A while ago, my seven-year-old daughter told her teacher, “Mummy’s always doing chores.”
That casual remark hit me hard. As a stay-at-home mum, my role revolved around caring, cleaning and cooking. There’s nothing wrong with that, it’s real work, often unseen and unappreciated, and it comes from the heart. But it made me pause. Was that really all she saw me as?
If so, something had to change. I wanted her to see that even in the thick of motherhood, there was still room to learn, create and grow. In her gaze, I had to be more.
That moment became the seed for a story about a stay-at-home mum trying to reclaim her sense of self. Written in snatches between school runs and laundry loads, I persevered with one goal: finish it, and submit it for the Epigram Books Fiction Prize. I used the competition deadline as something to work towards.
What was more important to me then was for my daughter to see me do something other than chores, to see me type at my desk, each word laying a path of permission for her to chase her own dream and live life the way she wants to.
One day before the deadline, I took her along to submit the manuscript. She took a somewhat blurry photo of me against the Epigram signage. Then we made a day of it, celebrating the small victory of simply finishing with some iced Milo. I genuinely thought that was good enough.
So being longlisted for the Epigram Books Fiction Prize 2026 came as a complete surprise, though my daughter’s just glad I’ve finally emerged from the study to cook proper meals again.
JACLYN LIM 