendish International)

BEST NON-FICTION TITLE

WINNER: If I were King of Singapore by Adrian Tan (Landmark Books)

FINALISTS

• S. Rajaratnam, The Authorised Biography, Volume Two: The Lion’s Roar by Irene Ng (ISEAS Publishing)
• The Great Port Cities of Asia: In History by Kennie Ting (Talisman Publishing)
• Ayam Buah Keluak and the Art of Writing: a memoir on living creatively by Josephine Chia (Ethos Books)
• Enigmas: Tay Seow Huah, My Father, Singapore’s Pioneer Spy Chief by Simon Tay (Landmark Books)

BEST ILLUSTRATED NON-FICTION TITLE

WINNER: BMT Sketchbook by Asher Ong (Landmark Books)

FINALISTS

• Once Upon an Island: Images of Singapore (1950-1980) through the lens of Dr. Ivan Polunin by Ivan Polunin and Asmara Rabier (Suntree Media)
• Collide: Embracing Conflict to Boost Creatively by Tay Guan Hin (Penguin Random House SEA)
• Teo Eng Seng: We’re Happy. Are You Happy? (National Gallery Singapore)
• Kueh-ving! An Illustrated Guide to Southeast Asian Cakes & Snacks by Clement Tea (Lioncake Studio)

BEST PROFESSIONAL TITLE

WINNER: Behind the Banyan: Ho Kwon Ping on building a global brand by Aaron Low (World Scientific Publishing)

FINALISTS

• Future Human: Consciousness, Cognition and the Role of Human Insights in an AI Future by Tony Tan World Scientific Publishing)
• Head to Heart to Habit: Why 90% of Efforts at Behavioural Change Fail and How to Overcome it by Oliver Foo (Marshall Cavendish International)
• Rewrite the Rules: How Women Leaders in Asia are Changing the Leadership Paradigm by Ritu G. Mehrish and Rajita Saxena (Penguin Random House SEA)
• The STAR System: Applying Visual Thinking for Business Success by Ai Yat Goh and Sherrie Low (Marshall Cavendish International)

THE JULIET DAVID BEST FOOD BOOK

WINNER: Lala-Land: Singapore’s Seafood Heritage by Anthony D. Medrano (Epigram Books)

FINALISTS

• Can I Lick the Spoon, Mum? A Comic-Style Cookbook for Creating Asian Bakes and Family Memories in the Kitchen by Pamela Lim, illustrated by Japher Lim and Eliz Ong (WS Education)
• NerdBaker 2: Tales from the Yeast Indies by Christopher Tan (Epigram Books)
• The Tastes of Home: Easy-to-Cook Dishes from Singapore and Malaysia by Ong Jin Teong (Landmark Books)

BEST YOUNG PERSON'S FICITON TITLE

WINNER: The Travelling Library Chronicles of Maizey Lee: The Road to Bangkok by Erni Salleh (Epigram Books)

FINALISTS

• Afternoon Yuan Yang Club by Jojo Chia (Epigram Books)
• The Epic Tale of Mikaela Kong by Vivian Teo (Epigram Books)
• The Twin Blades of Doom: Book 3 of Prophecy of the Underworld by Low Ying Ping (Penguin Random House SEA)

BEST YOUNG PERSON'S NON-FICTION TITLE

WINNER: The Rainforest Adventures of Biogirl MJ: Exploring Our Tropical Rainforests To Solve a Magical Mystery by Kong Man Jing and Raye Ng, illustrated by Alan Bay (WS Education)

FINALISTS

• Dangerous or Endangered? Discover the Fascinating Truths of 25 Marine Creatures by Neo Mei Lin, illustrated by Adel Lee (WS Education)
• Secret of Singapore: Mission Maritime by Angèle Lee, illustrated by Alan Bay (Epigram Books)

BEST PICTURE BOOK

WINNER: Jemma Dreams of Sushi by Ruo-Ting & Mark Chen, illustrated by Cacticyn (Epigram Books)

FINALISTS

• Augustus Romulus: The Tale-Us of the Tigerus Who Would Like To Get Out of This Bookus by Fleur Vella-Chang (Ethos Books)
• Dung, Dung, Dung, DUNG!, by Emily Lim-Leh and Pauline Loh, illustrated by Cheng Puay Koon (Graceworks Pte Ltd)
• Madam Jug Finds Kindness by Sophia Huang, illustrated by Evelyn Ghozalli (Marshall Cavendish International)
• Santa’s Little Goblins by Janina Kutyn, illustrated by Junis Laureano (Pepper Dog Press)

THE CLASS BEST TEXTBOOK

WINNER: Digital Literacy and Computing Grades 1 to 6 (Marshall Cavendish Education)

FINALISTS

• Character and Citizenship Education Primary 1 (Star Publishing)
• Malay Language For Primary Schools (CITA) Textbook P1B (Marshall Cavendish Education)

BEST EDUCATIONAL SUPPLEMENT

WINNER: Singapore Maths Calendar 2025 (Child Education Co.)

FINALISTS

• iCritic: Flip Over, Think Bolder Issue 3: The Green Path (ilovereading.sg)
• One Tough Ball: A story about the courage to stand tall by Daphne Ang and Han Jiamin, illustrated by Richelle Araujo (My Curious Child)
• Quiz Champs: Adaptations by Manisha Nayak (WS Education)
• Timmy & Tammy: At The National Library by Ruth Wan-Lau, illustrated by Eliz Ong (WS Education)

BEST MARKETING CAMPAIGN

WINNER:  Huế City by Claire Betita de Guzman (Penguin Random House SEA)

FINALISTS

• Be Your Own Bae by Daryl Lim Wei Jie (Epigram Books)
• S. Rajaratnam, The Authorised Biography, Volume Two: The Lion’s Roar by Irene Ng (ISEAS Publishing)

BEST BOOK COVER DESIGN

WINNER: Sister Snake by Amanda Lee Koe, cover design by Tororo.aoi (Ethos Book)

FINALISTS

• Gus: The Life and Opinions of the Last Raffles’ Banded Langur by Jon Gresham, cover design by Priscilla Wong (Epigram Books)
• Huế City by Claire Betita de Guzman, cover design by Divya Gaur(Penguin Random House SEA)
• Lala-Land: Singapore’s Seafood Heritage by Anthony D. Medrano, cover design by Priscilla Wong (Epigram Books)

THE KHL BEST CUSTOM PUBLISHING TITLE

WINNER: Timmy and Bill Meet The Explorers of Sentosa (Sentosa Development)

FINALISTS

• By Generations, For Generations: Fifty Years of Temasek as Told by the People Who Shaped it (Marshall Cavendish International)
• Humanity: Behind Every Face (Marshall Cavendish International)
• Voices From Comcentre: A Legacy Remembered (Singtel)