Singapore Writers Festival | Core Programmes - Bios

MURUGADIYAN .

SINGAPORE

Murugadiyan writes under the pseudonym Murugadhasan. A poet, he has published nine books and composed numerous folksongs on devotion, patriotism, community and nature. He currently conducts monthly workshops for budding poets.

ELI AMIR

ISRAEL

Eli Amir is well-known in Israel for his involvement with new immigrants and his activity in Palestinian-Jewish relations. He has published four bestselling novels and a novella. His debut novel, Scapegoat received an astounding success and established him as a prolific writer and avid critic of Israeli society.

TASH AW

MALAYSIA/UNITED KINGDOM

Tash Aw was born in Taipei and brought up in Malaysia. He moved to England in his teens and now lives in London. The Harmony Silk Factory, his first novel won the Whitbread First Novel Award in 2005 and was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize in the same year.

SHARON BAKAR

MALAYSIA

http://thebookaholic.blogspot.com

Sharon Bakar is a freelance writer and teacher-trainer based in Kuala Lumpur. Her work has appeared in a number of Malaysian publication including The Star, Off the Edge, Quill and Chrome magazine. She teaches creative writing in partnership with the British Council, and organizes Readings, a monthly event for local writers, at Seksan Gallery. Sharon blogs as Bibliobibuli focusing mainly on writing and publishing in Malaysia.

M. BALAKRISHNAN

SINGAPORE

M. Balakrishnan is the real name of award-winning Tamil short story writer and novelist, Ma Elangkannan. He has published five collections of short stories and three novels, documenting the lives of local Tamils from various levels of society, at different periods ranging from the British colonial period to the Japanese Occupation to more recent times. Elangkannan’s work has been translated into English and Malay, and has been broadcast on radio and television. His works are set texts in schools and tertiary institutions in Singapore and India.

KUNAL BASU

UNITED KINGDOM

Kunal Basu is the author of three historical novels, The Opium Clerk, The Miniaturist and Racists, all which were widely reviewed. He is also a Fellow at Templeton College, Oxford University.

ALFIAN BIN SA'AT

SINGAPORE

Alfian left medical studies in 2002 for a fulltime arts career. Besides being resident playwright of W!LD RICE Theatre Company and Artistic Director of Teater Ekamatra, he has published two volumes of poetry: One Fierce Hour (1998) and the more mature A History of Amnesia (2001). Corridor: Twelve Short Stories (1999) won a Commendation Award in the 1998 Singapore Literature Prize. Alfian has written more than two dozen socio-politically engaged plays, some of which have won national awards. In 2001, he won the Golden Point Award for Poetry and received the Young Artist Award from the National Arts Council (NAC).

KIM CHENG, BOEY

AUSTRALIA/SINGAPORE

Boey Kim Cheng, NAC Young Artist of 1995, is a poet of free verse whose poems point towards a quest for sources of spiritual peace and self-fulfillment. Somewhere Bound and its subsequent volumes, Another Place and Days of No Name all won various national awards in Singapore.

HADIJAH BTE RAHMAT

SINGAPORE

Associate Professor (A/P) Hadijah bte Rahmat is Assistant Head of the Asian Languages and Culture Academic Group and Head of the Malay Language Division. Her research interests are in Classical and Modern Malay Literature, Children’s Literature and Literature education, Islamic literature, Malay Historiography, Singapore Malay literature, Malay settlements and socio-cultural developments in Singapore. Currently she is teaching the Malay Literature Pedagogy and Literature education modules for postgraduate and graduate students. She has written 9 books, edited 11 books and published numerous academic papers in international journals.

PADDY BUSHE

IRELAND

Paddy Bushe has published seven collections of poetry and three books of translations. He has won the Strokestown International Prize, the Listowel Writers’ Week Poetry Prize, Duais an Oireachtais and, most recently, the Michael Hartnett Award. Born in Dublin but currently resides in Co. Kerry.

KURT BUSIEK

USA

From a childhood barred of comics to becoming a multi-award-winning writer, Kurt Busiek has come a long way – working on such diverse comic series as Iron Fist, Liberty Project, Mickey Mouse and the critically-acclaimed Marvels, where he collaborated with painter Alex Ross.

NIGEL CAWTHORNE

UNITED KINGDOM

Nigel Cawthorne has been writing professionally for twenty-eight years. He is a prolific creative non-fiction writer who has written on a diverse number of topics and has contributed articles to numerous international newspapers and magazines.

MEIRA CHAND

SINGAPORE

Meira Chand, of Indian-Swiss parentage, was born and educated in London, but has lived in Japan, Bombay and now, Singapore. She is the author of highly praised seven novels of which one of them, House of the Sun became the first Asian play adapted for the British stage and was voted Critic’s Choice.

JUNG CHANG

UNITED KINGDOM

Jung Chang was born in China but currently resides in the United Kingdom. Her latest work is on Mao Tse-tung entitled, Mao: The Untold Story, co-written with Jon Halliday.Her biography Wild Swans and Mao have sold over 13 million copies worldwide.

QI YUN, CHEN

SINGAPORE

Chen Qi Yun, whose pseudonym is Han Han, is a writer and a graduate of the Nanyang Technological University's School of Communication and Information. She is presently working in the media and IT industry. She was one of the commissioned columnists of Friday Weekly from 1998 to 2000. Her published works include a prose collection, The Other Side of the Rainbow, and a short story collection, 7-Eleven Fantasy. The latter was on the booklist of the National Library Board's READ! Singapore Campaign. In 2006, she published her second novel, Saving the Icon.

FELIX CHEONG

SINGAPORE

Felix Cheong is a poet, freelance writer and adjunct lecturer in Creative Writing. A recipient of NAC’s Young Artist Award in 2000, he has published three volumes of poetry and two novels for children. His latest work, published in 2007, is entitled, The Woman in the Last Carriage.

IVAN CHEW

SINGAPORE

http://ramblinglibrarian.blogspot.com

Ivan Chew is a trained librarian with a keen interest in Library Services for People with Disabilities. He currently heads the Adult & Young People's Services (Public Libraries) in NLB. He works with a team of librarians in delivering services to schools and organizations. Chew conducts workshops on Blogging and Podcasting, and has seven blogs and one podcast. When he's off work, Ivan draws, paints, writes, and produces songs for his online music album.

HWEE PHENG, CHIA

SINGAPORE

Xi Ni Er is the pseudonym of poet/novelist Chia Hwee Pheng, whose major works include a collection of new poetry, Kidnapping Time, and the mini novels, The Unbearable Heaviness of Life. He has won many major awards including the Singapore Golden Lion Award and the National Book Development Council of Singapore’s Book Award.

CHERYL CHIA

SINGAPORE

http://thebakerwhocooks.blogspot.com

Cheryl Chia is one devout foodie who doesn't fuss about calories. She simply eats, cooks, bakes and writes about her culinary escapades. Food and writing are her greatest passions and this freelance writer also hopes to one day write for Gourmet or Bon Appetit.

CHEE LAY, CHUA

SINGAPORE

Chua Chee Lay is a poet, writer and academic. His published works include a collection of contemporary poetry The Moon Is the Traditional Lamp, a collection of essays on the performing arts, The Stage in Two Volumes, as well as a collection of children’s poetry and nursery rhymes Little Ting Tang, Oh Little Ting Tang.

BEI DAO

USA/CHINA

Bei Dao is an award-winning Chinese poet currently based in Hong Kong. He has taught in several universities in USA. Bei Dao has also been nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature several times.

CHARLIE DARK

UNITED KINGDOM

With flamboyant gestures and vocal gymnastics, writer, producer and DJ Charlie Dark has made a dynamic impact on the UK poetry and performance scene as one-third of the critically-acclaimed Attica Blues, as well as for his community work in pushing poetry and creative writing to young people across the UK.

DAVID DAVIDAR

CANADA/INDIA

David Davidar is an author and a publisher. One of the founding members of Penguin India, David is currently based in Canada. The House of Blue Mangoes, his first novel, was picked by the New York Times as a ‘Notable Book’ in 2002. His second novel, The Solitude of Emperors, will be released in September 2007.

ALEXANDER DERIEV

SWEDEN

Alexander Deriev is the editor and publisher of the online and in-print journal of poetry, translation and art, Ars Interpres. Alexander Deriev has published several books in Russian and English. One of them, Who Is Who in the Churches of Jerusalem, is being considered as a candidate for the Albert Outler Prize of American Society of Church History.

REGINA DERIEVA

RUSSIA/SWEDEN

Regina Derieva is an acclaimed Russian poet and writer who has been described by The Guardian as a possible future Nobel Prize winner. She is the author of twenty books of poems, prose and essays and her works have been translated into many languages. In 2003, Derieva has been awarded the Shannon Fellowship of the International Thomas Merton Society.

SHAMINI FLINT

SINGAPORE

Shamini Flint is an ex-lawyer and stay-at-home mum. Criminal Minds is her second murder mystery in the contemporary Asian Crime Fiction series. Shamini believes that crime fiction is the perfect genre to expose the unique political, religious and racial fault lines running through Asian society - which culminate, of course, in murder! Shamini has also written numerous children’s books including the Sasha series, Jungle Blues and A T-Rex Ate My Homework.

CHEN LOONG, FOO

SINGAPORE

Foo Chen Loong read English Literature at the National University of Singapore from 1991 to 1995. Though never taught personally by Arthur Yap, he was obviously affected enough by his poem 2 Mothers In A HDB Playground to toss off a (respectful, he hopes) parody in his first year. He currently heads the Marketing Department of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra.

POH SENG, GOH

CANADA/SINGAPORE

Born in Malaya, Goh Poh Seng, is an award-winning novelist and author of several anthology of poems. His first novel, If We Dream Too Long, won the National Book Development Council of Singapore’s Fiction Book Award and has been translated into other languages. He practiced medicine in Singapore for 25 years and currently lives in Vancouver.

RASIAH HALIL

SINGAPORE

Fulbright scholar Rasiah Halil is a poet, writer, translator and an educator. Her works which dwell on social and humanitarian issues have received many commendation prizes and awards since 1983, while Peristiwa and Dalang: Episod Tiga won the Malay Literature Prize Award in 1999 and 2001 respectively.

ABDUL GHANI HAMID

SINGAPORE

Abdul Ghani is an established poet-artist who produced a polemical Picasso-inspired abstract painting The Search (1965) and has exhibited in 14 cities in Asia. His latest work, however, received much critical praise with its synergy of the artistic elements of hispaintings with the soul of his poems in Extracts of Feelings (2005), his bilingual anthology of paiting and poetry. Abdul Ghani also writes short stories, essays, plays and newspapers articles. He is the recipient of three prestigious literary awards: the Tun Seri Lanang Award (1997), the SEA Write Award (1998), and the Cultural Medallion (1999).

SIOK TIAN, HENG

SINGAPORE

Heng Siok Tian has a distinct poetry style which is marked by her brief, attenuated observations or meditations on a particular image or word, drawn out by linguistic play. Crossing the Chopsticks and Other Poems received great praise and commendation. Heng was Honorary Fellow at the University of Iowa’s International Writing Programme in 2000.

POH FUN, HO

SINGAPORE

Ho Poh Fun is a poet and teacher who has taught at various junior colleges. Her works include When the Tabebuia Bloomed at Soochow Gardens and Katong And Other Poems which was awarded the National Book Development Council Book commendation for poetry in 1996. She was a student of Arthur Yap during her university days.

PHILIP HOLDEN

SINGAPORE

Philip Holden is Associate Professor in the Department of English Language and Literature, National University of Singapore. He is the author of books on Somerset Maugham, Hugh Clifford, has co-edited volumes on Chinese transnationalism and sexuality in imperial literature, published many journal articles on Singapore Literature, nationalist autobiography, and literature in the transition from colonialism to the foundation of the postcolonial nation-state. His most recent book, Autobiography and Decolonization: Modernity, Masculinity and the Nation-State, will be published in 2008, and he is currently working with colleague Rajeev Patke, on a literary history of Southeast Asian writing in English.

JIANLI HUANG

SINGAPORE

Huang Jianli is currently an Associate Professor with the Department of History, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, National University of Singapore. A former graduate of NUS, Associate Professor Huang obtained his PhD from the prestigious Australian National University in 1987 on Modern Chinese History. Since then, he has taught in international universities including US, China and Taiwan. His current research interests include China’s imperial past, modern China and Chinese history.

HOWARD HUNTER

SINGAPORE

Professor Howard Hunter is President and Professor of Law at Singapore Management University. A native of the state of Georgia in the United States, he earned his B.A. (1968) and J.D. (1971) from Yale University. Appointed President of Singapore Management University in 2004, Professor Hunter is also the author of Modern Law of Contracts, now in its third edition, as well as many other books, monographs, and professional articles on contracts, commercial law, and American constitutional law. He has been a member of the Board of Editors of the Journal of Contract Law since 1988.

KTM IQBAL

SINGAPORE

Iqbal is a poet and has been actively writing since 1958. His poems are written in both the traditional and modern styles. He has published seven collections of poetry and has received numerous prestigious awards including the Singapore Literature Merit Award in 2007.

MADHUR JAFFREY

UNITED KINGDOM

As an actress, TV presenter and writer, Madhur Jaffrey is best known for her cookery – a skill she picked up out of necessity than frivolity. With four decades of culinary experience behind her, it’s the straight-talking clarity of her language that unravels the mysteries of Indian food that makes her books so successful.

ELMO JAYAWARDENA

SRI LANKA

Pilot, and President of Association For Lighting A Candle (AFLAC) International, Elmo Jayawardena won the Graetean Award in Sri Lanka for his first book Sam’s Story. His second book also won the State Literary Award for best book in 2005. Named an ‘Everyday Hero’ by Reader's Digest, all proceeds from his books go toward AFLAC.

PHILIP JEYARETNAM

SINGAPORE

Philip Jeyaretnam whose literary works received international and national attention, has published two well-reviewed novels, a linked collection of short stories, as well as individual stories and reflective essays. He was educated in Cambridge as a lawyer and most recently, conferred as Senior Counsel of the legal community in Singapore.

ISA KAMARI

SINGAPORE

Isa Kamari is an architect by profession but a writer by heart, best-known for his first novel Satu Bumi which delved into the issues surrounding Singapore during and after World War II. A dynamic and experimental writer, his poetry Sumur Usia and plays Dua Wajah and Mengejar Bayangan have been critically acclaimed.

RICHARD KATROVAS

USA

Richard Katrovas is the founding academic director of the Prague Summer Programme and the author of six books of poetry. He currently divides his time between the Czech Republic and the US, where he is an English professor at Western Michigan University.

HOCK KIAT, KOH

SINGAPORE

Dr. Koh Hock Kiat currently serves as Director and Associate Professor of Confucius Institute, NTU, and is also Vice President of Singapore Association of Writers.

Dr Koh has been actively engaged in promoting Chinese literacy and cultural appreciation in Singapore and the region. Among his publications including: A journey of Discovery of Chinese Arts and Culture(2007) , The Analects of Confucius(2007) , Aspect of Chinese Language Teaching and Orthography in Hanyu Pinyin (2005); Singapore Mini-Fiction Literary Criticism (2005). Dr Koh was the recipient of the prestigious Golden Literary Award, Literary Prose Award and Singapore Teacher’s Writing Award.

AUN KOH

SINGAPORE

http://www.chubbyhubby.net

Aun Koh is the author of several lifestyle, travel and foodbooks, including SingaporeChic and Chiva Som’s Thai Spa Cuisine. An ex-magazine editor and publisher, Koh has been instrumental in launching several publications in Asia and has written for several international periodicals, including Newsweek, Destinasian and Arena. As a photographer, Koh has shot for both magazines and books, including Lonely Planet’s World Food: Malaysia & Singapore. His food blog, Chubby Hubby is a popular resource for foodies internationally, garnering over 270,000 hits monthly. Koh currently runs a lifestyle and media consultancy business, servicing regional clients.

PO-CHOU, LAN

SINGAPORE

Lan Po-chou is a fiction novelist, literary critic and documentary producer. A writer of exceeding talent and a visionary thinker, he won the Jury Award for Fiction and the China Times Literary Award and his novel Song of the Veiled Carriage was nominated for the Hung Hsing-fu Award for Fiction.

MADELEINE LEE

SINGAPORE

Madeleine Lee studied Economics and Accounting, and holds an MBA in Finance. A consultant for the NUS Endowment Fund, she is also a Fellow of the Eisenhower Trust.
She has published three collections of poetry: a single headlamp (2003), fiftythree/ zerothree (2004) and y grec [French for the Greek place or the Greek letter; co-authored with Eleanor Wong] for which she wrote 26 poems. A fourth book, synaesthesia, is forthcoming. Lee's poetry delights in nature, travel, new places and people. She has read her poetry at many literary festivals.

TZU PHENG, LEE

SINGAPORE

Lee taught at National University of Singapore until retirement in 2001. Lee won the NBDCS award for Prospect of a Drowning (1980) and in 1992 for both Against the Next Wave (1988) and The Brink of an Amen (1991). She received the Cultural Medallion in 1985, the SEA Write Award in 1987 and in 1996 received the Gabriela Mistral Award from Chile, and the Mont Blanc-NUS Centre for the Arts Literary Award.

LIEW GEOK, LEONG

SINGAPORE

Leong Liew Geok is a prolific writer on papers concerning regional and national literature from a historical standpoint. Her published works also includes two collections of poetry, Love is Not Enough and Women without Men. A third volume Passions is in gestation. Born in Penang, Malaysia, she currently resides in Singapore with her family.

SONNY LIEW

SINGAPORE

Sonny Liew is a Eisner-nominated comic artist based in Singapore. He is best known for his work on Vertigo Comics' My Faith in Frankie together with Mike Carey and Marc Hempel, and Re-gifters from DC Minx. Other works include the Xeric-winning Malinky Robot, Wonderland with Tommy Kovac from Slave Labor Graphics and Disney, as well as contributions to the comic anthologies Flight and 24seven. His other stints include concept work for MMORPG games, pieces in the Spectrum annuals and feeding the cat.

SUCHEN CHRISTINE, LIM

SINGAPORE

Author of four novels. Fistful of Colours was awarded the inaugural Singapore Literature Prize 1992 and A Bit of Earth was short listed for Singapore Literature Prize 2004. She has given readings in Malaysia, the Philippines, USA, UK, Australia and New Zealand and is currently Visiting Writer in Ateneo de Manila University. Her recent publication is a collection of short stories, The Lies That Build A Marriage: Stories of the Unsung, Unsaid & Uncelebrated in Singapore.

CHENG TJU, LIM

SINGAPORE

Lim Cheng Tju writes about popular culture in Singapore. His articles on comic art have appeared in Southeast Asian Journal of Social Science, Journal of Popular Culture and International Journal of Comic Art.

GERRIE LIM

SINGAPORE

Gerrie Lim is best known for his bestselling books Invisible Trade: High-Class Sex for Sale in Singapore, In Lust We Trust: Adventures in Adult Cinema, and Idol to Icon: The Creation of Celebrity Brands. He started specializing in long-form, non-fiction writing while at the University of Southern California, from which he graduated with a Master's degree in Journalism in 1987 with his thesis on the essays of Joan Didion. He was a music critic and entertainment writer for Billboard, Details, Playboy, L.A. Weekly, L.A. Style and other American magazines while based in Los Angeles for 15 years.

ROSEMARY LIM

SINGAPORE

Rosemary Lim is from Northern Ireland and has lived in Singapore since 1990. Besides being a writer and editor, she has a strong interest in the lesser-known aspects Singapore’s history, including the areas that have connections with well-known writers. In 1998 she was co-winner of the Singapore Literature Prize Merit Award with a book of short stories entitled The Seed from the Tree. The following year she was a Commonwealth Short Story Competition Asia-Pacific Runner-up. In 2006 she edited a book of novel excerpts from 19 Singapore writers So You Think You Can Write A Novel.

ARNOST LUSTIG

CZECH REPUBLIC

Arnošt Lustig is a renowned Czech literary figure who has written prolifically. His body of work includes critically acclaimed novels, short stories, plays and screenplays. His works often involve the Holocaust and he is a two-time winner of the Jewish National Book Award.

BOGUSLAW MARCIN MAJEWSKI

POLAND/SINGAPORE

Boguslaw Marcin Majewski has been Ambassador Plenipotentiary and Extraordinary of the Republic of Poland to Singapore since 2004. He began his career as a diplomat in 1989 and has served as Minister Counselor, Political Section in Washington as well as press spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Warsaw. He is also Poland’s Governor to the Asia Europe Foundation and a member of the Advisory Board to the Asia Europe Journal.

KEROPOK MAN

SINGAPORE

http://singapuradailyphoto.blogspot.com

Keropok Man gets on his family and friend's nerves because of a silly ritual he does when they go out for meals. He takes photos of the food he's eating. The photos are posted daily and it is up to individuals who view them to rate it themselves. He is fortunate that he gets to tag along with all the makan trips organised by his family and friends despite his habits.

SHARANYA MANIVANNAN

INDIA

Sharanya Manivannan was born in India in 1985 and grew up in Sri Lanka and Malaysia. A writer, dancer, painter, actress, photographer, journalist and activist, she is working on her first novel, Constellation of Scars and a collection of poems, Witchcraft. She lives in Kuala Lumpur and Chennai.

SURATMAN MARKASAN

SINGAPORE

Suratman Markasan is a poet and a novelist. He has also written and presented many working papers pertaining to literature, language and culture in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. Suratman has received numerous literary awards.

MUHAMMED METHA

INDIA

Muhammed Metha played a key role in popularising the modern form of Tamil poetry (`pudukavithai') in the 1970s. His collection of modern poems titled TearFlowers (Kanneer Pookkal) has sold more than 25 editions. Also known as Pudukavithaiyin Thaatha (the grand old man of modern poetry), Metha has authored 32 books, including a couple of novels, a few short story collections and five essay collections.

Retired last year after serving as Tamil professor for 35 years at Presidency College, Chennai, says that `pudukavithai' will continue to have an eternal influence on literature.

ANITA NAIR

INDIA

Anita Nair is a masterful storyteller with fine writing. Her first collection of short stories, Satyr of the Subway won a fellowship with the Virginia Center for Creative Arts. Born in Kerala, India, Nair’s second book, The Better Man became the first book by an Indian writer to be published by Picador USA. She currently resides in Bangalore.

ALVIN PANG

SINGAPORE

Alvin Pang’s poetry is articulate, allusive, occasionally verbose and rhetorical, but also conversational. He has published two volumes of poetry which has attracted literary attention both locally and internationally. Pang was an Honorary Fellow at the University of Iowa’s International Writing Programme in 2002, and an invited poet at the 2003 Edinburgh International Book Festival.

MING YEN, PHAN

SINGAPORE

A former journalist with The Straits Times and founding editor and later contributing editor of The Arts Magazine, Phan Ming Yen is at present Director, Artistic Development at The Arts House at the Old Parliament. He was a research scholar at the National Institute of Education from 2000 - 2002, his area of study being Western art music practices in 19^th and early 20^th century Singapore. Phan is also a member of several of the National Arts Council’s advisory panels

A SAMAD SAID

MALAYSIA

Dato A Samad Said is the recipient of the prestigious Malaysian National Literary Laureate. He is the author of eight books, of which his best selling novel, Salina, has been translated into several languages and is studied by literature students across Malaysia.

PETER SCHOPPERT

SINGAPORE

Peter Schoppert is a publisher, editor and occasional writer. Currently looking after regional communications for a leading strategic consultancy, he has served as Managing Director, Singapore University Press/ NUS Publishing and Editorial Director for Editions Didier Millet. He has contributed articles on art to Art & Asia Pacific, Vehicle, FOCAS, Inter-Asian Cultural Studies, and other publications. He is the author of Java Style, published in the UK by Thames & Hudson.

DEEPIKA SHETTY

INDIA/SINGAPORE

Born and brought up in India, Deepika started her career with the daily The Times of India. When she moved to Singapore and became a Producer with the Channel News Asia breakfast show - Prime Time Morning three years ago, she launched a book segment called 'Off The Shelf'. It has featured several authors, including established ones like Paul Theroux, Vikram Seth, Alexander McCall Smith, and Neil Gaiman. In addition to interviews, the segment also tracks literary developments around the world. Deepika has been interviewed extensively on literary developments in South and South-East Asia and is a regular moderator at leading Writers Festivals.

DAREN SHIAU

SINGAPORE

Fulbright scholar Daren Shiau is a lawyer by profession, a poet, novelist and an active environmentalist. His novel Heartland, a consciously Singaporean novel won a Commendation Award in the 1998 Singapore Literature Prize. Along with Heartland, Island Voices was commissioned by the Ministry of Education as part of the Singaporean text in the ‘O’ Level curriculum.

STEFAN SHIH

SINGAPORE

http://anutshellreview.blogspot.com

Stefan Shih started blogging occasionally in 2003 but it wasn't until October 2004 that he put his focus into writing movie reviews on his blog A Nutshell Review, and developing a keen interest in Singapore movies. Now he averages 5 movie reviews a week, and is a contributor to online movie sites movieXclusive.com and Twitchfilm.net.

KENNY SIA

MALAYSIA

http://www.kennysia.com

Kenny Sia is a Malaysian blogger who rose to prominence with his blog kennysia.com. Established in January 2005, his blog started out as a collection of anecdotes by a small town boy returning to his hometown and experiencing culture shock. Now it boasts traffic of over 20,000 unique visitors and 30,000 pageviews per day and is ranked the number one Malaysian blog according to blog search engine Technorati.

Whilst kennysia.com has no central theme, it covers a myriad of topics, from the reality of life; to boy-girl relationships; to travel.

GAIL SIMONE

USA

Gail Simone is an American writer of comic books. Best known for DC's acclaimed Birds of Prey, she is the writer of Welcome to Tranquility, All-New Atom and will soon become the writer of Wonder Woman. Simone has gained a reputation for being a gifted comedy-action writer, especially showcased in her mainstream work on Deadpool and Birds of Prey.

KIRPAL SINGH

SINGAPORE

Dr. Kirpal Singh is today regarded as an international Creativity guru. He teaches Creative Thinking at the Singapore Management University, and is also an acclaimed poet and fictionist, and has been invited to participate in the world's top literary and writers' festivals. As a scholar he has earned a global reputation for original, boundary-breaking ideas which have provoked many scholars world-wide to engage with his articles and essays so as to extend the scope and depth of discussion. Singh is a highly sought-after Keynote speaker and has consulted for top corporate organisations including SIA, IBM, Amex, L'oreal.

BEN SLATER

SINGAPORE

http://harrylimetheme.blogspot.com

Ben Slater is a writer and editor specialising in film who has been based in Singapore since 2002. In 2004 he set up his first film blog, where he first posted articles about the film Saint Jack, which had been shot under odd circumstances in Singapore in 1978. This led to him writing a book, Kinda Hot (Marshall Cavendish, 2006), about the making of the film, which had its own blog, www.kindahot.blogspot.com.

SITOK SRENGENGE

INDONESIA

Sitok Srengenge is Program Coordinator for the Utan Kayu Community, a lecturer at the Jakarta Arts Institute and editor of the Kalam Cultural Journal. His work has appeared in 2001: Secrets Need Words; the Nonsens Poetry anthology, and various poetry and short fiction anthologies in Indonesia. Last year, Srengenge was cited as one of his country's leaders in society in culture by Asiaweek magazine.

LENA TAMILVANAN

INDIA

Lena Tamilvanan is a well-known writer among the Tamil community globally. As an editor, he has edited a staggering 3400 books (and counting). Lena has published 69 books on various subjects, and has travelled widely to Tamil communities around the world to speak on Tamil literature and his writing.

TWAN ENG, TAN

MALAYSIA

Tan Twan Eng is a Malaysian-born lawyer who recently published his first work in the UK, The Gift of Rain, to rave reviews. He is currently working on his second novel. Tan is also a regular contributor to food and wine columns for various publications.

SU-LYN, TAN

SINGAPORE

Singaporean food and travel writer Tan Su-Lyn wrote Lonely Planet’s World Food: Malaysia & Singapore and has worked on several important book projects with some of Asia’s top chefs. Most recently, she conceptualised and edited a book called Foodlore & Flavors: Inside the Southeast Asian Kitchen, a cookbook commissioned by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Between 2002 and 2004, Su-Lyn was also Managing Editor of Singapore's top food, lifestyle and travel magazine, Wine & Dine. She is an avid traveller and accomplished home chef. She is currently writing her doctoral thesis on the rise of the celebrity chef.

FAISAL TEHRANI

MALAYSIA

Faisal Tehrani is the pen name of Mohd Faizal Bin Musa, an award-winning novelist, poet, short story writer, playwright and television script writer. In 2007, Faisal won first place in the Adult Novel category for Bedar Sukma Bisu and Manikam Kalbu for the Youth category for the DBP Golden Jubilee Literature Awards.

HSU-MING, TEO

AUSTRALIA

Born in Malaysia in 1970, Teo Hsu-Ming’s family migrated to Australia in 1977. Her first novel, Love and Vertigo, was awarded the Australian/Vogel Award. She has been selected has been selected as one of the three Commended writers in the Sydney Morning Herald's Best Young Australian Novelists.

MADELEINE THIEN

CANADA

Madeleine Thien's first book, Simple Recipes, a collection of stories, won four awards in Canada and was a finalist for the regional Commonwealth Writers Prize for Best First Book. Her novel, Certainty, was a shortlisted for the Kiriyama Book Prize. It won the Amazon/Books in Canada First Novel Award, and was named a Globe & Mail Book of the Year.

SP THINNAPPAN

SINGAPORE

SP Thinnappan is a leading scholar in Singapore who has worked tirelessly to promote Tamil in Singapore and its diaspora through his research and publications. As a passionate educator and a scholarly writer, he has published four books, and many research papers and articles in various international academic journals.

ALEXIS TIOSECO

PHILIPPINES