Tamara S. Wagner completed her PhD at the University of Cambridge in 2002 and is currently assistant professor of English Literature at the School of Humanities & Social Sciences (HSS) at NTU in Singapore. Her recent publications include Longing: Narratives of Nostalgia in the British Novel, 1740-1890 (2004) and Occidentalism in Novels of Malaysia and Singapore, 1819-2004: Colonial and Postcolonial Financial Straits (2005).


Professor Wang Gungwu is the Director of the East Asian Institute and Faculty Professor in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, National University of Singapore; Distinguished Professorial Fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies; Emeritus Professor of the Australian National Uiversity, Canberra. Wang is an active writer who has written The Chineseness of China (1991), China and the Chinese Overseas (1991), Community and Nation: China, Southeast Asia and Australia (1992), a new edition of Nanhai Trade: The early history of Chinese trade in the South China Sea (1998), China and Southeast Asia: Myths, Threats and Culture (1999), The Chinese Overseas: From Earthbound China to the Quest for Autonomy (2000), and Joining the Modern World: Inside and Outside China (2000). He has objected to the use of the word diaspora to describe the migration of Chinese from China, because it is inaccurate and has been used to perpetuate fears of a "Chinese threat". Lesser known is his talent as a literary writer, Professor Wang has also written a poetry collection, Pulse. First appearing in 1950, Pulse is perhaps the first published Singapore poetry collection. He also edited "Global History and Migrations (1997)"; "Xianggang shi xinbian (Hong Kong history: New perspectives)" in two volumes (1997), and "The Chinese diaspora" (1998) with Wang Ling-chi, in two volumes (1998).


Jessie Wee is one of the most prominent writers in English for children in Singapore. She was a teacher for twelve years before she started writing home-grown stories for her two sons out of a conviction that Singaporean children needed stories they could call their own, stories that reflected their own culture and environment. The Adventures of Mooty, Grandpa’s Remedy, A Home in the Sky, A Friend in Need, Work and Play, War and Peace and, most recently, Supercat, are amongst the books children have enjoyed. Book reviewers have attributed the appeal of her books to “an attractive storytelling style, a keen sense of humour and a sensitive understanding of children.” She has shared her love of reading and writing with children, teachers and parents during book talks in schools, public libraries and at creative writing workshops and conferences in Singapore and abroad. To date, she has had 30 children’s books published, five of which were commissioned in England by Wayland and Macmillan. A Home in the Sky and its sequel, A Friend in Need, were commissioned and sponsored by American Express International Incorporated. She was also the contributor to books published by the Asian Culture Centre for UNESCO (ACCU), Japan. Three of her children’s books have won awards from the National Book Development Council of Singapore.


Serene Wee is currently an ISO Quality Management Systems & Business Consultant. She has had extensive experience in management, having worked for prominent multi-national corporations like a leading Jewellery Manufacturer in Hong Kong, a Healthcare company in Singapore, a German music publisher based in the US and an Aesthetic Medical Training centre. Serene is also the President of the Society of Reading and Literacy which champions reading and literacy in Singapore and provides professional leadership by promoting cooperative work among educators and interested parties in the field of literacy. It was her love for children that prompted her to embark on a career in children’s literature. Since then, she has produced three popular children’s books—When Feet Talk, The Tale of Lady Cabbage and Harry Straw Hat.


(1956 - ) C M Woon is a professor at the Faculty of Law at the National University of Singapore, lawyer, former Nominated Member of Parliament and diplomat. He holds degrees from the National University of Singapore as well as Cambridge University and has published widely on commercial and corporation law. The Advocate's Devil (2002), the story of a young lawyer in 1930s Singapore, is his first foray into fiction. This was followed by The Devil to Pay (2006), which takes the narrative through the turbulent years preceding the outbreak of the Second World War to the surrender of Singapore in February 1942.


Winner of the National Arts Council’s Young Artist Award for Literature in 2005, Cyril Wong is the author of five poetry collections. He was co-winner [together with Yong Shu Hoong] of the 2006 Singapore Literature Prize for unmarked treasure. He was featured at the Edinburgh International Book Festival and the Hong Kong International Literary Festival. Cyril's words have been set to dance, film, drama and music; these collaborations have been presented in Hong Kong, Australia, France, Malaysia, Indonesia and the States. His poems have internationally appeared in Atlanta Review, Poetry International, The Cortland Review, among others. He was also featured in the W.W. Norton & Co. anthology, Contemporary Voices from the East (2007).


Born in 1962 Wong s first play, Peter s Passionate Pursuit (1986) was joint first-prize winner in the National University of Singapore (NUS) Shell Short Play Competition. It has been staged and adapted for television. Earlier (2006) collects mostly her earlier and shorter, plays. Wong s plays often deal with controversial subjects. Her trilogy, Mergers and Accusations (1993), Wills and Secession (1995) and Jointly and Severably (2003) addresses bisexuality and lesbianism in a married woman lawyer. Jackson on a Jaunt (1989) has a homosexual supporting character; in Exit (1990) a Singaporean is tried for the crime of wanting to emigrate; The Joust (1991) explores the transition from totalitarianism to democracy, while The Campaign to Confer the Public Service Star on JBJ (2007) satirises politics. Wong contributed 12 poems to y grec (2005) which she co-authored with Madeleine Lee [see p.14]. A lawyer, Wong is an Associate Professor in NUS, and Director of its Legal Skills Programme.


A banker for 18 years, Joanna retired early at the peak of her career to be with her sons during their formative years. Launched in Nov 2005, Squeaky … he is more than a squirrel …, was her first successful book, for which she also illustrated. In Squeaky Is Gone! (Nov 2007) Joanna picks up from where she left off in the first book, artfully blending her unique style of fantasy, fact, fiction and moral values. Besides having a local flavour in her stories, they also carry an international appeal. She constantly communicates with Squeaky’s registered fans via www.squeaky.biz.


Born in 1937 Wong is a writer and translator. He received his PhD from the University of Washington, Seattle, US. He has published several collections of short-stories and mini novels, such as When I Met Huilan Again, Glimpses of the Past (in English and in Tagalog) and Mini- Novels of Wong Meng Voon. He was awarded the National Book Development Council of Singapore Translation Prize, The Cultural Medallion(1981) and the SEA Write Award (1981). He was President of the Singapore Association of Writers for 20 years. Presently he is active in promoting to the world the Chinese mini-novel form, both in terms of creative writing and theory.


Writer and lawyer. Born Singapore. Publications: The Landlord, Federal Publications, 1984; The Phoenix and Other Stories, Heinemann Asia, 1985 (NBDCS Book Awards Commended Fiction 1986); A Dying Breed, Heinemann Asia, 1991.


Nicholas was the recipient of the Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award (2006) and the Singapore Young Dramatists Award (2005). He was also Head of Hwa Chong LitWing.


Born in 1941 Wong is a poet , writer and academic. Wong received his DLitt from the University of Wisconsin, US. He was formerly professor and head of the Chinese Studies Department at the National University of Singapore and Dean of The Arts Faculty at the Yuan Ze University, where he is presently a professor and head of the Centre of International Linguistic Culture. The recipient of many major literature prizes and cultural awards, his published works include The Visitor (translated), The Tropical Forest and the Colony (poetry), Bring the Night Home (prose) and The Works of Wong Yoon Wah (compilation). His academic publications include A Study of the Poetry of Wang Wei.


Born 1945. Consultant physician in Renal Medicine, Singapore General Hospital. Publicaitons: (poems) Risen Ash, 1980; (short stories) Question of Time, 1983; (novel) Web of Tradition, SNP, 1986; Encounter and Other Short Stories, Heinemann Asia, 1989; Winds of Change, SNP, 1991; Reincarnation and Other Short Stories; Obsession, SNP, 2000.


Tony is the author and primary photographer for Silent Symphony. Tony Wu’s life-long love for the sea developed from many hours spent in and around the ocean while growing up. His first childhood memory of the ocean is having a pugnacious crab pinch his little toe when it mistook his foot for dinner. Despite this minor mishap, Tony learned to swim at a young age, studied marine biology and related subjected passionately, and took up diving as soon as he could. Since 1995, Tony has combined his love of visual art with his interest in the marine world through underwater photography, and he has concentrated on using his photographs and writing to encourage others to appreciate and protect the beauty of the oceans. Tony actively promotes marine conservation issues, and he strongly believes that education is the key to change. Tony resides in Singapore, and is currently running a hi-tech business. Tony’s images have received international awards in Japan, Europe and the US, and his writing appears regularly in publications worldwide. Tony is also a columnist for Sportdiving magazine and his work has appeared in publication such as the Asia Pacific Reef Guide, Action Asia, Fins, Marine Photo, Diving Photography, Diver (Japan), Diving World, Unterwasser, DiveLog, Dive New Zealand, Dive (U.K.), Sportdiver, Asian Diver, NatureWatch, DecomStop, Talking Science, Asahi Shimbun, Tourism Asia, Solitaire, Asian Geographic, Asiaweek, Time, Harper’s Bazaar, The Arts Magazine, The Peak, Today and the Straits Times.