Speakers

Adeline completed her MFA in Dramatic Writing at New York University’s Tisch Asia School of the Arts. Her career spanned six years in public relations and advertising and eleven years in public service as Head of Corporate Affairs. Now an adjunct polytechnic lecturer and scriptwriter, Adeline has worked on six TV productions and published 28 books.

Find out more about Adeline's work here.

Aditi’s first book, A Whole Summer Long, was published in 2012. Her manuscript Ergo Sum, eventually rewritten as The Magicians of Madh, was shortlisted for the Scholastic Asian Book Award. Aditi’s Codex: The Lost Treasure of the Indus won the 2016 Scholastic Asian Book Award.

Adrian Tang is a Year 2 student from Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) and NLB Teen Reading Ambassador. In 2019, his ACSI team achieved 2nd place in the POSB-NLB Kids’ Lit Quiz, demonstrating his keen knowledge of literary trivia and love of reading.

Agnes dedicates all her time writing beautiful stories for children. More than 20 of her books had been published by well-known publishers in Indonesia. In 2013, one of her short stories, Utan for Marcia, was nominated for the Singtel Picture Book Award.

Ai Yu is the Vice President of Singapore Association of Writers, Secretary of World Chinese Mini-Fiction Research Association, and a member of Overseas Chinese Women Writers Association. She worked as a scriptwriter in Mediacorp for many years. Currently she also mentors students and helps them to develop their writing potential.

艾禺，新加坡作家协会副会长，世界华文微型小说研究会秘书、世界海外华文女作家会员。创作体裁以微型小说和儿童文学为主。曾是新传媒华文戏剧组编剧，现为驻校作家和自由撰稿人。

A.J. Low is a husband-and-wife writing team comprising Adan Jimenez and Felicia Low-Jimenez. Their Sherlock Sam book series have won the International Schools Libraries Network’s Red Dot Award (2013 – 2014) and are published internationally. An animated Sherlock Sam series is also forthcoming. During the day, Felicia is a comics publisher and Adan edits video games.

Akshita Nanda volunteers as a reading coach with children and young adults. She has written for The Straits Times and authored two novels: Nimita’s Place (Epigram Books, 2018) and Beauty Queens of Bishan (Penguin Random House SEA, 2019). She is currently studying at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy.

Aldy is a Manila- based freelance artist and illustrator. His award-winning work with children’s books and illustrations has been recognized by the Philippine Board on Books for the Young People and National Book Development Board, ILUSTRARTE, and Sharjah Exhibition. Si Kian, illustrated by Aldy, was recently added to the White Ravens Catalog by the International Youth Library in Munich, Germany.

Find out more about Aldy's work here.

Andrew Threlfall, the director of CDP Theatre Producers, is also a producer, marketer and performer in Australia and internationally. He has produced over 30 productions across a wide range of genres and is experienced with work for young audiences. As one of Australia’s most experienced touring producers, Andrew also has extensive background in audience research and development and venue management.

Find out more about CDP Theatre Producers here.

Andy Griffiths is one of Australia’s most popular children’s authors. Together with illustrator Terry Denton, their Treehouse Book series has sold over 10 million copies, won 90 children's choice and book awards and is published in more than 35 countries. The books have also been adapted for the stage with sold-out and highly successful seasons in Sydney, Netherlands, New Zealand and US. A passionate advocate for literacy and an ambassador for The Indigenous Literacy Foundation and the Pyjama Foundation, Andy was awarded the Dromkeen Medal in 2015 to honour his contribution to Australian children’s literature.

Find out more about Andy's work here.

Ann Gee is a Singapore-based illustrator who create drawings with an emphasis on storytelling with compelling characters. Her quirky, surreal and whimsical works have breathed life to children’s books such as The Rock and the Bird, Do Gallery Sitters Sit All Day and Do You See What I See.

Find out more about Ann Gee's work here.

An Shiyi is a young Chinese poet. Currently, she is a masters student in NUS Chinese Studies. She obtained BA with honors (Highest Distinction) in NUS. She has won Singapore Tertiary Chinese Literature Awards and published poetry collections San Fen Zhi Yi (Third). Her poems were also published in a poem collection called Wumo Wenyuan Qiyou Ji.

安诗一，90后诗人。新加坡国立大学中文系研究生在读。曾获新加坡大专文学奖现代诗、汉诗组奖项。著有诗集《三分之一》，合著有《舞墨文苑七友集》。

Reinhard is an Indonesian based freelance illustrator, a member of Society for the Advancement of Children’s Literature in Indonesia.
Some of his works include the national bestseller 70+ Kisah Motivasi Untuk Anak, his debut in poetry book Tarian Hujan by Jane Ardaneshwari, and a short stories compilation Jeruk Kristal written by his grandmother.

Find out more about Reinhard's work here.

Aparna is the Deputy Editor at Pratham Books. She has previously worked as the Assistant Editor for the children’s science magazine, Brainwave, and written several comic books for Amar Chitra Katha. She has also co-authored Ruckus on the Road for Puffin.

A Rahman Basrun is a former Chief Sub-Editor for Berita Harian and now heads Scholastica, an enterprise aimed at promoting the spirit of intellectualism. A writer, editor and publisher, he also runs training workshops and courses for young writers. 

A Rahman Basrun pernah menjadi Ketua Sub-Editor Berita Harian dan kini mengetuai Scholastica, sebuah perusahaan yang mahu merangsang semangat intelektualisme. Beliau bukan sahaja seorang penulis, editor dan penerbit, melah sering menjalankan bengkel latihan dan kursus-kursus untuk para penulis yang baru berjinak-jinak dalam bidang penulisan.

Aung Si Thar is a writer and management trainer from Myanmar.  He set up publishing house, A Par Taw Myal, which has a strong focus on content for children. His other publishing area interests are entrepreneurship and business management.

Ava Lewis is an avid reader and a Year 10 student at Tanglin Trust School in Singapore.

Avery Fischer Udagawa’s translations from Japanese to English include J-Boys: Kazuo’s World, Tokyo, 1965 by Shogo Oketani, House of Trust by Sachiko Kashiwaba in Tomo: Friendship Through Fiction—An Anthology of Japan Teen Stories, and Festival Time by Mogami Ippei in The Best Asian Short Stories 2018. She is the International and Japan Translator Coordinator for SCBWI.

Find out more about Avery's work here.

Barbara Moxham was born in Munich, raised in Sydney and currently calls Singapore home. She worked as an art director after completing a Master of Arts in Painting and Drawing. Her addiction to books and becoming a mum led her to illustrating picture books, including two books for highly sensitive children.

Find out more about Barbara's work here.

Barry is a Business Development Manager in Mediacorp’s English Audience segment with more than seven years of experience in growing audience, monetisation and content partnerships. He is currently working on numerous projects which include Mediacorp’s Kids strategy and MeRadio.

When Bijal Vachharajani isn’t reading Harry Potter, she is Senior Editor at Pratham Books. Also a journalist, Bijal is the author of three children's books, So You Want to Know About the Environment, The Seed Savers and What’s Neema Eating Today?

Find out more about Bijal's work here.

With over twelve years of experience in comics and entertainment, Bonni co-founded NaoBun to help build a collaborative and productive ecosystem of creative works with diverse voices. Aside from serving as CEO of the company, he is also an active writer and illustrator. His works often involve puzzles and investigation with a dose of social critique.

Find out more about NaoBun Project here.

Charlene Lai has been a picture book blogger since 2006. She has previously curated an exhibition, The Craft of Picture Books, and everything she does is affiliated with picture books reading and picture book art. In 2017, Charlene was honoured by Scholastic Asia as a Picture Book Ambassador. By the end of 2019, she will have 10 books published. 

Charles Santoso loves drawing little things in his little journal and dreaming about funny, wondrous stories. He gathers inspiration from his childhood memories and curiosities he discovers in his everyday travels. He has illustrated several picture books, including The Snurtch, I don’t Like Koala, Dandy, Ida, Always and the New York Times bestseller Wishtree. 

Find out more about Charles' work here.

Cheeno Marlo Sayuno is an Assistant Professor at the University of the Philippines Los Baño. He has won awards for his children’s stories The Magic Bahag, Si Tiya Salome, and The Missing Blanket. His research interests also include discourse analysis, communication research, and dance.

Dr. Cheng Wan-Ni currently serves as the Dean of Early Childhood Care and Education Department at the Singapore Centre for Chinese Language. She is currently involved in researching and examining the importance of multiculturalism in Singapore and its impact on the teaching of the Chinese Language in early childhood education.

郑婉妮博士来自台湾，专精于幼儿教育领域达二十年，曾参与学前教育政策发展和实务锻炼，见证台湾幼儿教育的演进与蓬勃发展，除了专精于幼儿教育领域的各种议题外，她近年来专注儿童手机游戏、媒体组合等新媒体之研究，并与儿童营销、消费、儿童流行文化结合。目前，郑博士担任新加坡华文教研中心的学前部门主任。

Chen Shuai is an ex-teacher who has won various awards including the First Prize in the National Novel Competition and the Bing Xin Prize for Children's Literature Works.  Another book tentatively titled The Last Dinosaur of Bukit Timah launched in 2015.  Her latest YA-fiction Mo Li awarded China Bronze Sunflower Prize in 2018.

陈帅，新加坡公民，擅长创作儿童与青少年小说。职业是老师。2014年获中国第三届“周庄杯”儿童短篇小说比赛一等奖。2015年以儿童小说《渴》获新加坡 “金笔奖”第三名。2018年，她的少年小说《莫里》获得中国知名的儿童文学大奖青铜葵花奖，并在中国出版。

Wei Teng is an educator based in Singapore. She works with teenagers with learning difficulties such as dyslexia and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and who often come from challenging or disadvantaged family backgrounds.

Find out more about Wei Teng's work here.

Chin Sau Lai is the Level Head for English Language and Media Resource Library at Princess Elizabeth Primary School. In 2017, she presented at the Extensive Reading World Congress in Tokyo and at the English Language Institute of Singapore (ELIS) Conference. In 2018, she received the National Day Commendation Medal.

Chow Teck Seng is an award-winning Singapore writer who has won the 2014 Singapore Literature Prize & 1st prize (Chinese Poetry) at the 2009 Singapore Golden Point Award. He published his first poetry collection The Story of You and Me in 2012. His poems and short stories are seen in both English and Chinese anthologies, local and overseas Chinese press, and in printed and online literary journals.

Chua Hong Koon is the Publishing Director at World Scientific Publishing Company. Hong Koon has 40 years of publishing experience working with major publishers like Pearson and Oxford University Press. He is a board member of Singapore Book Council (SBC) and the Copyright Licensing and Administration Society of Singapore (CLASS).

Wan Xin is an Associate Librarian with the National Library Board. She has conducted school programmes and and also set up children reading clubs. Besides selecting Chinese children’s’ books, she enjoys sharing reading tips with parents and educators.

婉歆是国家图书馆的助理图书馆员。她主办过多场的校园阅读活动以及参与多个儿童读书会的设立。除了为公共图书馆采购儿童书籍外，她也常在不同的阅读工作坊中与家长和教育工作者分享一些阅读的小窍门。

Claudine is the founder of Artistic Strategies Academy. She coaches and conducts professional development workshops for teachers and parents to enhance the creative capacities and critical thinking skills of children. Claudine is the author of the children’s activity books, Every Child’s Guide to Write Away!

David “Wolfe” Liew is an illustrator, cartoonist,sculptor, and model-maker. He also illustrates for Eliza Teoh’s Ellie Belly series as well as the Plano Adventures by Hwee Goh and Mo Dirani. Two books he illustrated: The Adventures of Squirky the Alien series, written by Melanie Lee, won the Samsung Kidstime Award and a Crystal KiteAward from the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI). David is the current Regional Advisor of Singapore SCWBI.

Debasmita is a Singapore-based internationally-published picture-book illustrator and graphic novel artist with over a decade of experience in the field of art-for-change. Working on mixed media (marrying ink, pencils and digital tools), she creates both fiction and non-fiction visual stories for children and young-adults. She is the co-founder of Picture Book Matters Singapore, which empowers aspiring & emerging picture book illustrators & writers in Asia. Her first independent graphic novel NADYA is released this month by Scholastic.

Derek Tan is the co-founder and chief commercial officer of Viddsee, an online video platform for short premium content that aims to empower filmmakers by leveraging on technology to tell their stories, and amplifying values in stories at scale.

Find out more about Viddsee here.

Difference Engine is an independent comics publisher based in Singapore. We’re inspired by stories from Asia and committed to publishing diverse, well-written, and beautifully illustrated comics of all genres, both print and digital.

Find out more about Difference Engine here.

Elaine Ng has over 25 years of experience as an early childhood educator, and is a co-founder of The Learning Connection, an arts organisation providing quality arts experiences to young people through theatre programmes and drama education.

Elvina is an Associate Librarian for the Children & Teens service group. She is currently the Project Manager for WondeRead, an NLB initiative that aims to promote a love for reading among children and teens from less privileged backgrounds through increased access to books and reading resources.

Emily X.R. Pan lives in Brooklyn, New York, but was originally born in the Midwestern United States to immigrant parents from Taiwan. She is co-creator of FORESHADOW: A Serial YA Anthology, and author of the New York Times bestselling and award-winning novel, The Astonishing Color of After. Most recently, she has been teaching creative writing at New York University.

Find out more about Emily's work here.

Eva Wong Nava writes stories that help children to understand the world and how everyone is unique and different. She is the co-founder of Picture Book Matters Singapore, which empowers aspiring & emerging picture book illustrators & writers in Asia. Her award-winning book, Open: A Boy’s Wayang Adventure, helps young readers be more compassionate to people on the autism spectrum. 

Find out more about Eva's work here.

Evelyn is the president, publisher, author, chief editor of Tawid Publications  She has authored and co-authored more than 25 textbooks, manuals, e-books, and children’s books in English and other Philippine dialects. 

Born and raised in Canada, Evelyn is a children’s author.  Her bilingual picture book, The Naughty Mynah, has been adapted for interactive theatre for preschools. She has also created Makan Mischief, The Noisiest Tree and Just a Little for multilingual storytelling.  Involved in AFCC since 2010, Evelyn collaborated in publishing themed annotated bibliographies featuring Asian content (https://themedpicturebooks.afcc.com.sg).  

Far’ain Jaafar is an educator, mother, children’s book enthusiast and author. She loves children’s picture books, strongly believing that stories are powerful agents of change, and enjoys reading to children.

Far'ain Jaafar ialah seorang pendidik, ibu, penggemar buku cerita kanak-kanak dan penulis. Dia suka buku bergambar kanak-kanak, dan percaya bahawa buku cerita merupakan suatu wadah untuk membuka minda manusia, dan gemar membaca kepada kanak-kanak.

Farihan Bahron, co-founder of publishing outfit Unggun Creative, has published four books since he won the Golden Point Award in 2015 in the Malay writing category. His poetry collection, Tukang Tunjuk Telunjuk (Finger-Pointing Expert) won the Singapore Literature Prize in 2018, while short story collection, Kesumat Sang Avatar (Avatar’s Wrath) received the Commendation prize.

Felicia Low-Jimenez is one-half of A.J. Low, the writing duo behind the Sherlock Sam children's series. She has been working with books her entire career, previously as a fiction merchandiser, and now as the head of Difference Engine, a new independent comics publishing house. 

Felix Cheong is the author of 15 books across different genres, including poetry, flash fiction, short stories and children's picture book. He is also a winner of the National Arts Council's Young Artist Award. He holds a masters in Creative Writing.

Foo Swee Chin is a Singaporean comic book artist and illustrator. She is the creator of several alternative comic books, including A Lost Stock of Children and Mince, published by Neko Press, as well as Chimney 25 and Zeet, published by Slave Labor Graphics.  

Architect, writer and illustrator Francis Wong Hooe Wai is the author of several books of prose and an author-in-residence of various schools. His is also the creator of a trilogy of picture books set in old Chinatown: Grandpa's Little Room, Go Trishaw Go and The Little Bear’s New Clothes. 

虎威（黄虚怀）是建筑师、作家、插画家，也是驻校作家。著有多本散文集，并创作“牛车水三部曲”绘本《外公的小房间》《三轮车跑得快》《小熊的新衣》。

Friska is a literacy activist and librarian. Friska, also known as Kak Peri, is currently managing the Pustakawan Mendunia website, and compiling storybooks for children. She enjoys sharing her experiences and knowledge about librarianship, storytelling and literacy. 

Gabriela Lee currently teaches at the University of the Philippines, Diliman. Her fiction has been published in Philippines, Singapore, United States, and Australia. Instructions on How to Disappear is her first collection of short stories.

Find out more about Gabriela's work here.

Galen Yeo is the CEO and Creative Director of The Moving Visuals Co. His diverse credits include award-winning factual and entertainment content for leading Asian and International broadcasters including Discovery, History Channel, National Geographic, NHK, Disney and Mediacorp.

Gary Goh is the General Manager of MM2 Entertainment, where he is responsible for developing regional movie projects, new business partnerships and new market development. Since entering the media industry in 2002, he has worked on film-to-stage adaptations and produced more than 15 feature films and over 100 commercials for various film directors in Singapore.

Goh Eck Kheng is an editor, book designer and publisher of Landmark Books. He is a keen photographer and potter, and also a long-time collector of children's books. He is the author of two children’s books, Jun and the Octopus and Friends, A Counting Book.

Gwee Li Sui is a poet, graphic artist, and literary critic. His creative works include Myth of the Stone (1993) and poetry collections Haikuku (2017) and Death Wish (2017) among others. He has written two nonfiction works on poetry and Singlish and is the editor of several acclaimed literary anthologies.

Cartoonist Han is a painter and cartoonist. He currently works for the Myanmar Cartoonists Association as their public relations and information representative.

Hanna Alkaf spent a decade writing everything from marketing emails to investigative feature articles. She now spends her time making it up as she goes along, both as an author of fiction and as a mom. The Weight of Our Sky is her first novel.

Find out more about Hanna's work here.

Helen Wang translates Chinese children’s books into English. In 2017 she won the Marsh Christian Award for Children’s Literature in Translation Award for her translation of 《青铜葵花》(Bronze and Sunflower) by Cao Wenxuan, as well as the Chen Bochui Special Contribution Award for translation and increasing visibility of Chinese children's literature.

Jean Yeo is the creator and executive producer of Lion Mums, one of the most popular programmes on local TV in recent years.  Some of her creations have won international awards and are distributed beyond Singapore.  Jean also wrote and directed The Leap Years, an adaptation of Catherine Lim's novella Leap Of Love.

Siva is a chemical engineer by training and worked as one for several years before moving to Singapore where the passion for the Tamil language drove him to take up a sub-editor position at Tamil Murasu, the Tamil language daily. He is now senior sub-editor in Tamil Murasu having spent 9 years there. He is an avid reader of Na.Parthasarathy, Ka.Na.Subramaniam, Ki.Rajanarayanan, Nanjil Nadan. He is a father of two, a boy and a girl.

Joanne Poon is a theatre teacher at SOTA and the author of Brave Maeve, a children’s picture book that explains the cancer journey to young children. Joanne's second book Where Shall I Sleep tonight, Mama helps children make the best of a not so ideal situation, and find courage, strength and adventure along the way.

Josef Lee is a picture-book writer and artist who has shared his illustrated short stories online on his blog, Josef Lee's Bedtime Stories for Adults since 2008. In April 2017, Josef successfully published his first picture-book Wake Me Up At Happyland via a crowdfunding campaign. Since then, his works have attracted the attention of various publishers from Taiwan and China. To date, he has published a total of 8 picture-books and 1 novel adaptation.

Find out more about Josef's work here.

Joyce Chng writes mainly science fiction and YA. Her fiction has appeared in The Apex Book of World SF II, We See A Different Frontier, Cranky Ladies of History, and Accessing The Future. Her YA includes a trilogy about a desert planet and a fantasy duology in Qing China.

Find out more about Joyce's work here.

Joyce is a freelance journalist and book editor, and author of Lambs for Dinner. She is the co-founder of the short story blog Muse in Pocket, Pen in Hand, where she publishes her short fiction, and shares her thoughts at her blog, The Writes of Passage, in between writing her next novel.

Julianne grew up surrounded by books and has written and published three of her own short stories. Currently a student at Victoria Junior College, she is appreciative of beauty of words and how their power in creating and shaping perceptions of the world around us.

Jyotirmoy Saha, is a serial entrepreneur in the media and digital content space. He is renowned for being the Founder and CEO of August Media Holdings. In 8 short years, he has taken the company to a position of leadership in the kids IP production business in South East Asia.

Kenny Tan is a Singaporean filmmaker and the Executive Producer of Viddsee Studios, the content creation and commissioning arm of Viddsee - a leading online video entertainment platform for short premium content. The platform empowers storytellers by enabling the creation of films and amplifying stories to targetted audiences.

As Assistant Lead for Mediacorp’s English content, Kevin oversees the team in charge of such popular productions as Lion Mums, Word Whiz or Slime Pit and Fried Rice Paradise. Over his 15 years in the industry he has managed reality shows, documentaries, dramas, kids infotainment and several other programme genres.

Koen Setyawan is an award-winning Indonesian children’s book writer, illustrator and graphic designer. He has published more than 80 books, including activity books and novels. Through his books, he aims to share with readers his passion for environmental and biodiversity issues, from an Indonesian perspective. 

Koen Setyawan adalah penulis buku kanak-kanak Indonesia yang pernah memenangi anugerah, pereka ilustrator dan pereka grafik. Beliau telah menerbitkan lebih daripada 80 buku, termasuk buku dan novel aktiviti. Melalui buku-bukunya, beliau berkongsi dengan para pembaca pada isu-isu alam sekitar dan biodiversiti, dari perspektif Indonesia.

Krupa is the Administrative Director of the 398.2 Storytelling Festival. A mother of 5 year old, she is a unschooling parent and helps fellow parents on their unschooling journeys. She is a freelancing event planner who is also writing a book on OPOS (One Pot One Shot) style of cooking.

Lach Baniya holds a MBA from Murdoch University, Australia and is the co-founder of Icarus Media, which runs GandaWin magazine and GandaWin television, to empower women in Myanmar through education and by making information easily accessible at all levels of society. 

Lao En Xing is a Year 3 student at Raffles Girls' School and NLB Teen Reading Ambassador. She has volunteered in many literary events such as ReadFEST and Kids' Lit Quiz, garnering exposure to books. An avid reader, she also enjoys books in different languages and genres.

Lee Kow Fong (Ah Guo) holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Translation and Interpretation from Nanyang Technological University and received his MA in Children’s Book Illustration from Anglia Ruskin University in 2011. Besides teaching part-time at Ngee Ann Polytechnic, he is also actively involved in the promotion and creation of children’s picture books in Singapore.

Leila Boukarim was born in Lebanon, raised in several countries, and now resides in Singapore. She spends her time writing stories that inspire empathy and encourage meaningful discussions between children and caregivers. She has self-published two picture books and worked with publishers such as Marshall Cavendish, World Scientific and Penguin Random House.

Li Muzi is a Senior Drama Educator in The Learning Connections. She has years of experience in the field Chinese Drama and Theatre Arts. She is well-versed in the Process Drama Approaches and the Orff Approach and fuses both approaches in her daily classes.

木子是 The Learning Connections 的一位资深戏剧教育者。她在华文戏剧艺术领域有多年的教学经验。她精通过程戏剧法和奥尔夫音乐教学法，在日常教学中，她把这两种教学方法相融合，并运用到课程活动当中。

Lin Xiaoling oversees the Advocacy and Public Education Department at Singapore Children’s Society. She has more than eight years’ experience in developing public education initiatives, such as training workshops and resources, centered on child abuse and neglect prevention.

Lin Yao is a passionate writer, social media enthusiast, and photography lover. She is the 20th Singapore Tertiary Chinese Literature Award Recipient and her short story was selected for Read! Singapore 2012. She has numerous works published in newspapers and is currently working in the media industry.

林瑶，热爱写作、社交媒体、摄影的 90后 。曾就读于德明政府中学及新加坡国立大学中文系。短篇小说入选2012年“读吧！新加坡” ，2018年新加坡大专文学奖散文组佳作奖得主。学生时代勤于投稿报章，目前从事媒体行业。

Lin Yi-jun graduated from Nanyang Technological University and is currently working as a journalist. She started writing poetry and short stories in her second year at uinversity and won the first prize in the Singapore Youth Chinese Poetry Award 2018 and the Singapore Tertiary Chinese Literature Awards (Short Story Category). 

林艺君，新闻工作者，毕业于南洋理工大学中文系，自大二开始写诗歌、散文和小说。曾获新加坡青年诗歌奖金奖（2018）以及大专文学奖等奖项。她的作品多数是对自我、土地和故乡的辩证。

Lisa Charleyboy (Tsilhqot’in from Tsi Deldel First Nation) is an award-winning writer, editor, storyteller, and host. She keeps her finger on the pulse of Indigenous issues through projects like the CBC Radio One series New Fire, and the APTN documentary television series Urban Native Girl. Charleyboy also has edited three anthologies with Annick Press, with the award-winning #NotYourPrincess: Voices of Native American Women as the latest release.

Luanne has been involved with playmaking and producing works for young people since 1999. She is interested in creating platforms that designs thoughtful experiences for young audiences through the arts and is currently spearheading The Artground – A Curious Place To Be, a dedicated arts centre for children in Singapore, developed in collaboration with the National Arts Council.

Find out more about The Artground here.

Huiyi's young-adult dystopian novel, Beng Beng Revolution, was a finalist submission for the Epigram Books Fiction Prize 2018. Huiyi enjoys working with youth, and has taught and coached at high school and secondary school levels. She is currently pursuing her postgraduate studies, and reads and debates competitively in her free time.

Lydia spent more than a decade filling the bookshelves at Marshall Cavendish International (Asia) with books on a miscellany of hunger-inducing culinary topics, in recognition that food is a language that crosses all cultures. She also enjoys being lost in the world of make-believe and is constantly on the lookout for stories to help children lose their way too.

Lynette Teo is an assistant editor at Epigram Books. She has an interest in working with authors and illustrators for early reader board books, children’s picture books and middle grade to early young adult novels. Lynette is also a published picture book author, making her debut with the book X and O are BFFs!

Lynne Loi is a creative producer and entrepreneur working at the intersection of film & TV, digital platforms and children’s theatre. Applying her solid experience in content creation and audience development plus a diverse background in content distribution and theatre, Lynne works with leading kids’ brands designing tailored strategies to produce original and engaging content.

Dr Maha is the principal consultant of The Teaching Circle. She has been a lecturer at the National Institute of Education (Singapore), and Edith Cowan University (Australia) between 1989 and 2007. Pursuing her passion for teacher education, Dr Maha has worked as a language curriculum consultant in Sri Lanka, training in-service secondary English Language teachers and teaching pre-service teachers in India.

Malarvele is a Senior Librarian and an active member of Library Association of Singapore. Effectively bilingual, she has authored children’s books, short stories and research articles in English and Tamil.

Maria has published four books and has received a grant to publish three bilingual children’s books for other authors under her imprint, Ungu Pen. She has experience in television production, educational research, and professional development at the policy level and also conducts training for early childhood teachers.

Maria adalah penulis, pelatih guru dalam bidang pendidikan awal kanak-kanak dan pengasas bersama, Ungu Pen. Beliau telah menerbitkan empat buah buku dan tahun ini, beliau telah menerima geran untuk menerbitkan tiga buah buku kanak-kanak dwibahasa untuk penulis Singapura di bawah jenama syarikat penerbitan buku beliau, Ungu Pen. Beliau mempunyai pengalaman dalam penerbitan televisyen, penyelidikan pendidikan dan pembangunan profesional untuk guru-guru prasekolah. 

Mark’s early career as a professional actor led him to tour schools performing characters from books and realizing the potential quality literature had to enrich the lives of children and how a well written book with a great message could influence the minds of a generation and create change for the better… or just make them laugh and appreciate the colour and joy of life.

Find out more about Mark's work here.

Dr Mary George is a child development consultant and teacher educator. She currently writes primarily for emerging teens and publishes What’s Up, a monthly newspaper for children in Singapore. Be it for adults or kids, Mary’s primary focus is on educating for resilience, hope and wisdom.

Maya Thiagarajan is a global educator that is currently Founder and Education Director at TREE. Besides authoring Beyond the Tiger Mom: East-West Parenting for the Global Age, Maya has also conducted numerous teacher training workshops and acts as consultant and advisor to a number of schools.

Find out more about Maya's work here.

Melissa is an Associate Librarian with the National Library Board. Her work helps her keep updated with reading trends in Chinese children’s books, and it brings her joy to be able to share these with the community through the programmes she conducts. Currently, she advocates for reading, especially in the Mother Tongue, in her daily work which she enjoys greatly.

思洁是国家图书馆的助理图书馆员。她时常接触最新的中文儿童书籍，并了解最新的阅读趋势。她致力于推广母语阅读，负责图书馆里的华文儿童与亲子阅读活动。

Michelle is the co-founder of ReadAble - Literacy for Life, a children’s literacy non-profit in Singapore. Her background is in public law. Now based in London, she is writing her debut novel and continuing to work on ReadAble. She also advises on UK prison law and serially murders houseplants.

Moses is an educator, entrepreneur and artist. He has worked in a wide range of learning environments from preschoolers to seniors. Moses has special interest in creativity, educational technology, and arts-based approaches in bringing about positive transformation. His recent work includes creating learning resources on TinyTap.

Find out more about Moses' work here.

Muhammad loves educating children but often found himself troubled by the lack of opportunities they had to learn and play outside. He believes that young minds deserve the chance to discover and explore the world outside with confidence and curiosity to stretch their imagination – which contributes to well-rounded education that understands that learning also takes place outside of a classroom.

Muhammed Shahril Shaik Abdullah is an Associate Librarian with the National Library Board where he oversees reading programmes for children aged 1-9. He holds a Master of Education from Monash University, with a research interest in children’s literature and critical pedagogy.

Muhammed Shahril Shaik Abdullah bertugas sebagai pustakawan bersekutu di Perpustakaan Negara Singapura di mana beliau mengendalikan beberapa program bacaan untuk kanak-kanak dari umur 1 hingga 9 tahun. Beliau memegang Sarjana Pendidikan dari Universiti Monash dalam bidang kepimpinan, dasar dan perubahan. Minat penyelidikan beliau termasuk sastera kanak-kanak dan pedagogi kritis. 

Dr Murti Bunanta is a children’s literature specialist, researcher, children’s folklorist, and an international award-winning author of 50 books published in Indonesia, Canada, and the USA. Her books have been translated into several languages. She is the founder and president of Society for the Advancement of Children’s Literature and Indonesian Section of IBBY that pioneered children’s reading in Indonesia. She is an advocate for reading quality children’s books, and serves as a member of the SBC Advisory Network.

Myay Hmone Lwin is the founder of Yangon Book Plaza & NDSP Publishing house. He has been nominated for the Freedom to Publish 2014 award (International Publisher Association). He won the Salai Tin Maung Oo Literary award in 2014. His poetry collection The Scuttlebutt was launched at the 2015 Singapore Writers Festival.

Naomi Kojima lives in Tokyo and is an author and illustrator of picture books. Her picture books have been published in the U.S., Japan, France and Sweden and have been selected in the American Institute of Graphic Arts Book Show and the Bank Street College of Education Best Children's Books of the Year.

Nay Thar is a former TV personality and is also a best-selling author and publisher of 11:19 publishing house. He is also an entrepreneur, motivational speaker and blogger who places strong  emphasis on youth development and self-enrichment.

Nina Ernst is the Associate Director, Programmes for ArtScience Museum at Marina Bay Sands. Her work at the museum spans public engagement through tours, talks and workshops, performances, films and events, as well as schools programmes, interactive displays and outreach. Since joining ArtScience Museum, her focus has been on growing the attendance and deepening the engagement for public programmes and schools.

Nora Nazerene Abu Bakar is the executive editor at Penguin Random House SEA, responsible for discovering and publishing different voices across the region. With over 12 years of experience in the publishing industry, her network of relationships and keen knowledge of the region will be key in establishing a publishing presence for Penguin Random House SEA in the market.

Nur-El-Hudaa Jaffar began writing fiction in 2014. Since then, she has won awards for her children’s books, short stories and poetry. She is also a translator and an editor. A volunteer storyteller at a library, Nur-El-Hudaa believes that there is no age limit to enjoy a children’s book.

Nur-El-Hudaa Jaffar mula berkarya pada tahun 2014. Semenjak itu, beliau telah menerima anugerah untuk cerita kanak-kanak, cerpen dan puisi. Beliau juga seorang penterjemah dan penyunting. Seorang pencerita sukarelawan di perpustakaan, Nur-El-Hudaa berpendapat bahawa tiada had umur untuk menikmati sebuah cerita kanak-kanak.

Nurul Ain Samsuri has been working with children as an Art educator for over eight years. She holds a master’s degree in Art Education from Nanyang Technological University. She is currently collaborating with Eyeyah! magazine to create a teacher’s toolkit. 

Olivia Ho is Arts Correspondent at The Straits Times, where she writes about books, dance and theatre. She has a first-class degree with honours from University College London and a masters in modern literature from the University of Edinburgh. Her specialist subjects include postmodern urban space, speculative fiction and zombies. 

Jing Xuan is currently a J1 at Victoria Junior College and has a love for all kinds of books. She credits childrens’ books for moulding her into the bibliophile she is today due to the never-ending realm of fantasy and simplicity she has found in them. 

With 180 books to his credit, Patrick Yee is one of Singapore's leading illustrators. In 2016, he received The Most Prolific Illustrator award from the Singapore Book of Records. His works include the Lee Kwan Yew and Rosie Rabbit series, the latter translated into eight languages. Patrick also lectures at various tertiary institutions and teaches Art Therapy to special needs children.

Paula Pang is an illustrator who draws to make new discoveries, tell a story and connect with people. Looking at life with brimming curiosity, she weaves her observations together with her quiet and mischievous nature to create a world where impossibilities are made possible. In her works she is known to illustrate animals that have been said to be whimsical and witty with a touch of softness. She illustrated a variety of books locally and overseas. Her latest works in Singapore includes the Nature Playtime Series - Emma and Popo.

Find out more about Paula's work here.

Pauline Loh is an award-winning author with 30 years of writing experience. She has published 12 adult non-fiction books, 4 youth books and 7 children’s storybooks. She is a writing teacher, conducts school author visits and is a Ministry of Education registered trainer.

Find out more about Pauline's work here.

Peter Schoppert has made his career in publishing in Singapore, serving as Editorial Director for illustrated book publisher Editions Didier Millet in the 1990s, and helping to revive the fortunes of Singapore University Press, later NUS Press, from 2002 to 2005 and again from 2012 to today. With experience also in management consulting and the internet business, Peter has been elected President of the Singapore Book Publishers three times.

Philip Nel is a University Distinguished Professor of English at Kansas State University. He is the author or co-editor of eleven books, the most recent of which is Was the Cat in the Hat Black?: The Hidden Racism of Children’s Literature, and the Need for Diverse Books.

Find out more about Philip's work here.

Phyu Mar Myint is a Business Manager for City Mart Holding Co. Ltd (CMHL), the leading home-grown modern retailer in Myanmar. In her work, she manages local bookstores across different outlets. Her responsibilities cover programming of literary events, merchandising and coordination with both local and international authors, publishers and distributors.

Ping-Shi Kao is a freelance illustrator whose research interests focus on visual texts, material culture, childhood history and history of emotions. Her newest illustration was published in It’s All about Love 《原來都是愛》, a collection of short stories for youths, by Linking Publishing.

Priti Sharma Devata is an associate lecturer at Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS) where she teaches children’s literature and Singaporean literature. She is also an editor of children’s books at Epigram Books.

Rachel is keen on socially-engaged and participatory arts and producing impactful and meaningful programmes for children and youths. A Producer at Esplanade, she has led Feed Your Imagination for schools and was part of the planning & conceptualising team behind the design and programming for PIP’s PLAYbox.  Rachel currently leads Octoburst!, Esplanade’s annual children festival.

Rehina Pereira is an accomplished media professional with over 25 years of experience and the Founder/Executive Producer of Verite Productions Pte Ltd. Rehina produces content across multiple genres and languages, including documentary, drama, travelogue, info-educational content, content for children and animation. She specialises in producing print-to-screen adaptations for television and enjoys collaboration with writers to bring their vision to screen.

Rilla is a pioneer of Malay speech and drama programmes for schools in Singapore, and the founder of Mini Monsters Ltd. As an author of several Malay and bilingual children’s storybooks, Rilla has written scripts for many Malay children's TV shows since the 1990s. Rilla has also translated SR Nathan's The Crane and the Crab into Malay.

Find out more about Rilla's work and Mini Monsters here.

Roger Jenkins is a Singaporean storyteller whose warm, spontaneous and comedic style makes him a popular choice in schools, libraries and community events. He has a large collection of puppets which he likes to incorporate whenever appropriate! He has told stories at festivals in countries including Kenya and India. He is the founder of the 398.2 Storytelling Festival and a director of the Federation of Asian Storytellers.  

Rosemarie is an established author, storyteller and artist-educator who runs Asian Storytelling Network. She works with all ages including toddlers, teenagers, volunteers and adults in the corporate world. She has been a National Arts Council 'Writer-in-School' for 5 years and enjoys cross-disciplinary work and collaborations with artists and educators.

Saad is a professional geek with Tusitala, the digital publishing firm of Potato Productions. He develops technology that enables creation of stories that adopt the interactivity of the digital medium to go beyond the printed page, without trying to replace it. "Trans-media storytelling" as the marketese would have it.

Sabrinah Morad left the legal practice to devote herself to raising her three children. Now that they are grown-up, she has turned her attention to supporting causes which she feels passionate about. Besides Grey Bear Days, Sabrinah has also authored Crowning Glory, a story about a young girl’s brave journey of rediscovery after losing all of her hair.

Sadaf Siddique is a co-founder of KitaabWorld, an online platform for the discovery and distribution of South Asian children and young adult literature. With a focus on curated content and community outreach, KitaabWorld seeks to address social issues in the South Asian community and beyond.

Sai Parn Hein hails from the Shan state and has authored and translated numerous books in the Shan and Myanmar languages such as Children Poems, and People Centralized Projects in Myanmar. He illustrates and writes primarily to raise awareness of difficult and problematic issues for the rural Shan community, an ethnic minority in Myanmar. Sai has also composed many Shan children's rhymes, which are now widely used in literary education for Shan children.

Samuel grew up in Indonesia but spent the last decade in Taiwan and Singapore pursuing his dream. He has a strong passion for children's literature and founded MORILOLO, a creative technology venture company that specialises in edutainment resources for K 1 - 2 students. 

Sarah Mounsey is a book (and chocolate!) obsessed teacher librarian and author who lives in Singapore. She spends her days juggling 3 sons, hundreds of students and thousands of books. She is the author of the award-winning Paw Prints series of books, which have been published in Singapore.

Find out more about Sarah's work here.

Sara Sargent is a Senior Executive Editor at Random House Books for Young Readers, where she publishes platform-driven fiction and nonfiction in the picture book, middle grade, and young adult categories. She has previously held positions at HarperCollins and Simon & Schuster, where she worked on many New York Times,USAToday, and Wall Street Journal bestsellers.

Sarinajit is a Master Teacher at the Pedagogical Excellence Branch at the Academy of Singapore Teachers (AST). Her area of work includes supporting the education fraternity in the area of special education. She oversees direction and focus in the area to grow professional excellence as well as promote a culture of networked learning.

Associate Professor Seetha Lakshmi is the Assistant Head (Tamil) of the Asian Languages and Cultures Academic Group at the National Institute of Education, Singapore. Appointed as a trainer in 1997, she has been a leading figure in the teaching and research of Standard Spoken Tamil, Curriculum Review, Innovative Tamil pedagogy for the Tamil diaspora, Corpus Data and Teaching Tamil through Media.

As Vice-President of Animation at Infinite Studios, Choon Meng oversees business development and digital media strategy. He is an expert on children’s media, having produced highly-rated children’s animation series (Ollie and Friends, Best Furry Friends, Box Warriors) for local and international channels such as MediaCorp, Boomerang and Cartoon Network.

Shahril Samri is an educator at PCF Sparkletots Preschool and teaches Malay Language, in addition to English in his preschool. He is a Pantun (Malay Poetry) enthusiast and hopes to impart to children the importance of the Malay language in understanding their culture and identity.  

Shahril Samri ialah seorang pendidik di PCF Sparkletots Preschool dan mengajar Bahasa Inggeris serta Bahasa Melayu. Beliau juga minat dengan seni Pantun dan berharap dapat menghubungkan pengetahuan dan kepakaran Pantun kepada murid-muridnya agar mereka dapat memahami pentingnya identiti, budaya dan kesenian Melayu.

Sienna Wheeler is an avid reader and a Year 9 student at Tanglin Trust School in Singapore. 

Educated in Melbourne, Beijing, and Oxford, Simon Chesterman lived briefly in Tanzania and Serbia before moving to New York for six years and finally settling in Singapore. He has written or edited nineteen non-fiction books and is the author of the young adult trilogy Raising Arcadia, Finding Arcadia, and Being Arcadia.

Soe Marlar Lwin is currently an associate professor and Head of Applied Linguistics in Singapore University of Social Sciences. She enjoys sharing and exchanging ideas with teachers and teacher educators on how Asian folktales and contemporary oral storytelling can be used as powerful tools to help children and young adults develop language and literacy skills.

Soe Soe Lin, currenty works at SEAMEO CHAT (Myanmar) as an Instructor/Coordinator of Communicative in English Language Course and a freelance English Language teacher. She was formerly the Library Head at the International School of Myanmar, Head of Myanmar Studies and Culture Department as well as Assistant Lecturer at the English Department at Yangon and Mawlemyaing University.

Sofia is a teacher, independent children’s book writer, and freelance museum educator. She co-owns a low-cost Special Education center and toddler school and has helped spearhead a program called "stARTING Conversations", a series of talks that uses children’s books to explain sensitive topics and issues to children.

S. Subashini is a sub-editor with Tamil Murasu specialising in the youth page - Ilayar Murasu. She has been with Tamil Murasu, the Tamil daily in Singapore for more than a year. Prior to that, she has been a Tamil language teacher in various Primary school for 12 years before joining the Curriculum Planning and Development Division of the Ministry of Education. She has a bachelors in Tamil language and Literature and enjoys reading and travelling. She is a mother of two boys aged 5 and 3.

Writer-coach Su-Ann, author of 3 “read-aloud drama” books featured at AFCC 2016, has coached more than 30 primary school young authors, leading to the publication of 9 books written by children for children, supported by the National Heritage Board and Urban Redevelopment Authority, Singapore.

Su Myat Htay is an educator, children’s book writer and translator. Su founded Myat Su Parami Publishing. She has written many articles in parenting magazines and translated more than 30 children’s books into Myanmar.

Sun Baoqi received her PhD from National Institute of Education (NIE), Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore. Her research encompasses socio-cultural-cognitive and policy perspectives on language learning with particular focus on children’s bilingual education and biliteracy development. She is currently working as a research scientist in one of the NIE research centres – Centre for Research in Child Development (CRCD).

孙宝琦博士在南洋理工大学（NTU）的国家教育学院(NIE)获得了博士学位。她目前任职于新加坡教育学院儿童发展研究中心(CRDC)，主要研究领域为双语早期阅读及双语教学。

Sun He is a research scientist at National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Her major research interests include how to select and use books and eBooks to promote bilingualism in children's development of language, literacy, and social-emotional well being.

Suzannah Chua is an early childhood professional and children’s picture book author with a passion for local books and education. Through her writing, she hopes to promote children's lifelong love for learning and Singapore. Outside the classroom, she builds connections to draw the local writing community together through networking events.

Suzanne Kamata is the author of four YA novels, including Indigo Girl, and the picture book, Playing for Papa. Her stories featuring children or teens with disabilities have appeared in Ladybug, Cicada, OUP’s Dragonfly Reader series, and more.

Find out more about Suzanne's work here.

Su Zhangkai is the Founder of Sprout Language Centre. He is a former secondary school teacher who was conferred the Fellow of Academy of Singapore Teachers in recognition of his outstanding contribution towards professional development in 2013. He believes reading is the foundation to all learning, and that with the right pedagogies and environment, learning of the Chinese language can be easy and fun.

Syahrizan Mansor is currently the Vice President, Nickelodeon Asia at Viacom International Media Networks. She is responsible for growing kids and family entertainment brands Nickelodeon and Nick Jr. across Greater China, Japan, Korea and Southeast Asia. She also oversees content and creative production, programming, marketing and digital.

Tanaya is an illustrator, visual designer, design researcher, and educator from India. She has worked on several picture books and book covers with publishers such as Tulika Books, Pratham Books, HarperCollins India, and more.

Writer-artist Tan Chee Lay is Associate Professor of Chinese at the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, with a PhD in Chinese literature from Cambridge University. He won the Golden Point Award, Young Artist Award, Singapore Youth Award, Dr Tan Tsze Chor Art Award, and NTNU Calligraphy Competition. He has published over 20 creative writing and academic books, including Landmark Poetics of the Lion City, which clinched him the 2018 Singapore Literature Prize.

陈志锐副教授，剑桥大学汉学博士，南洋理工大学国立教育学院亚洲语言文化学部副主任。曾获新加坡文学奖、金笔奖、方修文学奖、青年艺术家奖、全国杰出青年奖，陈之初美术奖等。撰写并主编华文创作、中英文学术论著逾20种。

An accomplished media, marketing and communications professional, Tan Ooi Boon has been with the Singapore Press Holdings and The Straits Times for 27 years. He has been a journalist, editor and the head of SPH’s advertising sales. To date, he has written 6 books, including his latest – A British Serial Killer in Singapore: A True Story.

Thant Thaw Kaung is the founder and CEO of Myanmar Book Centre and Executive Director of Myanmar Book Aid and Preservation Foundation. Dr Thant serves on the board of Daw Khin Kyi Foundation which is chaired by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. He is a library advocate and has helped to modernise hundreds of public and school libraries across Myanmar.

Tina Areena is the founder of Bridge Learning and Harvard Little and has been developing neuroscience applications in education, assessments and specialized intervention for the past 23 years. She has been honoured for her work with multiple awards including the National Social Entrepreneur and Young Global Leader (YGL) of the World Economic Forum (WEF). 

Tina Narang is the Children’s Publisher at HarperCollins India, having joined in 2017 to launch the children’s imprint, HarperCollins Children’s Books. Previously, Tina was with Scholastic India from 2005-2017 and has presented three papers at AFCC 2015.

Tusitala is a digital publisher that emphasizes access and innovation. Tusitala publishes eBooks, produces transmedia stories, and uses their platforms to create communities and promote Southeast Asian books. Tusitala also uses their expertise in technology, UI, UX and design to transcend the traditional boundaries of print and digital.

Find out more about Tusitala here.

Valane Tnee is the Upper Secondary Year Head and a Literature and Drama teacher from Clementi Town Secondary School. She produces the school’s biennial musical and believes that children from all streams should study Literature.
 

Vijayanand Thamotharan is the Director of Crimson Earth. He has previously worked as the Director of Absolutely Parents. His interests include publishing, business development, education planning and content development.

Weng Cahiles is the author of three children’s books. She is a two-time National Children’s Book Awards winner. Her books What Kids Should Know About Andres and the Katipunan won in 2014 and Si Kian, supported by The PCIJ Story Project, won at the 2018 National Children’s Book Awards.

Xie Shi Min is an award-winning writer who lives in a book fort. Her fiction has appeared in journals like Rambutan Literary and Cha. Her first book, Dragonhearted, was shortlisted for the Scholastic Asian Book Award in 2014 and published in 2016. It was also shortlisted for the Singapore Book Awards in 2017 and won the Hedwig Anuar Children’s Book in 2018. 

Evania obtained her Early Childhood Education Degree from Wheelock College, Boston, USA. Evania is presently an art and museum educator at Art Loft LLP. She conducts art workshops for students and does museum guiding at various museums.

Yovita very much enjoys writing stories for children including novels, especially ones with historical backgrounds. She has written almost 50 children’s books. One of Yovita’s books, Misteri Kota Tua, has been placed on the IBBY Honor List in 2016.

Find out more about Yovita's work here.