Archives: Authors

Prof. Muhammad Haji Salleh is one of the Malaysian writers who has been awarded the National Literary Award in 1991. He also won the SEA Writers Award in 1997. In 2008, he was named National Scholar of Excellence.
He was the President of the Malaysian Translators Association (1978-1982) and meanwhile many of his poems have been translated into English, German, Chinese, Dutch, Thai, Russian and Portuguese. He also serves on the editorial board of the Southeast Asian Literary Journal, Tenggara, a member of the Board of Directors of the Language and Library Council, and a member of the National Literary Awards Panel.
His career began as a teacher at the Butterworth Trade School in 1960 and then continued his teaching career in several schools as a tutor, lecturer, senior lecturer and subsequently held several academic positions at local and international universities. He also made history as the youngest professor who was appointed to the post in 1979 at the age of 37.
Upon returning to Malaysia, he served at the National University of Malaysia and the University of Science Malaysia. For 42 years, he has worked at USM, UKM and UM . He has been invited to teach in the United States, Brunei, Germany and the Netherlands as a visiting professor and has received fellowships from several universities in the United States, Japan and the Netherlands.
He was previously a Guest Professor under the Fulbright-Hays program (1977) and taught at North Carolina State University, Raleigh , USA (1977-1978); lecturer in the Department of Malay Literature; Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, UKM; Director of the Institute of Language, Culture Malay Literature. Then became Professor of Literature at the age of 36 (1978). Muhammad is an ‘Asian Scholar in Residence’ at the University of Michigan. In 1992-1993, he was elected Fullbright Visiting Reseacher, at the University of California, Berkeley; bears the Chair of Malay Studies at the University of Leiden, Netherlands (1993-1994).
In June 1996, he participated in the National Association (Moscow) seminar on ‘National Construction and the Literature / Cultural Development in Southeast Asia’, in which he presented the paper ‘Audience on the Staircase’. The effects of a visit to Moscow, including the performance of ‘The Queen of Spades’ directed by Peter Fomenko, in the theater of E. Vakhtangov, are reflected in some of his poems.

Her Royal Highness Princess Vibhavadi Rangsit (née Her Serene Highness Princess Vibhavadi Rajani) was born on 20th November 1920. The daughter of His Highness Prince (Krom Muen) Bidyalongkorn and Her Serene Highness Princess Bornbimolban Rajani (née Voravarn), she was educated at Mater Dei School, Bangkok. After graduating from the Finishing Course, she worked as a secretary for her father, one of the greatest poets of the Ratanakosin era, who wrote under the pseudonym ‘Nor. Mor. Sor.’ Princess Vibhavadi inherited her father’s gift for writing and displayed her abilities at the early age of 14 when she began to write a novel for children. She used the pen-name V. na Pramuanmarg which became well known amongst Thai literary circles. Her famous first novel ‘Prisna’ was written when she was just eighteen years old and was subsequently followed by two sequels and many other novels, as well as historical novels.
Princess Vibhavadi married His Serene Highness Prince Piyarangsit Rangsit, the eldest son of His Royal Highness Prince Rangsit Prayurasakdi, Prince of Jainad, on 6th May 1946. They were the only couple ever to have been married by His Majesty King Ananda Mahidol (Rama VIII).
Besides a busy home life bringing up two daughters Mom Rajawongse Vibhanand and Mom Rajawongse Priyanandana Rangsit, and a full writing career, she embarked on another course which was to occupy her to the end of her days: that of serving Their Majesties King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX) and Queen Sirikit, the Queen Mother. She began to accompany Them when They toured the country in 1957 and was appointed Lady-in-Waiting to Her Majesty Queen Sirikit when Their Majesties went on Their first State Visit in 1960. Altogether, Princess Vibhavadi accompanied the King and Queen abroad on seven occasions to a total of 25 countries.
The last ten years of her life were dedicated to rural development in Southern Thailand under the direction and sponsorship of His Majesty King Rama IX. Her involvement began when the King asked her to go to a remote and backward area called Pra Saeng in Surat Thani. From that initial visit in 1967, she was committed to developing the hitherto neglected areas and to improving the standard of living of the villagers. Sponsored by the King, she led a medical team on countless missions to distribute medical supplies, schooling equipment, blankets and other necessities to the needy villagers. Undaunted by the hardship of travel, Princess Vibhavadi led the medical team to all the neglected and inaccessible parts of the southern provinces. Wherever she went, the grievances of the villagers were noted down and subsequently rectified by the authorities. In this manner, rural development followed Princess Vibhavadi’s trodden path: roads were built, new health centres and schools established, electricity reached new destinations etc. Upon the wishes of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit, she also promoted local handicrafts so that the women could earn extra income.
Princess Vibhavadi was not concerned about her personal safety and often went to visit the troops and Border Patrol Policemen in troubled areas where insurgency flared. Thus, on the morning of 16th February 1977, on what was to be a routine mission to visit the villagers and to boost the morale of the troops in Wieng Sra district of Surat Thani, she boarded an Army helicopter. On the way to her destination, she heard on the radio that two Border Patrol Policemen had been wounded by a landmine explosion. As she wanted the wounded men to receive medical aid as soon as possible, she told the pilot to change the flight route so that the helicopter could go to pick them up and take them to a hospital. As it was flying low over Baan Nua Klong in Surat Thani, the helicopter was ambushed from the ground by Communist terrorists. The burst of machine gun fire not only crippled the helicopter, but fatally wounded the Princess. She died an hour later.
Prior to her cremation on 4th April, 1977, ‘in recognition of her services to the country and the people’, His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX) conferred upon her the rank of Pra Ong Chao (Her Royal Highness) and bestowed the highest decoration of the Most Illustrious Order of the House of Chakri.
It has now been 43 years since that tragic day which stunned the nation. She was particularly mourned in the Southern Provinces where a 15-day mourning period was declared. To this day, her death anniversary, the 16th of February, is known as Vibhavadi Day in Surat Thani where civil and religious ceremonies are held in her honour simultaneously at the five monuments dedicated to her.

Linda Fitzpatrick writes fun-filled, action-packed adventure stories for children. After studying professional writing and editing in Melbourne, she left Australia with her family to create new adventures in The Netherlands and Singapore. In 2014, she won the FAW Mary Grant Bruce award for her short story, ‘The Day Mum Sold the Touchscreen’, which was later published in [Untitled], by Busybird Publications. Her blog ‘Going Home’ helped her stay sane during their relocation back to Australia. She now lives in Melbourne with her husband and three children.

Simon Wray lives in Singapore with his wonderful wife and three amazing kids. Simon dreams of digging up hotel gardens in a glorious quest for hidden treasure; however, he is too scared of being shot. So, instead, he spends each day trying to solve the mystery of the missing car keys . . . ‘seriously though, where did I leave them?’ The Mystery of the Missing Silver is Simon’s debut in children’s books.

Emma Nicholson finds inventing stories as mouth-watering as munching French pastries at Raffles Hotel. She comes from Birmingham, England and spent many years playing around with languages, editing, teaching and writing. While living in Singapore, she published Princess Petunia’s Dragon, a fun and funny middle-grade fantasy. Life takes her to many places, where she scavenges ideas for writing and sketching.

Claire Thamboo is a junior schoolteacher who writes over a range of genres, from supernatural fantasy to whodunits. She enjoys creating young protagonists who grapple with mystery, mayhem and the occasional mood swing. In the rare snippets of spare time made available to her, she relaxes by reading, swimming and playing the piano.

David Seow graduated from the University of Portland, Oregon with a BA in Communications. He is the author of over forty-five well-received children’s picture books, including the Sam, Sebbie and Di-Di-Di & Xandy series. His books There’s Soup on Fly! and Blow a Kiss were finalists for the SCBWI Crystal Kite Members Choice Award in 2012.
Two of his titles, A Day with the Duchess and A Royal Adventure, were featured in Hola! Hello! Online, The International Business Times, and The Sunday Express. ‘Stamford Raffles: Zombie Zapper’ is David’s first published middle-grade story.

Mark Yong is an artist and a self-proclaimed professional chef with an ardent love for burgers. When he isn’t doodling away in his sketchbook or watching the latest superhero flicks, you can find him hunting for the best burger in town.

Sharmila Bhushan has a Master’s Degree in Spanish from Jawaharlal Nehru University. After a brief stint early on in her career as a Spanish language teacher at Symbiosis Institute of Foreign Trade Pune, she chose to pursue a freelance career as a Spanish and Portuguese translator and interpreter. In her career spanning over twenty-five years she has worked in a diverse range of fields and is on the translators’ panel of several companies, human rights, women’s health and women’s rights organizations. She is also Spanish language conference interpreter and has provided simultaneous interpretation services in over sixty international conferences.
Besides her love for languages, she also actively pursues her twin passions of music and painting and is part of an amateur band and has been actively involved with the Mago Memorial Art Foundation to promote art. Website: www.sharmilabhushan.com

John McGlynn has translated or edited over 100 works, including translations of several of works by Pramoedya which he published using his pen name, Willem Samuels, including The Mute’s Soliloquy. According to Tempo (Indonesian magazine), “Over the years, McGlynn worked to produce English translations of Indonesia’s top literary works, collaborating with a diverse group of translators, such as Harry Aveling, an authority on Indonesian and Malay literature.