Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad is the Member of Parliament for Setiawangsa, Kuala Lumpur and Vice President of Malaysia’s most successful multi-racial party, the People’s Justice Party (KEADILAN).
He was elected as a state legislator in the neighbouring Selangor at 26, the youngest candidate to win in the 2008 elections.
Born in 1982, Nik Nazmi grew up in the suburb of Petaling Jaya. He attended the prestigious Malay College Kuala Kangsar before receiving a scholarship to read law in King’s College London, where he became active in student organisations during the Reformasi and anti-Iraq War movements.
He returned in 2005 to serve his scholarship sponsors but resigned less than a year later to work for Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim.
As a state legislator, Nik Nazmi was appointed to various positions in the Selangor Government and KEADILAN. He was re-elected to the State Assembly in 2013 and was appointed to Selangor’s EXCO (i.e. the state cabinet), overseeing the education, human capital and science portfolios.
In 2014, he was elected as the Leader of KEADILAN’s Youth Wing and later became the opposition coalition PH’s Youth Leader.
In the 2018 election, Nik Nazmi contested in Setiawangsa, a stronghold of the dominant UMNO party. That election not only saw Nazmi’s victory but UMNO’s first-ever defeat at the
federal level.
Nik Nazmi has authored multiple books. He also founded the Mentari Project, an urban educational access program as well as a community football club, Setiawangsa Rangers FC.
He lives in Petaling Jaya with his wife, Farah and their children.
Prashant Kumar is the founder of Entropia, a next-gen marketing services company, now part of Accenture. Entropia has been a pioneer in the area of marketing in the Industry 4.0 era.
In 2020, Entropia was recognized as the third-fastest-growing large agency in the world by AdWeek, New York. Earlier, Prashant served as president, Asia world markets, at IPG Mediabrands. He has been on the juries of the prestigious Cannes Lions and Crystal Festival, France, and Lynx Festival, Dubai. He was also a speaker at the Digital Marketing Expo, Germany, and Global Festival of Media, Rome. He has been interviewed by the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg. In 2019, the International Advertising Association (IAA) recognized him as one of the five digital marketing thought leaders globally.
He is an alumnus of St Stephen’s College, Delhi, MICA, Ahmedabad and Harvard Business School.
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).
