Launch of 'Neverness' by Fairoz Ahmad

Music, history and storytelling come together at Wardah on 3 Nov (Sunday), 2pm, with Neverness by Fairoz Ahmad, Ethos Books’ latest release. Featuring Fairoz with Hidayah Amin as discussant, and Idrus Khan on guitars, the afternoon will be an entry point into a story seeped in beauty and loss, set in late 1970s Singapore. Described by literary scholar Philip Holden as a “powerful excavation of the hidden histories of a kampung near Geylang Serai” and filmmaker Tan Pin Pin as “absorbing [and] evocative”, the novel recounts the disappearance of a 15 year old Malay girl, the fading away of friendships and the unstoppable rise of Malay rock music with the emergence of its first influential rock band.

Fairoz Ahmad works at the intersection of strategy and social impact. For his contributions to community development, he was awarded the National University of Singapore's Outstanding Young Alumni Award (2017) and United Kingdom's Commonwealth Point of Light Award (2018). His previous work, a collection of short stories called Interpreter of Winds, was published by Ethos Books in 2019. The book was a reflection of his experiences and observations growing up Muslim in a world too busy, too distracted, to understand one another. Fairoz graduated from the University of Oxford with a Master of Public Policy (Distinction), under a Chevening scholarship.

Hidayah Amin is a founder and consultant of Helang Books. As a publisher, she has gained recognition and won accolades for Helang Books in Singapore and internationally. Hidayah received her Master of Philosophy degree in Historical Studies from the University of Cambridge and a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the National University of Singapore. In addition to publishing, Hidayah is an accomplished writer who has written ten non-fiction books and ten children’s books. She was the winner of the 2015 Hedwig Anuar Book Award for Best Children’s Book for The Mango Tree, and the 2021 NUS Singapore History Prize for Leluhur: Singapore’s Kampong Gelam. She mentored interns, and aspiring authors, and gave emerging artists opportunities to display their work.

Idrus Khan, a social entrepreneur and music producer, has a rich history in creative pursuits. In 1986, he founded Abe Baker Artworks, a design house specialising in print advertising and radio commercials. By 1990, he had ventured into the music business. His artistic accomplishments include performing at the 2009 Korea Music Festival.

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