Scholastic Asian Book Award 2026
The Scholastic Asian Book Award (SABA) is the joint initiative of Scholastic Asia and Singapore Book Council (SBC).
SABA recognises children’s writers of Asian origin who are taking the experiences of life, spirit, and thinking in different parts of Asia to the world at large. The award also aims to promote the understanding of the Asian experience and its expression in innovative and creative forms.
Objectives:
- To recognise excellence in fiction in Asian stories for children.
- To showcase the diversity of literary talent within Asia.
- To encourage and inspire more books and stories with Asian content.
Rules and Regulations
Eligibility
- Entries will be accepted from writers of Asian descent, living in Asia, who are 18 years of age and above.
- For the purposes of this award, Asia comprise the following: Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Brunei, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, Cyprus, Gerogia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Syria, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Thailand, Turkey, Turkmenistan, UAE, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Yemen.
- The author must not be a salaried employee of, or a family member of a salaried employee of, either the organiser, the Singapore Book Council, or the sponsor, Scholastic Corporation, or any of their subsidiaries.
- Works created as assignments or coursework for an educational institution, or for academic assessment purposes will not be considered.
Manuscript
- The manuscript must be unpublished or uncontracted to a publisher until the prize is announced.
- All submissions must be in English.
- Submissions may be in the form of a chapter book or novel with 6,000 words or more, or a short story collection (comprising a minimum of six (6) stories), with a total minimum of 6,000 words.
- Previously published authors may also submit their unpublished manuscripts.
- The story must be set in Asia.
- The work must be an original piece, or the translation of an original work.
- Entries should not be accompanied by illustrations.
Format
- On the top right-hand corner of the cover page, please specify the word count of the entire manuscript.
- The title of the entry should be in the middle of the cover page. The beginning of the manuscript should start on a new page.
- Use Times New Roman font, size 12, double-spaced.
- Margins should be one-inch all around.
- Entries are to be submitted via the online application form.
Prize
- The best entry will be awarded the Scholastic Asian Book Award, and win a prize of SGD 10,000, along with a plaque and certificate.
- The winning manuscript, as well as the shortlisted manuscripts, will be considered by Scholastic Asia for publication.
- In the event of the winning entry having two or more creators, the prize will be shared among the creators.
- The first and second runner-ups will be offered editorial advice by Scholastic Asia for their manuscripts.
- The judges reserve the right to not award the prize should the entries fail, in the judges' opinion, to meet the required standard. Judges could also decide not to award the prize to consecutive winners.
- Scholastic Asia reserves the first right of refusal for publication of the award-winning manuscript, and the first and second runner-ups.
- The closing date for submissions for the 2026 SABA is on 31 October 2025, 5pm (SGT).
- The results will be announced at the 2026 Asian Festival of Children’s Content.
No. of Entries
- Limited to only one (1) submission per applicant.
Selection
- SBC will check details concerning the eligibility of the author(s) and the manuscript submitted. Only manuscripts of authors who meet the criteria will be accepted and sent to the judges.
- An independent panel of three judges, who are experts in the field of children's books will select the winner from the manuscripts submitted by SBC.
- The judges' decision is final, and no appeals or correspondence will be entertained at any point.
Shortlist
- The organisers will announce a shortlist of the works considered for the Scholastic Asian Book Award.
- Shortlisted applicants are strongly encouraged to attend the award ceremony at the 2026 Asian Festival of Children’s Content.
Award Presentation
- The award will be presented at a prize-giving ceremony during the Asian Festival of Children's Content, to be held in May 2026.
Media Promotion
- The award details will be separately and officially announced to regional and international media and via digital channels.
- The details of the award will also be disseminated to interested people and organisations.
Conditions of Entry
- Applicants can submit their entries via the online submission form.
- Each entry must include the following:
- A recent profile photo for each creator working on the manuscript (1 MB, JPG format)
- A short biography of each creator, in not more than 100 words per bio. In the event that the submission is for a translated work, the bio of both the original author and translator must be submitted.
- A summary of the manuscript, of not more than 100 words.
- The full text manuscript (in DOC format)
- Entries can be submitted by either the author or translator. In the case of a translation, the translator must indicate that the author (or his/her estate) is aware of the fact that a translation of the original work is being submitted for the award.
Submission
- All entries must be submitted via the online submission form: https://saba2026.paperform.co
- If you do not receive confirmation of your submission, please contact programmes@bookcouncil.sg
- Entries that fail to comply with any of the above rules and conditions of entry will be disqualified.