Quarterly Literary Review Singapore

Quarterly Literary Review Singapore, commonly known as QLRS, is an online literary journal founded and edited by Singaporean poet Toh Hsien Min. Its first issue appeared in October 2001. The publication was established to support literary activity in Singapore, encourage critical and creative exchange, and help develop Singaporean writers toward international standards. QLRS operates as a non-profit volunteer collective rather than as a conventional commercial magazine publisher. Its editorial scope includes poetry, short fiction, essays, literary criticism, interviews and related forms of writing. The journal initially concentrated on Singaporean literature, but its later publishing programme broadened to include writers from elsewhere in Southeast Asia and members of Singaporean and wider Asian diasporas. This expansion positioned QLRS as both a national literary platform and a regional forum for English-language writing. The journal has published work by Singaporean writers including Arthur Yap, Wena Poon, Tania De Rozario, Desmond Kon and other established and emerging authors. It has also featured international writers such as Leonard Schwartz, John Tranter, John Mateer and Kirby Wright. Its editorial contributors have included Singapore writers Heng Siok Tian, Cyril Wong, Yong Shu Hoong, Yeow Kai Chai and Alfian Sa'at. The combination of original creative writing, criticism, interviews and international contributions gives QLRS a role in documenting and shaping Singapore's contemporary literary culture. QLRS has also had an educational afterlife. Some poetry and short stories first published by the journal have subsequently been selected as examinable texts in schools and in national or international examinations. Grace Chua's poem “(love song, with two goldfish)” is one cited example, having been used in an International Baccalaureate English examination. For its twentieth anniversary in 2021, QLRS departed from its usual online format and issued a physical box set containing 100 previously published contributions by Singaporean and international writers. The set was curated and edited by Toh Hsien Min, Yeow Kai Chai, Yong Shu Hoong and Stephanie Ye. This anniversary project served as an archival and commemorative edition, bringing together two decades of the journal's literary record in a tangible form. QLRS is therefore best understood not simply as a periodic magazine, but as a long-running literary institution that publishes, preserves and circulates writing connected to Singapore and the wider region.

Quarterly Literary Review Singapore was founded in 2001 by Singaporean poet Toh Hsien Min, who also served as its editor. The first issue was published online in October of that year. The journal emerged within Singapore's developing contemporary literary scene with an explicitly cultural and developmental mission: to promote literary arts in Singapore, strengthen mechanisms for response and criticism, and help local writers reach internationally recognized standards. From the beginning, QLRS used an online publication model and a non-profit volunteer-collective structure. This allowed it to publish literary work without being organized primarily around commercial circulation. Its contents have included poetry, short stories, essays, criticism and interviews. The journal's editorial work has involved a number of Singaporean writers, including Heng Siok Tian, Cyril Wong, Yong Shu Hoong, Yeow Kai Chai and Alfian Sa'at, alongside founder-editor Toh Hsien Min. The publication's contributors have extended beyond Singapore. Its pages have included writers such as Leonard Schwartz, John Tranter, John Mateer and Kirby Wright, as well as Singaporean authors including Arthur Yap, Wena Poon, Tania De Rozario and Desmond Kon. Over time, QLRS expanded from a primarily Singapore-focused remit to include writing from Southeast Asia and from diasporic communities. This broadened its function from a national literary outlet to a regional and international point of connection for English-language writers associated with Singapore and the surrounding region. The journal's influence has not been limited to literary readership. Works originally published in QLRS have later been used as examination texts in schools and in international and nationwide examinations. Grace Chua's poem “(love song, with two goldfish)” is an example of a QLRS-published work that entered the International Baccalaureate English examination context. In 2021, QLRS marked its twentieth anniversary with a physical box set containing 100 selected contributions from Singaporean and international writers. The edition was curated and edited by Toh Hsien Min, Yeow Kai Chai, Yong Shu Hoong and Stephanie Ye. The project gave the predominantly online journal a durable print and archival form, while also reviewing and celebrating its first two decades of publication. The available reference material does not establish the journal's current publication frequency, legal ownership, funding arrangements or operational status beyond its description as a volunteer non-profit collective.

• 2021

  Twentieth-anniversary box set

  [1]Quarterly Literary Review Singaporeen.wikipedia.org

  QLRS released a physical anniversary box set assembling 100 past contributions by Singaporean and international writers.

• 2001

  Founding and first issue

  [1]Quarterly Literary Review Singaporeen.wikipedia.org

  Toh Hsien Min founded Quarterly Literary Review Singapore, and the first online issue appeared in October.

A non-profit, volunteer-run literary journal focused on Singaporean writing while providing a platform for Southeast Asian, diasporic and international writers.

• Online literary journal · 2001

  Quarterly Literary Review Singapore online journal

  The journal's core offering is an online literary publication featuring poetry, short stories, essays, literary criticism and interviews. It began with a strong focus on Singaporean writing and subsequently broadened its coverage to include Southeast Asian and diasporic writers, as well as selected international contributors. Its volunteer, non-profit format supports a mix of creative and critical work rather than a single genre or commercial editorial line.

• Commemorative literary collection · 2021

  Twentieth-anniversary physical box set

  Released for the journal's twentieth anniversary in 2021, this physical box set gathered 100 previously published contributions from Singaporean and international writers. It was curated and edited by Toh Hsien Min, Yeow Kai Chai, Yong Shu Hoong and Stephanie Ye, and functioned as both a retrospective collection and a physical archive of the journal's first two decades.

• 2021

  Issue a physical twentieth-anniversary archiveOther

  Background

  After two decades as an online literary journal, QLRS marked its anniversary by selecting a substantial body of previously published work for preservation and presentation in print.

  Action taken

  The editorial group released a physical box set containing 100 contributions by Singaporean and international writers.

  Aftermath

  The project created a tangible retrospective record of the journal's publishing history. No further commercial or operational consequences are specified in the available source material.

  Source

1. 1Quarterly Literary Review Singaporeen.wikipedia.org