Since its launch in December 2025, The Albatross File: Inside Separation has topped The Straits Times bestsellers list and sparked new conversations about Singapore’s history. In this talk, Susan Sim, the book’s editor, sits down with Sumiko Tan, head of Straits Times Press which published the book, to share the experience of working with classified documents and oral histories. They discuss the challenges of condensing complex political narratives, the surprising discoveries along the way, and the small details that reshaped their understanding of Singapore’s Separation from Malaysia in 1965. The conversation also explores what lessons today’s young Singaporeans can take from these historic moments.

About the speakers:

Susan Sim has been a police officer, an intelligence analyst, a foreign correspondent, a diplomat and a counter-terrorism consultant. Her biography of independent Singapore’s first Minister for Law, EW Barker: The People’s Minister (Singapore: Straits Times Press, 2016), won the Best Non-Fiction Title at the 2017 Singapore Book Awards. She still writes the occasional commentary on terrorism in Southeast Asia.

Sumiko Tan is Chief Columnist & Senior Editor, Publications at The Straits Times. She helms the Lunch With Sumiko interview series and a column on ageing well in Singapore, Sumiko At 61. From 1994 to 2016, she wrote a popular Sundays With Sumiko column, which was compiled into a best-selling book. She has written, co-written and edited best-selling books since 1990. They include Lee Kuan Yew: The Man And His Ideas (1998) and In This Together: Singapore’s Covid-19 Story (2022).

Date: 5 May 2026 (Tuesday)
Time: 7.30pm - 9pm
Venue: The Arts House, Chamber
Registration Fee: $5 (inclusive of $5 Popular book voucher)
Registration Site: https://event.sph.com.sg/event/cr2026susansim 
Note: Only pre-registered participants who signed in on site will receive the book voucher.

自 2025 年 12 月推出以来，《信天翁文件：解密新马分家史》登上《海峡时报》畅销书榜首，并引起许多关于新加坡历史的新讨论。在本次讲座中，编辑沈丽群（Susan Sim）将与出版此书的海峡时报出版社负责人陈澄子（Sumiko Tan——进行对谈，分享处理机密档案与口述历史的经验。对话还将探讨当代新加坡年轻人可以从这些历史时刻中汲取的启示。

日期：2026年5月5日（星期二）
时间：晚上7时30分至9时
地点：The Arts House, Chamber
报名费：5元（赠送一张5元大众书局书券）
报名链接：https://event.sph.com.sg/event/cr2026susansim 
备注：成功报名者，唯有在现场签到时可获得书券。讲座以英语进行。