Archives: Authors

Born and raised in Singapore, Judy’s love for reading and writing began as a child when she was introduced to children’s storybooks written by authors such as Enid Blyton. During moments of inspiration, she would hunker down in a corner of her living room, writing stories of children going off on an adventure while the rest of the family members watched television. The decision to dedicate her time to writing came during her university years. After graduating from the National University of Singapore, she started writing for magazines while exploring other career opportunities. In 2017, she co-authored a book on branding titled Are You Brand Dead?. She currently lives with her husband in Singapore, where she also lectures at local tertiary institutions.
My American Sister is her debut novel.

Norman Wilwayco, eLearning developer living in Sydney, is the recipient of two Grand Prize for Filipino Literature from the Palanca awards; first for his debut novel Mondomanila, and second, for his sophomoric work, Gerilya.

He grew up in three different regions across the Philippines: Cebu, Mindanao, and Metro Manila. He’s been a toy maker, a carpenter’s apprentice, an undertaker’s helper, a scriptwriter for a children’s TV show, a clerk, and a graphic designer.

His first novel, Mondomanila, received the Grand Prize for Filipino Literature from the Palanca Awards in 2002. The gritty, revenge-embezzlement story gained a cult following and has been adapted for the screen.

He has also written several short stories collected in Responde and Rekta. One of his short stories, Kahon, has received first prize from the Gawad Ka Amado.

He also writes for the big screen, working with independent filmmakers. His most recent one, co-written with the director, Leave if for Tomorrow for Night Has Fallen won Best Screenplay at the Cinema One Originals Digital Film Festival.

Migrantik is his third novel.

Nguyen Thanh Hien was born in 1940 in Nam Tuong village, An Nhon district, Binh Dinh Province in Vietnam, the country central to his literary works.
He graduated with a BA in Western philosophy from the Saigon University of Literature. During the Vietnam War, he participated in the student movement against the war in Saigon and wrote stories for the anti-war magazines Trinh Bay and Doi Dien. Currently he is based in Qui Nhon city, vernacularly known as Gia, where he works as an educator and author.
He has written twenty-four novels, twenty-two epic poems, three volumes of short stories and numerous poems, some of which have been printed into books and a variety of which have been widely published on domestic and foreign literary websites.

John Aguilar is an award-winning serial entrepreneur, best-selling author, and former decathlon champion. He is the founder and host of the business reality show The Final Pitch on CNN Philippines. He sits as president of independent TV production company StreetPark Productions Inc., producer of the long-running real estate and construction show Philippine Realty TV, and CEO of Manila-based venture builder Dragon’s Nest. He is the author of the best-selling book The Art and Science of the Pitch.
John is a seasoned business and motivational speaker, and has given talks on his experiences as an entrepreneur, TV producer, homebuilder, pitching expert, innovation thinker, and peak performer. He hosts the Methods to Greatness podcast, where he interviews Asia’s world-class performers, business leaders, and cultural icons.
John holds an undergraduate degree in Bachelor of Science Psychology from Ateneo de Manila University, a master’s in Entrepreneurship from the Ateneo de Manila Graduate School of Business, and is an alum of Singularity University in Silicon Valley. He lives in Manila with his wife and three children.

Writer-historian Sandeep Ray was born in Malacca in 1969 and has lived in Kolkata, Massachusetts, and Singapore. He began his career as a documentary filmmaker, transitioned to academia and subsequently taught at universities in the United States and in Southeast Asia. In 2021, Nikkei Asia described him as an author who ‘writes with the zeal of a historian and the passion of a film critic’. Sandeep’s own award-winning films have screened at numerous festivals internationally. Hailed as ‘cinematic and deeply resonant’, A Flutter in the Colony is his first novel.

Ven. Dr. Douglas Cheolsoeng Gentile, Ph.D., is an award-winning research scientist, educator, and author. Professor Gentile conducts research on the media’s impact on children and adults, as well as how mindfulness practices can reduce anxiety and improve happiness. Named as one of America’s best 300 professors by the Princeton Review, he is a fellow of several scientific organizations, including the American Psychological Association and the Association for Psychological Science. In addition, Ven. Douglas Cheolsoeng Gentile is a Zen Buddhist monk and meditation teacher. With decades of scientific research and training in several styles of Buddhism under his belt, he has dual expertise in Western psychological science and Eastern philosophy.
He wrote and narrated the best-selling audiobook Buddhism 101: How to Walk Easily over Rough Ground and Meditation: The Busy Person’s Guide to Cultivating Compassion and Positive Mind States. Dr. Gentile has appeared on NPR’s Morning Edition and the BBC World Service, and his work has been featured on CNN, Good Morning America, The Today Show, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, and hundreds of other media outlets around the world.
Holding a doctorate in child psychology from the Institute of Child Development at the University of Minnesota, Dr. Gentile is the author or editor of several books and well over 140 peer-reviewed scientific studies. He holds a M.Div. from Buddha Dharma University and has also trained at the multi-lineage Interdependence Project in New York City.

Laurie Hashim lives with her husband, three boys, and two dogs in Santa Barbara, California. Laurie graduated many years ago with a degree in economics from Tufts University. She has worked in management consulting in Boston, advertising in Kuala Lumpur, and software in San Francisco. But these days when she is not writing or doing research for writing, she is hiking, biking, and travelling.

The island of Penang has captivated the author ever since she married into a sprawling, multicultural family from this metropolitan mosaic almost thirty years ago. Hashim is grateful to the Penang historical society, fastidious colonial records, and a generation of Penangites devoted to writing memoirs, which have helped her place her imagined characters in their proper time and place.

Fahd Razy graduated from Royal College of Surgeon in Ireland and currently a practicing medical officer at Hospital Sultanah Nur Zahirah, Kuala Terengganu. Started producing creative writing since 2000, he had been writing in various genres including short-stories, poetries, play-script, anecdotes, essays, and other non-fictional writings. Among his published books include Menggeledah Nurani (poetry), Ikan dalam Jiwa (poetry), Kota Subuh (poetry), Pascasejarah (novel), Cinta Menyala di Constantinople (short-stories), Mencari Jalan Pulang (play-script), Sains Menulis Puisi (poetry guide-book), and Enam Tulisan Skema tentang Puisi (essays). He also wrote medical related non-literature books including Cakar Ayam Seorang Doktor, Doktor tanpa Kot Putih, Bukan Doktor Gugel, Rokok Terakhir di dalam Asbak, Diagnosis 3 and others. In 2011 he was invited as one of the panellists in Singapore’s Writers Festival and attended MASTERA literature program at Bogor, Indonesia in 2017. Two of his poems were selected in the literature text-book for Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia syllabus. He was the founder of Grup Karyawan Luar Negara which used to be active in promoting literature and writing among Malaysian overseas students and currently the owner of Penerbitan Kata-Pilar (Kata-Pilar Books), publishing literature and medical related books. For writings and publication, he had received around 50 awards and literary prizes. This includes four Malaysia Premier Literary Prizes (Hadiah Sastera Perdana Malaysia), three National Book Awards (Anugerah Buku Negara), twelve Kumpulan Utusan Literary Prizes (Hadiah Sastera Kumpulan Utusan), fourteen Darul Iman Literary Prizes (Hadiah Sastera Darul Iman), six E-sastera.com Literary Prizes (Hadiah Sastera E-sastera.com), an Islamic Literary Prizes (Hadiah Sastera Berunsur Islam) and a Student Literary Prize (Hadiah Sastera Siswa). His book Menggeledah Nurani won best poetry books in Hadiah Sastera Darul Iman 2013. His book Kota Subuh won ITBM-PENA-BH Writing Competition (2013) and best poetry books in Hadiah Sastera Darul Iman (2015). His short-stories book, Cinta Menyala di Constantinople won best teen short-stories books in Hadiah Sastera Darul Iman (2017). His novel Pascasejarah won the first prize in ITBM-PENA-BH Writing Competition (2015). It also won best short-stories book in Hadiah Sastera Darul Iman (2017), and finalist in Hadiah Sastera Perdana Malaysia (2017).

Kenneth Paul Tan is a tenured Professor at Hong Kong Baptist University, which hired him under its Talent100 initiative in February 2021. He teaches and conducts interdisciplinary research at the Academy of Film, the Department of Journalism, and the Department of Government and International Studies. He is a member of the university’s Smart Society Lab. Previously, he was a tenured Associate Professor at the National University of Singapore’s (NUS) Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy. He was the school’s Vice Dean during the most rapid and critical years of its growth and served in its senior leadership team for almost a decade. He has received numerous teaching awards over the years, including NUS’s most prestigious Outstanding Educator Award. His books include Singapore: Identity, Brand, Power (Cambridge University Press, 2018), Governing Global-City Singapore: Legacies and Futures After Lee Kuan Yew (Routledge, 2017), Cinema and Television in Singapore: Resistance in One Dimension (Brill, 2008), and Renaissance Singapore? Economy, Culture, and Politics (NUS Press, 2007). He has also published numerous articles in leading international journals, reflecting an innovative and interdisciplinary research agenda that bridges Political Science, Public Management, Policy Studies, Sociology, Urban Studies, Cultural Studies, and Film and Media Studies. He is a member of the National Arts Council (Singapore)’s Arts Advisory Panel and the National Museum of Singapore’s Advisory Board. He chairs the Board of Directors of theatre company The Necessary Stage (Singapore). And he was the founding chair of the Asian Film Archive’s Board of Directors.

Moe Moe Inya was born in DaikU in 1944. While attending Yangon University in 1964, she began writing poems under her pseudonym from Inya Dorm. She wrote her first novel, Pyauk-thaw-lann-hmar san-ta-war in 1972 and received the National Literature Award for it in 1974. She also received short novel awards in 1980, 1982 and 1986 for the novel and short novel collections. Her books have been translated into English, Russian, Japanese and Chinese.

Her family owns and runs Sarpaylawka Publishing House, winner of the lifetime accomplishment award at the 2020 Publishing Awards in Myanmar.

She worked as the editor of Sabel Phyu magazine from 1989 to her death in 1990.