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Alexander Coupe

Alexander Coupe (Singapore)

Alexander (Alec) Coupe is a field linguist and the author of numerous research papers and books on the languages of Northeast India, where he has worked with tribal communities for over two decades. He has been a faculty member of NTU’s Linguistics and Multilingual Studies since 2009, where he teaches and trains students in language documentation and grammatical description.

Ann Ang

Ann Ang (Singapore)

Ann Ang is a literature educator best known as the author of Bang My Car. She is the co-editor of Poetry Moves and Food Republic, and also the coordinating editor of PR&TA. Ann is currently reading for a PhD in English at Oxford and is a lecturer at the National Institute of Education.

Antony Gusscott

Antony Gusscott (New Zealand)

Antony uses his 14 years of expertise to run a creative consultancy firm, Sprinkles on Top, that has worked with over 40 animation series worldwide. Sprinkles on Top helps clients to create: Writers Bibles, Pitching Materials, Show Bibles, Branding Guides and Pilots and aids the pre-production process of animation shows while assisting clients in pitch their series to the global market.

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Charlene Lai

Charlene Lai (Taiwan)

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.

Charlene Shepherdson

Charlene Shepherdson (Singapore)

Charlene Shepherdson is a Singaporean poet and community organiser focused on language in written, performative and visual forms. She is interested in heritage, technology and creative education. Her poems have been published in From Walden to Woodlands and UnFree Verse, A Luxury We Cannot Afford, SingPoWriMo 2014: The Anthology and The Straits Times.

Chatarina Trihastuti

Chatarina Trihastuti (Indonesia)

Chatarina Trihastuti has been involved in various programs and activities in the field of education as the Program Manager at ProVisi Education. Together with Room to Read, an NGO from San Fransisco, she has assisted in the development of more than 200 children’s storybooks and 240 child-friendly libraries in Indonesia.

Cheeno Marlo Sayuno

Cheeno Marlo Sayuno (Philippines)

Cheeno Marlo Sayuno is an Assitant Professor of Communication and Children's Literature at the University of Philippines Los Baños. He won in the Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature from the Philippine Board on Books for Young People in 2013 and 2017. He has published storybooks in the Philippines and was a writing participant at the AFCC Writers and Illustrators Retreat in 2015. He specialises in writing children's storybooks and analysing transmedia engagements of children.

Christabel Sim

Christabel Sim (Singapore)

Christabel joined the National Library Board, Singapore as an outreach librarian and has worked very closely with children and youths between 7-17. She has also advised school libraries on their revamp process, and selected books for children and young adults' reading collection. She is now presently based at library@harbourfront, the largest shopping mall public library in Singapore.

Christine Chong

Christine Chong (Singapore)

Christine is the head of Tusitala Books, a digital storytelling studio that reimagines the future of reading. She previously worked in academic publishing and arts management and has an MA in English Literature from the National University of Singapore, a certificate in editing from the Graham School at the University of Chicago and attended the Summer Publishing Institute at New York University.

Colin Goh

Colin Goh (Singapore)

Colin Goh is a writer/cartoonist whose work includes the international bestseller Search Inside Yourself. He created the Dim Sum Warriors series of graphic novels with his wife Woo Yen Yen. Dim Sum Warriors has expanded into a musical that toured 25 cities in China, children's books, and an international patent-pending learning system that combines hilarious multilingual comics, livestream drawing sessions and an app with reading evaluation tech.

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Denise Tan

Denise Tan (Singapore)

Denise started Closetful of Books after six years of working with children’s literature. With Closetful of Books, she shares her love for reading with specially-tailored workshops with authors and illustrators and super-duper fun bookfairs in local and international schools. Denise also puts her studies in Mass Communications and English Literature to good use by spending all her time reading.

Dr Jo-Ann Shek

Dr Jo-Ann Shek (Singapore)

Jo-Ann Netto-Shek works as a teacher educator of primary school English beginning teachers at the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. She is a children’s literature enthusiast and advocates for the place of literature in the development of reader, community and global identities in children. Jo-Ann is the recipient of the Fulbright Visiting Scholar and most recently, the NTU Edex Grant.  

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Ervin Han

Ervin Han (Singapore)

Ervin Han is the co-founder of Robot Playground Media, an animation studio based in Singapore. He is a seasoned animation producer and director who has created and worked on projects for Disney, WarnerMedia and Mediacorp. He is also a passionate storyteller who hopes to see more Asian stories brought to life through animation.

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Felicia Low

Felicia Low (Singapore)

Felicia has worked in bookselling and publishing for over a decade. She is one half of AJ Low, the writing team behind the best-selling Sherlock Sam series and she is a publisher at Difference Engine, an independent comics publisher. She believes that stories have the power to change the world.

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Geraldine Teo-Zuzarte

Geraldine Teo-Zuzarte (Singapore)

Geraldine Teo-Zuzarte holds a PhD in Early Childhood Education and is passionate about the development of children, especially those in their early years. Her doctoral research on early childhood curriculum focused on infants and toddlers and in teacher education. Geraldine was appointed into the first batch of Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) Fellows and has been in the field of Early Childhood Education for 30 years.

Gomathey Veeramari

Gomathey Veeramari (Singapore)

Gomathey is an educator who has worked in Early Childhood & Special Education for more than 30 years in a number of capacities including in Special Schools, Therapy Centres, and as a Classroom Specialist. A firm believer of lifelong learning, Ms Gomy completed her Master of Arts in Special Educational Needs (MA SEN) with University of South Wales, UK. She enjoys attending various courses in her field of specialty.

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Ho Lee-Ling (Stephanie)

Ho Lee-Ling (Stephanie)

Ho Lee-Ling is local historian and children’s book author. She is a partner in The History Workroom LLP, a Singapore-based research and writing consultancy with a focus on Singapore history. Lee Ling researches and creates history-related content for exhibitions, workshops and publications. Her latest book, Habibah: Story of an island girl, is YA novel inspired by Singapore/Southeast Asian history.

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Jai Zende

Jai Zende (India)

Jai is the former Head of Content at Audible India, where he led their audiobook, podcast and scripted content strategy and creation. Originally a banker, Jai entered the spoken-word space in 2010 with his venture booksTALK audiobooks, which was India’s first major audiobook business in multiple Indian languages. Jai is currently embarking on new endeavours in the audio/media industry.

Joel Donato Ching Jacob

Joel Donato Ching Jacob (Philippines)

Joel Donato Ching Jacob, or Cupkeyk to friends, is the 2018 Scholastic Asian Book Awardee for Wing of the Locust; Editor's Choice, Best Asian Short Stories 2019 for Artifacts from the Parent; and co-editor for Be Me: LGBTQIA+ Stories of Belonging from Southeast Asia.

Joji Reynes Santos

Joji Reynes Santos (Philippines)

Joji Reynes Santos is a teacher and a learner who loves to read and tries hard to write stories. She works with a diverse group of learners, and in the process learns both wonderful and dreadful things about the world. Her book, Inside Daniel’s Head, is an attempt to give readers a unique understanding of children with autism.

Joyceline See Tully

Joyceline See Tully (Singapore)

Joyceline See Tully has worked in publishing for the past 20 years. She is the author of Tiger Tales: Almost True Animal Stories from Old Singapore. She is also the co-author of The Little Singapore Book, Tricks & Treats... and Other Childhood Tales, and Heritage Feasts. She also wrote Attack at the Mall and The Runaway Car for SGSecure's outreach programme for primary schools in Singapore.

Jumaini Ariff

Jumaini Ariff (Singapore)

Jumaini Ariff ialah seorang pencerita profesional dan juga penulis buku cerita kanak-kanak seperti Siri Ariff Ingin Tahu dan lain-lain lagi. Beliau dikenali menerusi watak unik; Nek Selampit dan kerap terlibat dalam kempen-kempen bahasa dan budaya di peringkat nasional serta festival-festival penceritaan tempatan.

Jumaini Ariff is professional storyteller and author. She is known by her storytelling persona; 'Nek Selampit'. She has participated in storytelling festivals as well as national language and cultural campaigns.

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Kamolpaj Tosinthiti

Kamolpaj Tosinthiti (Thailand)

Kamolpaj Tosinthiti is a third generation bookseller. Like her parents, she was raised among books, playing hide-n-seek with her siblings and a few dogs between the bookshelves. She has a BA in French literature and is the managing director at publisher Silkworm Books. She also serves as a vice-president of international affairs at the Publishers and Booksellers Association of Thailand (PUBAT).

Kenlin Liu

Kenlin Liu (Singapore)

Kenlin is the Chief Operating Officer at September 21 Enterprise Pte Ltd which provides educational resources for parents and teachers. He has designed, developed and implemented training lessons and programmes for various multi-national companies and also for the military in England and Singapore. He believes that chess is an enabler in empowered children and helping them to be more strategically minded when dealing with schoolwork.

Kim Beeman

Kim Beeman (Singapore)

Kim Beeman is Head of the Senior Library at Tanglin Trust School in Singapore. She has previously worked as a teacher-librarian at independent schools in Bangkok and New York City, and was a cookbook librarian in New York City for many years. Kim has a Masters of Library and Information Science from University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

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Leigh Turina

Leigh Turina (Canada)

Leigh Turina is a Lead Librarian with the IBBY Collection for Young People with Disabilities located at the North York Public Library branch, Toronto Public Library. The collection of books range from silent wordless books to books with dyslexic font. She worked in the field of therapeutic recreation in hospitals and rehabilitation centres before becoming a children’s librarian over 30 years ago.

Lynette Morrison née Tan Yuen Ling

Lynette Morrison née Tan Yuen Ling (Singapore)

Lynette Morrison née Tan Yuen Ling is a published poet and the author of The Pittodrie Pirates series. She is Director of Studies, Associate Director of Student Life, as well as Residential Fellow at Residential College 4, National University of Singapore. An award-winning senior lecturer at NUS, Lynette teaches Systems Thinking at RC4.

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Melissa Low

Melissa Low (Singapore)

Melissa Low is a Research Fellow at the Energy Studies Institute, NUS. She has participated in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of Parties (COP) for over a decade. Melissa provides policy analyses and conducts workshops for various stakeholders to improve understanding of the implications of the Paris Agreement. Her current research focus is on transparency of climate action and reporting in Southeast Asia.

Michele Newman

Michele Newman (South Korea)

Michele Newman is originally from Melbourne Australia. Over the past 10 years, she has worked in China and Singapore and is currently the Dean of Teaching and Learning at Dwight School Seoul in South Korea. As an experienced English language teacher, she is most passionate about sharing a love for literacy and reading, as well as supporting school interdisciplinary and experiential learning initiatives that encourage authentic student agency.

Mindy Pang

Mindy Pang (Singapore)

Mindy Pang has more than a decade of experience as an editor and marketing manager at Marshall Cavendish International (Asia). She was the driving force behind key publications as a senior editor and currently develops marketing strategies to help the publishing house remain a leading publisher in Asia and beyond.

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N. Kannigadevi

N. Kannigadevi (Singapore)

Ms N.Kannigadevi has worked in the Early Childhood field for over 30 years in several roles; including specialist teacher, curriculum developer, special needs mentor and a certified trainer at Presbyterian Community Services (PCS), a Social Service Agency. Currently, she is the Assistant Director for Capability Support and Special Needs Mentor at PCS, and is also an Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) Fellow.

Nor Lastrina Hamid

Nor Lastrina Hamid (Singapore)

Nor Lastrina Hamid is the co-Founder of Singapore Youth for Climate Action (SYCA). She has organised community events and has worked with youths and volunteer groups for the past 10 years, building an interest in climate issues and how people respond to climate impact. Her commentary about climate change has been published on CNA.

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Ow Yeong Wai Kit

Ow Yeong Wai Kit (Singapore)

Ow Yeong Wai Kit is an educator and writer who has edited four poetry anthologies. He holds a Master’s degree in English literature from University College London. In 2019, he was presented with the Outstanding Youth in Education Award by the Ministry of Education, Singapore. His writings have been featured in The Straits Times, TODAY, QLRS and more.

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Priti Sharma Devata

Priti Sharma Devata (Singapore)

Priti Sharma Devata is an associate editor of children’s books at Epigram where she publishes both fiction and non-fiction picture books in early reader and middle grade categories. She is also an associate lecturer at the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS) where she teaches children’s literature and Singaporean literature. Priti has more than 21 years of experience in teaching and developing language and literary courses for online and classroom environments for both college and university.

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Quek Hong Shin

Quek Hong Shin (Singapore)

郭宏驯是一名新加坡绘本作家和插画家。由Epigram Books出版的《不可思议的竹篮》曾获得2019年新加坡图书奖的“最佳儿童图书奖”。

Quek Hong Shin is a Singaporean picture book author and illustrator. He has illustrated several picture books and his work has been shortlisted twice for The Hedwig Anuar Children's Book Award. His book The Incredible Basket, published by Epigram Books, was the winner of Best Children's Book at the 2019 Singapore Book Awards.

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Rhoda Myra Garces Bacsal

Rhoda Myra Garces Bacsal (UAE)

Dr Myra Garces-Bacsal is the Assistant Dean for Research and Graduate Studies at the College of Education at the United Arab Emirates University. She was selected by the International Youth Library in Munich as an International Fellow in 2016 and 2017. She served as Chair of the Programme Committee for the Asian Festival of Children’s Content (AFCC) from 2011-2019 and presently serves as the International Advisor-at-Large for the AFCC.

Roger Jenkins

Roger Jenkins (Singapore)

Roger Jenkins has been a professional storyteller since 1998. He organised the Story Carnival@Enabling Village with Story Connection Ltd.

He founded Hi! Theatre of the Deaf in 1984 and was its Director for 10 years. He is a founding member of the Access Arts Hub, which seeks to promote access to live arts events for people with disabilities. He is also a trained audio describer and has described nine productions, mainly by SRT and Wild Rice!

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Sarah Mounsey

Sarah Mounsey (Singapore)

Sarah Mounsey is Director of Libraries at Dulwich College (Singapore). A book (and chocolate!) obsessed teacher librarian and author, she spends her days juggling three 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.

Shahril Samri

Shahril Samri (Singapore)

Shahril Samri adalah seorang guru di prasekolah PCF Sparkletots yang mengajar Bahasa Melayu serta Inggeris. Beliau adalah pengasas Pantunism, sebuah kelab bertujuan untuk menyegarkan kembali seni pantun. Harapannya ialah untuk menyampai kepentingan bahasa Melayu,budaya dan identiti kepada generasi muda.

Shahril Samri is an educator at PCF Sparkletots Preschool where he teaches Malay. He is the founder of Pantunism, a Pantun (Malay Poetry) enthusiast, and loves imparting the importance of the Malay language to children.
 

Sheikh Faisal Sheikh Mansor

Sheikh Faisal Sheikh Mansor (Malaysia)

Sheikh Faisal Sheikh Mansor ("Shake") is the Honorary Secretary of the Malaysian Book Publishers Association (MABOPA). He runs Shake Book Projects Sdn. Bhd, which offers publishing and consultancy services. With 20 years of experience in the book industry, Shake has written, published and sold children’s books locally and overseas to more than 50 countries around the world.

Shelly Bryant

Shelly Bryant (Singapore)

Shelly Bryant is a translator, poet and writer. She has translated work from the Chinese for Penguin Books, Amazon Crossing, Epigram Publishing, the National Library Board in Singapore, Giramondo Books, HSRC, Rinchen Books, and Maclehose Press. Her translation of Sheng Keyi’s Northern Girls was long-listed for the Man Asian Literary Prize in 2012, and her translation of You Jin's In Time, Out of Place was shortlisted for the Singapore Literature Prize in 2016.

Shreya Acharya

Shreya Acharya (Singapore)

Shreya Acharya is the Assistant Editor at Difference Engine, and has worked on editing comics, as well as literary fiction and non-fiction publications. Her writing has appeared in The Epigram Books Collection of Best New Singaporean Short Stories (Vol 4) and Mahogany Journal. She has also held editorial positions at Math Paper Press and at Asian Geographic Magazines Pte Ltd. She never leaves home without a book in tow.

Su Zhangkai (苏章恺)

Su Zhangkai (苏章恺) (Singapore)

苏章恺 (Su Zhangkai) was formerly a part-time lecturer with the Department of Chinese Studies at the National University of Singapore and a secondary school teacher. He was conferred the 2013 Fellow of Academy of Singapore Teachers in recognition for his outstanding contribution towards professional development. He believes reading is the foundation of all learning and that with the right pedagogies and environment, learning the Chinese language can be easy and fun.

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Theodora Choy Fong Lam

Theodora Choy Fong Lam (Singapore)

Theodora Lam is a Research Fellow at the Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore (NUS). She obtained her PhD in Geography from NUS and her dissertation focused on understanding changing gender subjectivities, web of care and relationships within the family in the wake of transnational labour migration. Her research highlights the voices of return migrants as well as carers and children who have remained in their home countries.

Tomoko Shiga

Tomoko Shiga (Japan)

Tomoko Shiga is a translator and interpretor. She is proficient in English to Japanese and Japanese to English translation, and has been engaged for business negotiations with C-level executives. She has interpreted for famous Japanese composer Ryuichi Sakamoto and Japanese filmmaker Takashi Miike, and has translated legal documents for Panasonic and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra.

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Vasuree Pisutsinthop

Vasuree Pisutsinthop (Thailand)

Vasuree Pisutsinthop earned her BA in Education and MA in Marketing. She is the Marketing Director of EQ Plus Co., Ltd., an educational comic books publisher with 16 years of experience. EQ Plus Co. Ltd features interesting subjects featuring Thai history, science and social studies and is based in Bangkok.

Vijayanand Thamotharan

Vijayanand Thamotharan (Singapore)

Vijayanand Thamotharan is the Director of Crimson Earth, a publishing firm specialising in content development for the education and literary sector in Singapore. He has previously worked as the Director of Absolutely Parents. His interests include publishing, business development, education planning and content development. He has appeared on panels promoting children's Tamil stories in Singapore.

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Weng Cahiles

Weng Cahiles (Philippines)

Weng Cahiles is the author of four children's books and a two-time National Children’s Book Awards winner. Her book What Kids Should Know About Andres and the Katipunan was named the 2014 Best Read for Kids. She also wrote Si Kian, which won the 2018 National Children’s Book Awards. Si Kian was also selected for the prestigious White Ravens, an annual catalogue of the best 200 kids and young adult books from around the world.

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Yoshiya Ayugai

Yoshiya Ayugai (Singapore)

Yoshiya is a writer/producer for kids and family content working across the Asia Pacific region. Yoshiya is originally from Japan and has held development and production executive positions in Tokyo, LA, Hong Kong and in Singapore at Disney, Cartoon Network and Netflix, working with the most dynamic animation studios in the region.