PETALING JAYA: A Malaysian author has been shortlisted for the International Convention of Asia Scholars (ICAS) Book Prize 2015.
Khoo Salma Nasution's book about the Kapitan Keling Mosque in Penang is judged top six under the Best Study in the Humanities category from submissions received across the world.
Titled The Chulia in Penang: Patronage and Place-Making around the Kapitan Kling Mosque 1786–1957 , it is published by Areca Books.
The book tells the history of the prosperous Penang Tamil Muslims, who were once known as Chulias.
"I'm very happy and honoured to be shortlisted because it is not easy to get there, especially competing against so many academic books," the Penang Heritage Trust (PHT) president told The Star Online.
On whether she hopes to bag the top prize, Khoo Salma said that she is already pleased to be shortlisted.
"That (winning) would be very difficult, I think. The ICAS book prize is very tough," she said with a laugh.
Khoo Salma added that the shortlist showed that the "100% Malaysian book" is capable of competing against other books from prestigious international publications and university presses.
The book was shortlisted for the jury prize by the ICAS reading community after being chosen from longlisted titles.
It is also in second place under a different voting-based Colleague's Choice category with 32.8% of the votes.
In the lead for the prize is The Great KantÅ Earthquake and the Chimera of National Reconstruction in Japan by J. Charles Schencking with 38.2% of the votes.
The biennial ICAS competition has been running since 2004 and aims to create an international focus for publications on Asia.
Prizes are awarded to outstanding English-language works on Asian issues.
Voting for Colleague's Choice is open until June 16 with 179 books being considered for this year's competition.
Winners will be announced during the awards ceremony on July 6 in Adelaide, Australia.
To purchase Khoo Salma's book, visit http://arecabooks.com/
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