AFCC 2021 Programmes

Jason Chin (US)

Jason Chin is the author and illustrator of many acclaimed books, including Grand Canyon, Redwoods and Your Place in the Universe. The latest book he illustrated, Watercress, by author Andrea Wang, has garnered seven-starred reviews. Jason has received a Caldecott Honor, Sibert Honor, Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor, and the NCTE Orbis Pictus award.

Hwang Sun-mi (黄善美） (Korea)

Hwang Sun-mi is a South Korean writer, who has won many awards and published more than 40 books for adults and children. She graduated from the creative writing departments at Seoul Institute of the Arts and Gwangju University. Her book, The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly has been on bestseller lists for 20 years and has also been adapted into a comic book, a play, and a musical, and has been translated into 30 languages.

Esther Nguyen (Vietnam)

Esther Nguyen is a passionate media and technology entrepreneur and the CEO of POPS Worldwide, a leading digital entertainment company in Southeast Asia. POPS has been crucial to the development of the entertainment industry in Vietnam, educating the industry on copyright potential and building an ecosystem that has allowed the industry to monetise and evolve. 

Moderator 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.

Nicholas Oh (Singapore)

Nicholas is an award-winning commissioning editor with over a decade of experience in the media industry. A content enthusiast, Nicholas loves strategising content across the kids and unscripted entertainment space, developing IPs and curating content for his audience. Nicholas has experience working with prominent networks and brands across the world, with some highlights including the MasterChef and Lil Wild IP. When he’s not working, Nicholas tries in vain to make his furkids love him.

Vivek Couto (Singapore)

Vivek Couto is the Executive Director and Co-founder of Media Partners Asia (MPA) and he has 20 years of experience in media and telecoms Vivek is also on the Board of Directors at Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA). At MPA, Vivek leads teams to offer clients market research, various advisory services, M& A-related due diligence and research firms. MPA also hosts the leading annual summit APOS, Asia’s premier event for the TMT industry with global impact.

Leslie Lee (Singapore)

Leslie Lee is WarnerMedia’s Head of Kids Content, overseeing Cartoon Network, Boomerang and POGO networks in Asia Pacific. His role includes the programming, operations, brand and franchise management, and content direction for the three brands. He presently sits on the programming committee at the Asian Festival of Children’s Content and is a board member of Centre 42, a non-profit arts organisation that supports playwriting in Singapore.

Moderator 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.

Dimity Powell (Australia)

Dimity Powell loves filling every spare moment with words. She is the managing editor for Kids' Book Review and writes and reviews exclusively for children. She has more than 28 published stories including Pippa (2019) and At The End Of Holyrood Lane, winner of the 2019 SCBWI Crystal Kite Award. 

Moderator 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.

Nurul Fateen Keisha (Singapore)

Keisha is an associate librarian at Jurong West Public Library, curating programmes to encourage children teenagers to read.

Aida Abdul Rahim (Singapore)

Aida is the deputy head of children and teens services for public libraries in western Singapore. She devises programmes to spread the love of reading among the younger generation. Aida was a featured speaker at the American Library Association Annual Conference in 2020. 

Moderator 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.

Kristyn Maslog-Levis (Australia)

Kristyn M. Levis is a marketing specialist, author, ghostwriter and photographer. She worked as a TV reporter in the Philippines and a radio broadcaster with SBS in Sydney, where she still occasionally does voice-overs. Her young adult novel The Girl Between Two Worlds and The Girl Between Light and Dark were published by Anvil Publishing. The third book in this series, The Search for Adarna, is out now.

Moderator 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.

Yulia Loekito (Indonesia)

Yulia is a mother of two who lives in Yogyakarta-Indonesia. Reading and teaching have been her favourite pastimes since she was a little girl. Her passion for teaching children emerged at the age of 19 when she was teaching children with special needs. She also runs an alternative learning community and a printing and publishing house.

Moderator 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.

Dr Lourdes Mary Daniel (Singapore)

Dr Lourdes Mary Daniel is the Head of Department in the Department of Child Development, KK Women's and Children's Hospital. She is a paediatrician who is trained both in Neonatology and Child Development. She has worked with high risk children in KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital from childhood to primary school ages for the last 30 years.

Fiona Woo (Singapore)

Ms Fiona Woo is a Principal Educational Therapist at the Department of Child Development, KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital. She is part of a team that sees a range of developmental issues in young children. Her area of work focuses on supporting 5 and 6 years old children in the areas of pre-literacy and early reading.
 

Jasmine Lee (Singapore)

Ms Jasmine Lee is a Principal Speech-Language Therapist at the Department of Child Development, KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital. She oversees a range of developmental issues such as gross and fine motor developmental delays, handwriting difficulties, as well as learning and behavioural problems. The department also runs community programmes, partnering with preschools, philanthropic organisations and other government ministries to bring early intervention to the classroom for children with developmental needs.

Norlin Samat (Singapore)

Norlin Samat is a former primary school teacher with a Post-graduate Diploma in Education and an MA in Language Studies. A passionate educator with a career spanning more than 18 years in public and private education institutions, she hopes to contribute in nurturing the next generation of bilinguals. She is the writer of the bilingual children's book series Ally's Adventures.

Mukhlis Abu Bakar (Singapore)

Mukhlis Abu Bakar is an Associate Professor at the National Institute of Education, NTU. He obtained his MA and PhD in Applied Linguistics from the University of Wales, Bangor, UK. His research interests lie in the fields of bilingualism, biliteracy, literacy learning, and pronunciation issues in Malay. He is Co-Editor of a forthcoming book, The Bloomsbury Handbook of Cultural Identity from Early Childhood to Early Adulthood.

Moderator 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.

Yovita Siswati (Indonesia)

Following the birth of her daughters, Yovita Siswati rediscovered her love for children’s literature. Her first picture book, Serial Koko dan Kiki was published in 2011 and her debut children’s novel Misteri Kota Tua was published in 2014. Yovita has written more than 50 picture books and 10 children’s novels since. Misteri Kota Tua has been included on the International Board on Book for Young People (IBBY) Honor List in 2016.

Moderator 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.

Dr. Khoo Kim Choo (Singapore)

Dr Khoo Kim Choo is a pioneer in the field of early childhood development and education in Singapore. For over 35 years, she has been involved in various educational roles, helping governments, voluntary welfare groups and international non-government organisations, both locally and abroad. She has also taught at a number of universities. Dr Khoo is the Founder of Preschool for Multiple Intelligences. She is the author of three children’s poetry books: House by the Woods, Going Downtown and Whose Cat is That?

Andrea Pasion-Flores (Philippines)

Andrea Pasion-Flores is the publisher at Milflores Publishing, Inc., a general trade and textbook publishing company based in Manila. Before purchasing the company in 2020, Andrea was general manager of a large trade publisher, a literary agent, and executive director of the National Book Development Board of the Philippines. She is a member of the board of international advisors of the Singapore Book Council.

Gesarin Anek (Thailand)

Gesarin Anek has more than three decades of experience in retail marketing with various nationwide hypermarkets. She was the managing director at Asia Books, the largest English language chain bookstore in Thailand, from 2017–2020. Gesarin is currently an advisor for Plan for Kids publishing house and a board member of the Publishers and Booksellers Association of Thailand (PUBAT).

Yani Kurniawan (Indonesia)

Yani Kurniawan is the founder of Literasia, a literary cum creative agency based in Jakarta, Indonesia. He is also the production manager at 17000 Pulau Imaji Foundation, which bridges and facilitates the collaboration between publishing industry stakeholders like writers, illustrators and creative content creators. He was previously part of the Indonesian National Book Committee.

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.

Moderator 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.

Tina Walton (US)

Tina Jimin Walton is a Korean-American writer based in Singapore. She received her Master of Fine Arts in Writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts in 2016. A life-long learner who writes children’s and young adult fiction, she teaches English and writing to teens. Last Days of the Morning Calm is her first novel and it was short-listed for the 2018 Scholastic Asian Book Award.

Moderator 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.

Edison Anak Ricket (Malaysia)

Edison Ricket has worked as a librarian for 20 years and has managed state libraries, academic libraries and specialist libraries during this time. He is passionate about promoting literacy and using technology as a medium of knowledge sharing and transmission.

Moderator 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.

Lawrence Schimel (US/Spain)

Lawrence Schimel (New York, 1971) lives in Madrid, Spain and writes in both Spanish and English. He's published over 120 books in a wide range of genres. He is also a prolific literary translator. His translations into Spanish include the graphic novel They Called Us Enemy by George Takei; his translations into English include the middle grade novels The Wild Book by Juan Villoro and The Treasure of Barracuda by Llanos Campos.

Moderator 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.

Vivian Teo (Singapore)

Vivian Teo worked as a financial journalist and editor for 14 years at major US and UK trade publications. She became a freelance writer to spend more time with her two daughters and write about things close to her heart. This led to My BFF Is an Alien, her first middle-grade novel. She now enjoys writing on parenting and education issues for parenting websites, including Sassy Mama Singapore, and blogging on her parenting and lifestyle website.

Daphne Lee Mei Lin (Malaysia)

Daphne Lee is the fiction editor at Scholastic Asia. As a writer, Daphne is particularly interested in Malaysian and Asian myths, legends and fairytales. She recently published Bright Landscapes, a collection of short stories inspired by local supernatural beliefs and folklore. She is currently working on her first novel.

Moderator 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.

Christina Soontornvat (US)

Christina Soontornvat is the award-winning author of over a dozen children’s books. Her picture books include The Ramble Shamble Children and Simon at the Art Museum. Her recent works include the middle grade fantasy, A Wish in the Dark, which was named a 2021 Newbery Honor Book, and All Thirteen: The Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys’ Soccer Team, which has received numerous nonfiction awards and was also named a 2021 Newbery Honor Book.

Moderator 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.

Debby Lukito (Indonesia)

Debby Lukito Goeyardi is a children and young adult book author and a literary activist with specialty in culinary literacy. She has published several books, including a reference book titled Autograph Collector: Hobby Unik yang Jarang Dilirik which received the MURI Award in 2010. Her children's picture book Waktunya Cepuk Terbang won the Samsung KidsTime Author's Award in 2016. 

Tyas Widjati (Indonesia)

Tyas Widjati’s writes so that she can read her own stories to her daughters. She has been part of an author residency organised by the Indonesia National Book Committee, where she spent a month in Ireland learning about Irish myth and folklore. She presently lives in a warm little city with her two daughters.

Moderator 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.

Jose Monfred C. Sy (Philippines)

Jose Monfred C. Sy teaches with the Department of Filipino and Philippine Literature of the University of the Philippines Diliman. He obtained his bachelor’s degree in Comparative Literature from the same university. His interests include social movements, children’s literature, and political ecology. He is also a children’s book writer and a volunteer teacher for displaced Lumad Bakwit with the Save Our Schools Network.

Moderator 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.

Mariko Nagai (Japan)

Mariko Nagai is an award-winning writer and a sought-after speaker on poetry for children. She is the recipient of the UNESCO-Ashberg Bursary for the Arts, the Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center residency and the Yaddo residency among many others. She is the author of Dust of Eden (Albert Whitman 2014) and the forthcoming The Sword of Yesterday (MacMillan USA 2021). She is Professor of Japanese Literature and Creative Writing at Temple University, Japan Campus and Co-Regional Advisor of SCBWI Japan.

Moderator 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.

Friska Titi Nova (Indonesia)

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. Friska has devoted herself to designing ingenious methods to encourage Papuan students to pick up reading. Friska recently moved to Batam where she has continued improving her strategies in advocating reading for children.

Moderator 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.

Dr Alaka Rajan Skinner (Singapore)

Dr Alaka Rajan Skinner is an author, storyteller and coach who is passionate about education, diversity and the natural world. A lifelong learner herself, Alaka has a PhD in Strategy and Organizational Behaviour (NTU, Singapore), an MBA (Cornell, USA) and a Masters in Human Resources Management (Rutgers, USA). Alaka spent her early childhood in Iran and has lived in India, the US and Singapore.

Siti Aisyah Binte Abdul Nasir (Singapore)

Aisyah leads a team of librarians in the strategic planning, development and implementation of Children and Teens programmes, across all Singapore public libraries. She has presented at various platforms for MOE educators on topics such as collection development, digital trends and inclusive reads. Aisyah enjoys reading graphic novels for all ages and children’s picture books – she finds the combination of pictures and words truly magical.

Wai Yin Pryke (Singapore)

Mrs Wai Yin Pryke has been an educator for over 30 years, before becoming the Director of the National Library Singapore for three years. She is currently Director of Education and Community Outreach at the National Heritage Board. Wai Yin is passionate about making learning meaningful and accessible to all.

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.

Moderator 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.

Lee Myung-ae (李明爱) (South Korea)

Lee Myung-ae (李明爱) studied oriental painting because she loved the scent of Korean ink. Today, she embodies this scent in her picture books. She has worked on multiple books as an illustrator, and Plastic Island is the book she wrote and drew. She hopes that children will be able to communicate and sympathise with issues in environmental or other issues happening around us through her picture book. Her recent works include It Will Be Sunny Tomorrow and Flower.

Evelyn Bookless (Ireland)

Evelyn Bookless grew up on a farm in the West of Ireland. She spent her time playing in the trees with her siblings and making up games and stories. Saddened by the amount of plastic waste she saw in the ocean one day, Evelyn was inspired to write Captain Green and the Plastic Scene. She hopes readers will be inspired to plant trees and help to keep our planet green.

Hwee Goh (Singapore)

Hwee Goh spent 16 years in TV journalism before branching into nonfiction writing for children. Each of her books latches on current topics, which she then researches and develops into a narrative arc — engaging her young readers deeply into an issue. Her latest book, The Earth Experiment, address the urgent topic of climate change. You can follow Hwee on @hweezbooks.

Moderator 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.

Sunanda Verma (India)

Born in Sofia, raised in New Delhi & Fiji, and nurtured in Singapore and Johannesburg; Sunanda Verma is a writer-journalist. In a previous avatar, she was a TV News Producer. She is the author of the Namaste! Series of books, co-author of the bestselling Hindi-English Thematic Visual Dictionary and a translator of more than 15 books from Hindi to English language.

Moderator 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.

Cheng Wan-Ni (郑婉妮) (Singapore)

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。对于幼儿及青少年产品开发设计，以及成瘾设计的独到专长，更使其被延揽至台湾，日本等游戏公司作为儿童游戏产品之开发顾问。至新加坡后积极参与本地幼儿教育，并发展多元文化教育教材及华文课程的开发，以及本地幼儿教育教师职前训练。目前，郑博士担任新加坡华文教研中心的学前部门主任。

Dr. Cheng Wan-Ni has more than 20 years of experience in childhood development and is presently the Dean of Early Childhood Care and Education Department at the Singapore Centre for Chinese Language (SCCL). Dr. Cheng has taken a special interest in interactive games on smartphone devices and multimedia applications with a focus on marketing, consumerism and pop culture for children.

Moderator 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.

Eduardo García (Germany)

Eduardo García is the co-Founder and managing director of German Wahnsinn, a recording studio and creative collective from Hamburg, Germany, focused on immersive story-telling and cross-media audio content.

Eduardo develops story-driven concepts and content for films, artists, audiobooks and a wide range of emerging technologies. He founded the audiobook label Atmende Bücher (Breathing Books) with bestselling author Cornelia Funke in 2015, exclusively producing and publishing elaborate audiobook and audio drama adaptations of the author’s work.

Michele Cobb (US)

Michele is the executive director of The Audio Publishers Association and a partner at Forte Business Consulting, which provides Business Development and Association Management services for the publishing industry. She is also a publisher for AudioFile, an online portal that features audiobooks and podcasts in more than a dozen topics.

Shalu Wasu (Singapore)

Shalu has over 20 years of media, tech, advertising and start-up experience in Asia Pacific. He is presently the country manager for Storytel, one of the world's leading audiobook platforms. Storytel has over 1.5 million paying subscribers around the world and offers over 250,000 books in its Singapore catalog for users to listen and read.

Moderator 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.

Renu Siva (Singapore)

Renu Silva is a librarian from the Mother Tongue Language Services team at the National Library Board. Renu has over eight years of experience in library work specialising in children and young peoples’ programmes and services. She is well versed with the junior and young peoples’ collection in the libraries in both English and Tamil languages and has conducted related sharing sessions and workshops for parents, educators and children.

Moderator 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.

Avery Fischer Udagawa (US/Thailand)

Avery Fischer Udagawa’s translations from Japanese to English include the middle grade novels Temple Alley Summer by Sachiko Kashiwaba and J-Boys: Kazuo’s World, Tokyo, 1965 by Shogo Oketani. Her short story translations have appeared in Kyoto Journal, Words Without Borders, The Best Asian Short Stories 2018, and Tomo: Friendship Through Fiction—An Anthology of Japan Teen Stories. She is the International and Japan Translator Coordinator for SCBWI.

Helen Wang (Uk)

Helen Wang translates Chinese children’s books into English. In 2017 she won the Marsh Christian Award for Children’s Literature in Translation 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.

Lawrence Schimel (US/Spain)

Lawrence Schimel (New York, 1971) lives in Madrid, Spain and writes in both Spanish and English. He's published over 120 books in a wide range of genres. He is also a prolific literary translator. His translations into Spanish include the graphic novel They Called Us Enemy by George Takei; his translations into English include the middle grade novels The Wild Book by Juan Villoro and The Treasure of Barracuda by Llanos Campos.

Nur-El-Hudaa Jaffar (Singapore)

Nur-El-Hudaa is an author, translator and editor. She has managed several projects, helping schools in Singapore put together stories written by teachers and students for publication. 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 volunteer storyteller at a library and believes that children's books can be enjoyed by everyone.

Vetri (India)

Vetri is a Tamil writer and translator whose writings and translations have appeared in many Tamil literary magazines. He is currently working with the non-profit children's books publisher Pratham Books as Assistant Editor for Tamil language books. Vetri believes that translators enable readers to see stories in a new light.

Moderator 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.

Ah Guo (阿果) (Singapore)

阿果，本名李高豐，新加坡绘本作者、插画家、《联合早报》副刊专栏作者，也是不同学府的兼职讲师。

Ah Guo, or Lee Kow Fong, is a Singaporean picture-book author, illustrator, Lianhe Zaobao columnist and an adjunct educator at various institutes of higher learning.

Sun Hsin-Yu (孙心瑜) (Taiwan)

台湾第一位入选Bologna Ragazzi Award的绘本作家。绘制过邮票、1992长江探源、2020南极历险。
目前专心绘本创作，更多作品请参考FB：@joycesun.shystudio

Sun Hsin-Yu was the first Taiwanese picture book writer to win the Bologna Ragazzi Award. She has rendered stamps, explored the origin of the Yangtze River, and embarked on an Antarctica adventure.

Liu Hsu-Kung (刘旭恭) (Taiwan)

1995 年开始创作绘本，作品曾获信谊幼儿文学奖，丰子恺儿童图画书奖和波隆纳插画展入选等，现与家人住在台北。
Liu Hsu-Kung began writing picture books in 1995. His works have clinched the Xinyi Picture Book Children’s Literature Award and Feng Zikai Chinese Children's Picture Book Award, and were showcased at the Illustrators Exhibition. He is currently residing with his family in Taipei.

Moderator 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.

Rosemarie Somaiah (Singapore)

Rosemarie Somaiah’s stories have been translated into six languages. A storyteller, writer and artist-educator, she runs the Asian Storytelling Network from Singapore. She enjoys collaborating with artists working with all forms of stories in all media, for all ages. She has been presenting her work at international festivals and conferences since 2000.

Alicia Dong-Joo Bang (Korea)

Alicia Dong-Joo Bang is a professional storyteller and passionate educator based in the Republic of Korea. She has delighted children and adults with her storytelling performances for years, and she now directs international storytelling festivals in South Korea. She is the founder of Story School, a unique storytelling school in Korea. She also founded KISA, the Korea International Storytellers' Association. Alicia has also competed in the Tehran International Storytelling Festival.

Moderator Jeffrey Tan (Singapore)

Jeffrey is an experienced Theatre Director and Drama Educator. He has taught ‘Creativity in Collaborative Learning’ and ‘Lesson Planning’ for the National institute of Education, ‘Educational Drama’ for Nanyang Technological Universtiy, 'Children's Theatre' for the University of Warwick and 'Educational Theatre' for New York University's Study Abroad Programme in London. 

Loh Chin Ee (Singapore)

Loh Chin Ee is Associate Professor and Deputy Head (Research) at the English Language and Literature Academic Group at the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University. She is the co-editor of Little Things, Poetry Moves and co-author of Teaching Poetry to Adolescents: A Teachers' Guide to Little Things by Ethos Books. She recently produced and co-hosted the How We Read podcast series.

Nat Amoore (Australia)

Nat Amoore is an Australian kid’s writer and kidlit podcast host. Her debut novel Secrets Of A Schoolyard Millionaire had great success as both Dymocks and QBD's 'Kids Book Of The Month', becoming Australia's #1 bestselling debut Aussie children’s fiction in 2019. Nat is a host of KidLit podcast One More Page which has already had over 80K downloads and was a finalist in the ‘Best Newcomer’ category for the 2018 Australian Podcast Awards.

Benjamin (Jamie) Salka (US)

Benjamin (Jamie) Salka is the co-founder and CEO of Story Pirates, a media company that celebrates the words, ideas, and stories of kids. Under his leadership, Story Pirates has grown from a pilot program in a single school auditorium to an internationally respected family entertainment brand. Benjamin also co-founded Story Pirates Changemakers, the non-profit arm of Story Pirates that brings arts and literacy programs to low-income communities.

Moderator 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.

Thattaya Anussornrajakit (Thailand)

Thattaya Anussornrajakit graduated from the Faculty of Education, Silpakorn University. She was the editor of several magazines before she moved to Chiang Mai in 1999 to work as a freelancer. She wrote and published 30 books under several pseudonyms. She managed the reading promotion culture projects Chiang Mai Read; and One City, One Book Project, Chiang Rai.

Akrapol Wattanasin (Thailand)

Akrapol Wattanasin received an M.A. in Communication and Cultural Studies from the University of Western Sydney. He is now a Managing Director of the joint-venture Malaysia-Thai publishing company, Pelangi Publishing. The press, which he joined 15 years ago, specialises in children’s education and child edutainment. Akrapol has written many children’s storybooks. Akrapol has also served as a Board member of the Publishers and Booksellers Association of Thailand (PUBAT).

Moderator 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.

Holly Black (US)

Holly Black is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of over 30 fantasy novels for kids and teens. She has been a finalist for an Eisner and a Lodestar Award, and the recipient of the Mythopoeic Award, a Nebula, and a Newbery Honor. Her books have been translated into 32 languages worldwide and adapted for film. She currently lives in New England with her husband and son in a house with a secret library.

Sim Ee Waun (Singapore)

Sim Ee Waun is the author of children’s books The Little Singapore Book, The House on Palmer Road, and its sequel The House on Silat Road. A veteran food writer, she was editor of numerous magazines including Wine & Dine and Appetite. She lives in Singapore and is passionate about local history.

Eva Wong Nava (UK)

Eva Wong Nava is an award-winning children's book author who lives between two worlds. She reads copiously and writes voraciously. Eva creates stories that entertain, engage, and empower children. She holds degrees in Art History and English Literature and is an advocate for diversity in children's literature.

Moderator 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.

Carlene Tan (Singapore)

Carlene Tan is responsible for identifying new IP and producing original series for WarnerMedia's Kids & Family brands in Asia Pacific including Cartoon Network, Boomerang and POGO, as well as the streaming service HBO GO. She oversees the region's current state of APAC originals that include the International Emmy-nominated Lamput and Monster Beach. Prior to WarnerMedia, Carlene developed original animation with The Walt Disney Company (Southeast Asia).

Uttam Pal Singh (India)

Uttam has been working in the children's content and animation industry for almost 20 years. He now heads a kids entertainment channel, Discovery Kids. Uttam is the creative vision behind the rise of Discovery Kids. He developed and adapted Big Bollywood IPs for Kids TV and successfully launched Hindi language TV programmes Little Singham and Fukrey Boyzzz which are now streaming on Netflix.

James Liu (China)

James manages the IP acquisition for kids and international projects for 腾讯 (Tencent) Video. He previously served as Director of Acquisition and Investment at WeKids, a renowned media company at Hong Kong, with a concentration on the internationally awarded animated series. He has more than nine years of expertise in international rights introduction, negotiations and management in both publishing and media industry, specialising in kids content.

Karen Tang (Singapore)

Karen Tang’s first foray into the industry came as the Vice-President at Peach Blossom Media, where she oversaw operations and animation productions. She has been developing and producing content for digital platforms and television. Her works have been recognized with various accolades such as the Asian Academy Creative Awards, Golden Bell Awards, and the Asian Television Awards.

Nicholas Oh (Singapore)

Nicholas is an award-winning commissioning editor with over a decade of experience in the media industry. A content enthusiast, Nicholas loves strategising content across the kids and unscripted entertainment space, developing IPs and curating content for his audience. Nicholas has experience working with prominent networks and brands across the world, with some highlights including the MasterChef and Lil Wild IP. When he’s not working, Nicholas tries in vain to make his furkids love him.

Moderator 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.

Moderator 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.

Ngo Chew Yeh (Singapore)

Madam Ngo Chew Yeh is the founder of September 21 Enterprise Pte Ltd, the region's leading supplier of high quality Early Childhood, Special Needs & Primary teaching resources. She is an avid animal lover, a toastmaster fan and collects antique books. Her personal mantra: Ethics and Integrity are my passion. They cost nothing but they mean everything.

Moderator 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.

Koji Yamamura (山村浩二） (Japan)

Koji Yamamura is an animator and illustrator. His anime short film Mt. Head (2002) was nominated for an Oscar and marked a turning point in his career and propelled him to prominence. He is also known for Franz Kafka’s A Country Doctor (2007) and Muybridge’s Strings (2011). His films have been awarded with more than 90 prizes and he also writes and illustrates picture books.
 

Moderator 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.

Mervin Ang (Singapore)

Mervin is a versatile trainer and facilitator with more than five years of training experience in the National Library’s Outreach team. He has conducted numerous talks and workshops on information literacy, library databases and combating fake news to diverse audiences, and he has trained over 40,000 individuals.

Mike Caulfield (US)

Mike Caulfield is the director of blended and networked learning at Washington State University Vancouver. He is an early believer in the idea of civic digital literacies. His work Web Literacy for Student Fact-Checkers won the Merlot Award for best open learning resource in the ICT category. He was a runner up in the Rita Allen/RTI International Misinformation Solutions Award.

Angela Erickson (US)

Angela Erickson is the Head of Middle School English at United World College. Before moving to Singapore, she was a Teacher Librarian at Seoul International School. She is interested in how educational leadership, curriculum design and workshop pedagogy can be integrated to create a school culture of reading, thinking and writing.

Moderator 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.

Glenda C. Oris (Philippines)

Glenda "Bong" C. Oris is an Assistant Professor at the School of Humanities of the Ateneo de Manila University, where she also completed her BS Computer Science and MA Philosophy degrees. She is an author and translator of books for children as well as a museum enthusiast.

Moderator 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.

Ani Almario (Philippines)

Ani Rosa Almario is the Vice-President for Product Development of Adarna House, the Philippines' first and largest children's publishing firm. She is also the Secretary-General of the Philippine Board on Books for Young People (PBBY) and the President of the Book Development Association of the Philippines. 

Daphne Lee Mei Lin (Malaysia)

Daphne Lee is the fiction editor at Scholastic Asia. As a writer, Daphne is particularly interested in Malaysian and Asian myths, legends and fairytales. She recently published Bright Landscapes, a collection of short stories inspired by local supernatural beliefs and folklore. She is currently working on her first novel.

Frances Ong (Philippines)

Frances Ong is Managing Editor at Tahanan Books for Young Readers, where she has overseen the production and publication of dozens of children’s books. Among the titles she has shepherded through all phases of production are Ay Naku!, Tagu-Taguan, and Mang Andoy’s Signs — all recipients of the (Philippine) National Children’s Book Award.

Kelsey Skea (US)

Kelsey Skea is the editorial director of Two Lions, the Amazon Publishing imprint that produces books for readers up to age 12 and Amazon Crossing Kids, where she has worked with authors and illustrators including Alison McGhee, Hatem Aly, Anna Kang, Christopher Weyant, Mike Wu, Lindsay Ward, Jim Benton, and Lauren Castillo. Her publishing career began at HarperCollins Children’s Books; previously she was an executive editor at Disney Press/Disney Hyperion.

Le Thu Phuong Quynh (Vietnam)

Le Thu Phuong Quynh has 10 years of experience in publishing. She worked in a leading nonprofit for children's literacy and girls' education, Room to Read, from 2011 to 2017. She was consulted for book projects in Cambodia and Myanmar with The Asia Foundation and various Vietnamese publishers. She also supports Room to Read publishing projects in India, Nepal and Sri Lanka.

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.

Sarah Odedina (UK)

Sarah is Editor-at-Large for Pushkin Press where she is responsible for acquiring middle grade and teen titles. She has worked in publishing for some time and has worked with some of the greats of children’s literature including Neil Gaiman, J. K. Rowling and Louis Sachar. Sarah also edits bi-montlhy magazine Scoop for readers aged 8 to 12.

Tina Narang (India)

Tina Narang is the Children’s Publisher at HarperCollins India, where she launched the children’s imprint, HarperCollins Children’s Books in 2017. Prior to HarperCollins, Tina was with Scholastic India from 2005-17.

Verena Lee (Singapore)

Verena Lee is an Assistant Director at the National Library Board, Singapore. Verena and her team are presently involved in improving Singapore’s library spaces and services for the disability community. She also manages Woodlands Regional Library, which offers programmes and services for persons with disabilities, including a sensory-friendly space for children with autism.

Jaspreet Kaur (Singapore)

Jaspreet is a founding member of Diverse Abilities Dance Collective (DADC), having actively participated in performances with the group such as Speaking With Hands, the Saarang Festival in Chennai and Same Same. As a dancer in Fusion Dance by Down Syndrome Association Singapore (DSA), Jaspreet has also performed on numerous platforms such as their annual charity gala dinner, Mystique, and Purple Parade.

Magali Finet (Singapore)

Magali Finet is the manager designate for Programmes at Very Special Arts Singapore, a local charity dedicated to using arts to providing access and opportunities for people with disabilities. A published short story writer, Magali is very excited to combine her two passions, writing and working for persons with disabilities, by developing VSA(S)'s Literary programme.

Ming Xia Ho (Singapore)

Ming Xia is the Social Media Manager and Singapore Administrator at Writing Through, a charitable organisation which uses creative writing as a tool to develop thinking skills. Ming Xia strives to create impactful relationships with her interpersonal skills, experience, and knowledge. As an active advocate of education, creativity, thinking skills, and self-esteem, Ming Xia has made several guest appearances on stage as a speaker to inspire people from all walks of life to live curiously.

Kavitha Krishnan (Singapore)

Kavitha is the co-founder of Maya Dance Theatre, and she presents inter-disciplinary-transcultural dance theatre works to shine light on social issues. In 2018, Kavitha founded Diverse Abilities Dance Collective (DADC), which consists of performers with different abilities; and they dance to communicate and connect! Kavitha is trained in the Indian dance form bharathanatyam and creates contemporary dance with Asian perspectives.

Monica Halil Lövblad (Switzerland)

Monica Halil Lövblad is the Head at Accessible Books Consortium (ABC). ABC is a public-private partnership led by the World Intellectual Property Organization. It includes organizations that represent people with print disabilities such as the World Blind Union; libraries for the blind; standards bodies, and organizations representing authors, publishers and collective management organizations.

Moderator 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!

Rilla Melati Bahri (Singapore)

Rilla Melati is a two-time winner of the prestigious Malay literary award, Anugerah Persuratan. Rilla builds creative content for the classroom and television and has written more than 25 Malay and bilingual children’s books. As the founder of the educational company Mini Monsters Ltd, she hopes to reignite the love for the Malay language with materials that are relevant for today’s generation of children.

Koen Setyawan (Indonesia)

Koen Setyawan is an award-winning children’s book writer, illustrator and graphic designer from Indonesia. He has published more than 80 books, including activity books, novels and digital books. He aims to share his passion for environmental and biodiversity issues with his readers from an Indonesian perspective with his books. Koen is also a member of KPBA or Society for the Advancement of Children’s Literature.

Nor Azhar Ishak (Malaysia)

Nor Azhar Ishak ialah seorang pengkarya buku kanak-kanak Malaysia yang telah memenangi pelbagai anugerah. Beliau juga ialah seorang ilustrator dan pencerita antarabangsa yang gemar tentang sastera, seni dan sains. Nor Azhar juga merupakan seorang pendidik dengan pengalaman lebih 20 tahun dalam pembangunan profesionalisme guru.

Nor Azhar Ishak is an award-winning children's book writer, illustrator and international storyteller. He is also an educator with 20 years of experience in conducting professional development workshops for teachers.

Nor Azhar is unable to participate in AFCC due to unforseen circumstances, but the session he is involved in will still go on. 

Moderator 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.
 

Hwang Sun-mi (黄善美） (Korea)

Hwang Sun-mi is a South Korean writer, who has won many awards and published more than 40 books for adults and children. She graduated from the creative writing departments at Seoul Institute of the Arts and Gwangju University. Her book, The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly has been on bestseller lists for 20 years and has also been adapted into a comic book, a play, and a musical, and has been translated into 30 languages.

Moderator Alicia Dong-Joo Bang (Korea)

Alicia Dong-Joo Bang is a professional storyteller and passionate educator based in the Republic of Korea. She has delighted children and adults with her storytelling performances for years, and she now directs international storytelling festivals in South Korea. She is the founder of Story School, a unique storytelling school in Korea. She also founded KISA, the Korea International Storytellers' Association. Alicia has also competed in the Tehran International Storytelling Festival.

Sandy Koh (Singapore)

Sandy is the principal of Singapore’s first inclusive preschool Kindle Garden and she has over three decades of experience in early childhood education. Having a keen interest in curriculum development, Sandy collaborates with teachers, early interventionists and allied health professionals to provide optimum support for the holistic development of every child at Kindle Garden. Sandy holds a Masters in Special Needs and a Bachelors in Early Childhood.

Cass Lim (Singapore)

Cass is an active working mother with two boys who loves swimming and outdoor sports. Her 6-year-old son was officially diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) this year. She is a big believer in early intervention, a support and educational system for very young children with developmental delays or disabilities. She is the Section Head of Physical Education Department at College East, Institute of Technical education. 

Alison Choo (Singapore)

Alison is a Senior Speech and Language Therapist with PAP Community Foundation (PCF), and has worked with adults and children with diverse needs and profiles within both hospital and community settings. She has a special interest in providing speech and language intervention in inclusive settings, and has successfully incorporated Key Word Sign, the use of signs and natural gestures to support communication and the language development of children, as a preschool-wide approach.

Moderator 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.

Liu Hsu-Kung (刘旭恭) (Taiwan)

1995 年开始创作绘本，作品曾获信谊幼儿文学奖，丰子恺儿童图画书奖和波隆纳插画展入选等，现与家人住在台北。
Liu Hsu-Kung began writing picture books in 1995. His works have clinched the Xinyi Picture Book Children’s Literature Award and Feng Zikai Chinese Children's Picture Book Award, and were showcased at the Illustrators Exhibition. He is currently residing with his family in Taipei.

Moderator 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.

Natalie Sutanto (Singapore)

Natalie (she/they) is a reading enthusiast who likes to share their favourite books with the bookish community online. They like to read mainly nonfiction books on society, feminism, queerness, the climate and local issues in Singapore. If not found poring over a book in some random corner, they are likely making content for their bookstagram/booktube over at @anattynook.

Elizabeth Black (US)

Elizabeth is a college student residing in California with a passion for books and history. She is a content creator on TikTok, meeting book enthusiasts around the world and helping to inspire a love for storytelling among the younger generation. She hopes to continue exploring literature through travel and her studies.

Mireille and Elodie Lee (alifeofliterature) (UK)

@alifeofliterature is a TikTok account by Mireille and Elodie Lee with more than 250,000 followers worldwide. @alifeofliterature successfully bridges the worlds of social media and literature. Mireille and Elodie inspire people to read by creating and sharing book trailers where they combine montages of pictures that showcase books aesthetics with emotive music.

Moderator 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.

Hidayah Amin (Singapore)

Hidayah Amin had her first short story published when she was 11. It was only when she lost her childhood home that she resumed writing and published Gedung Kuning: Memories of a Malay Childhood in 2010. Hidayah has since written eight non-fiction books and published 14 children’s books including 10 books for readers with and without disabilities.

Low Ying Ping (Singapore)

Low Ying Ping is an author and registered instructor with the Ministry of Education and has a Post-graduate Diploma in Education from the National Institute of Education. Her poems and critical essay have appeared in Singa, the journal of the National University of Singapore Centre for the Arts and QLRS (Quarterly Literary Review Singapore). She has spoken about her books at various platforms, including the Singapore Writers Festival, the Young Writers Festival and events organised by the National Library Board. Low Ying Ping is the author of the Mount Emily novels, a middle grade / young adult fantasy series featuring friendship and time travel. Mount Emily Revisited won the Singapore Book Awards 2017 in the Middle Grade / Young Adult category. 

Mallika Naguran (Australia)

Mallika Naguran is a writer of children’s books and adult fiction. Mallika has spent more than a decade writing and editing environmental articles as founder of Gaia Discovery (www.gaiadiscovery.com). Mallika is passionate about nature, the underwater world and music. Bo Mallika has authored Ramayana: The Quest for Sita and co-authored Peter Pan in the POP! Lit Series for Kids by World Scientific Publishing (2021). She lives in Tasmania and eavesdrops on birds gossiping to one another.

Moderator 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.  

Kat Cho (US)

Kat Cho is an international bestselling YA author who loves to incorporate her Korean heritage in her writing, especially if it involves describing food. She loves anything that encourages nerding out, including reading, K-dramas, K-pop and anime. She’s the author of Gumiho: Wicked Fox and Vicious Spirits (Putnam/Penguin). 

Kristyn Maslog-Levis (Australia)

Kristyn M. Levis is a marketing specialist, author, ghostwriter and photographer. She worked as a TV reporter in the Philippines and a radio broadcaster with SBS in Sydney, where she still occasionally does voice-overs. Her young adult novel The Girl Between Two Worlds and The Girl Between Light and Dark were published by Anvil Publishing. The third book in this series, The Search for Adarna, is out now.

Moderator Daphne Lee Mei Lin (Malaysia)

Daphne Lee is the fiction editor at Scholastic Asia. As a writer, Daphne is particularly interested in Malaysian and Asian myths, legends and fairytales. She recently published Bright Landscapes, a collection of short stories inspired by local supernatural beliefs and folklore. She is currently working on her first novel.

Virine Hutasangkas (Thailand)

Virine Hutasangkas is a lecturer at the Department of French, Faculty of Humanities, at Chiang Mai University. She obtained her PhD in Modern Literature (Children’s literature) from Université de Tours, France. Her main interest is comparative literature (children and young adult) under various themes such as immigration, intercultural translation and multiculturalism. She loves pancake.

Sun Hsin-Yu (孙心瑜) (Taiwan)

台湾第一位入选Bologna Ragazzi Award的绘本作家。绘制过邮票、1992长江探源、2020南极历险。
目前专心绘本创作，更多作品请参考FB：@joycesun.shystudio

Sun Hsin-Yu was the first Taiwanese picture book writer to win the Bologna Ragazzi Award. She has rendered stamps, explored the origin of the Yangtze River, and embarked on an Antarctica adventure.

Moderator 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.

Melissa Choo (Singapore)

Melissa Choo is an Associate Librarian with the National Library Board. Her work provides her with the opportunity to keep up with the reading trends in Chinese children’s books, and it brings her much joy to be able to share these with the community at the programmes she conducts and oversees for parents and children. She presently advocates for reading, especially in the Mother Tongue, in her daily work, which she enjoys greatly.

Melanie Lee (Singapore)

Melanie is the author of the middle grade graphic novel Amazing Ash & Superhero Ah Ma. She also wrote the picture book series The Adventures of Squirky the Alien and Out & About in Singapore, a travel guide for children. She is also a part-time communications lecturer at the Singapore University of Social Sciences.

Arif Rafhan (Malaysia)

Arif Rafhan is a visual artist from Malaysia. His work includes illustration, comic art and animation for local and international clients. His work has been featured in Gila-Gila, Lat’s collection as the colourist, and publications in Malaysia and Singapore. His latest work is a collaboration with Melanie Lee: Amazing Ash & Superhero Ah Ma.

Gavin Aung Than (Australia)

Gavin Aung Than is a New York Times bestselling cartoonist and creator of Zen Pencils, a cartoon blog which adapts inspirational quotes into comic stories. He is currently working on the middle grade graphic novel series Super Sidekicks, published by Penguin Random House. After working in the corporate graphic design industry for eight years he quit his unfulfilling job and sold his house to follow his true passion: drawing comics.

Moderator 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.

Lawrence Schimel (US/Spain)

Lawrence Schimel (New York, 1971) lives in Madrid, Spain and writes in both Spanish and English. He's published over 120 books in a wide range of genres. He is also a prolific literary translator. His translations into Spanish include the graphic novel They Called Us Enemy by George Takei; his translations into English include the middle grade novels The Wild Book by Juan Villoro and The Treasure of Barracuda by Llanos Campos.

Hidayah Amin (Singapore)

Hidayah Amin had her first short story published when she was 11. It was only when she lost her childhood home that she resumed writing and published Gedung Kuning: Memories of a Malay Childhood in 2010. Hidayah has since written eight non-fiction books and published 14 children’s books including 10 books for readers with and without disabilities.

Moderator 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.

Hwee Goh (Singapore)

Hwee Goh spent 16 years in TV journalism before branching into nonfiction writing for children. Each of her books latches on current topics, which she then researches and develops into a narrative arc — engaging her young readers deeply into an issue. Her latest book, The Earth Experiment, address the urgent topic of climate change. You can follow Hwee on @hweezbooks.

Scott Riley (US)

Scott Riley is an international school teacher by day and children’s book author at night. Scott has spent 30 years teaching in the US, Indonesia, Czech Republic, and Singapore. Inspired by his travels, Scott writes about remarkable people and places. His book The Floating Field is one of those stories.

Koen Setyawan (Indonesia)

Koen Setyawan is an award-winning children’s book writer, illustrator and graphic designer from Indonesia. He has published more than 80 books, including activity books, novels and digital books. He aims to share his passion for environmental and biodiversity issues with his readers from an Indonesian perspective with his books. Koen is also a member of KPBA or Society for the Advancement of Children’s Literature.

Moderator 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.

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.

Vu Thuy Ngoc Ha (Vietnam)

Vu Thuy Ngoc Ha (a.k.a Dom Dom) is a freelance illustrator and comic artist living in Vietnam, with a special interest in illustrating for children. Her illustrations are inspired by a fantasy world that resides in her mind, folktales told by her mother, and the folk culture of Vietnam. Her work, The Girl on the Roof & the Boy on the Beach won the Scholastic Picture Book Award.

Moderator 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.

Nicholas Liem (Singapore)

Nicholas Liem is a versatile artist whose portfolio includes award-winning science comics.  

Nicholas’ expertise with comic book illustrations and training as an architect lends to the detailed streetscapes and fun comic elements for Marky Polo in Tokyo. 

Emily Lim-Leh (Singapore)

Emily Lim-Leh has written over 30 children’s picture books, with her bestselling Toy Series published in 4 languages in 5 countries. She is the first outside North America to win three IPPY medals and the first in Southeast Asia to receive the Moonbeam Children’s Book Award. Emily was named Mediacorp’s Singapore Woman Award 2013 Honoree for inspiring readers through her writing.

Moderator Hwee Goh (Singapore)

Hwee Goh spent 16 years in TV journalism before branching into nonfiction writing for children. Each of her books latches on current topics, which she then researches and develops into a narrative arc — engaging her young readers deeply into an issue. Her latest book, The Earth Experiment, address the urgent topic of climate change. You can follow Hwee on @hweezbooks.

Zakir Hossain (Bangladesh/Switzerland)

Zakir is a teacher-librarian, spirited researcher and an advocate of school librarianship. He enjoys research, networking and sharing experiences about school librarianship on social media. Currently, Zakir is based in Switzerland at the Inter-Community School in Zurich, but he calls Bangladesh home. He has been named for several professional awards and grants as a result of his research and dedication to the broader community.

Nadine Bailey (South Africa/Netherlands)

Nadine Bailey is a teacher-librarian and technology integrator at the Western Academy of Beijing in China. She believes in the power of diverse and multilingual books for reading communities and ensuring that books are available and accessible. She's a founding Jury member of the Neev Children's Book Award celebrating Indian voices.

Stojana Popovska (Republic of North Macedonia)

Stojana Popovska is a teacher-librarian at the Canadian International School in Singapore. She is a strong advocate for the role of picture books in children's social-emotional learning, the process of developing the self-awareness, self-control, and interpersonal skills that are vital for school, work, and life success. Her passion for picture books inspired her to pursue writing and to illustrate her own children's books.

Moderator Katie Day (US)

Katie Day is an international school teacher-librarian. An American with a masters in children’s literature from the UK and a masters in library science from Australia, she has lived in Asia since 1997, including 12 years in Singapore, where she first worked at United World College of Southeast Asia and now at Tanglin Trust School.

Dr Sivakumaran (Singapore)

Associate Professor Dr A Ra Sivakumaran is the retired head of the Tamil Language and Culture Division from National Institute of Education, Singapore. He served as a consultant to the Ministry of Education for Singapore Tamil textbooks from 2006 to 2019 and is a pioneer academic researcher of Singapore Tamil Literature. He has published a total of 16 books in roles as an author and editor.

Suriya Rethnna (Singapore)

Suriya is recognised as Singapore’s first female Tamil novelist and is an award-winning writer and former teacher. She has written short stories, novels, curriculum content, and children's fiction (including MOE supplementary Readers) in a wide array of genres. Her varied career has also seen her involved in translation and scriptwriting (latest Manmathan Ambu (Vasantham, Mediacorp, 2021)). Aram is Suriya's latest short story collection.
 

Moderator 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.

Jo Devadason (Singapore)

Jo Devadason is a self-taught poet with Down syndrome and has strong views about the world she lives in. For the past few years, she has been creating her own poetry that gives voice to her struggles and feelings. She loves books, imaginary play and self-expression. Her poetry invites children into her imaginative world and paints a fantastical picture of the spaces in their minds.

Moderator Kavitha Krishnan (Singapore)

Kavitha is the co-founder of Maya Dance Theatre, and she presents inter-disciplinary-transcultural dance theatre works to shine light on social issues. In 2018, Kavitha founded Diverse Abilities Dance Collective (DADC), which consists of performers with different abilities; and they dance to communicate and connect! Kavitha is trained in the Indian dance form bharathanatyam and creates contemporary dance with Asian perspectives.

Jedidiah Siah (Singapore)

Jedidiah Siah is the co-founder and director of AlterCulture Studios Pte. Ltd, which provides game design consultation, education, and promotes the usage of games across non-gaming industries. He is also an Associate Trainer at Civil Service College (Singapore) for Game Design. He has been researching and experimenting with how gaming examines social dynamics and cultures. He holds a B.A. in Game Design from DigiPen (Singapore Institute of Technology).

Johann Annuar (Singapore)

Johann is trained as an electrical and electronics engineer and has been with Engineering Good in key roles for the past four years. He is an avid cyclist who knows no boundaries, and cycled from Turkey to New Zealand over 18 months. He was also a member of the Singapore Everest Expedition 1998 Team and was a Board member for the Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors without Borders).

Toh Yixue (Singapore)

Toh Yixue is an educator and artist from technology and education company TinkerTanker. He is experienced in both software and classical animation training, as well as motion graphics and animation production. He is passionate in programming, 3d production, interactive media and design and strongly believes that having a wide range of interests makes him a better artist and collaborator.

Moderator 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.

Auchara Kijkanjanas (Thailand)

Auchara Kijkanjanas is the founder of Big Brain Studio and one of the pioneers in the computer graphic industry in Thailand. With 20 years of experience, her expertise and works have been recognised internationally with awards for Animation Feature Film and Animation Series, including Visual Effect works. Her previous works are Khan Khuay I; Khan Khuay II and Blink Blink: the series.

Moderator 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).

Ong Say How (Singapore)

Dr Ong Say How is a senior consultant psychiatrist and Chief of the Department of Developmental Psychiatry at the Institute of Mental Health. He has used art and other creative-expressive therapies to help children and teenagers who suffer from anxiety, depression and trauma in the clinic. In his free time, Dr Ong enjoys appreciating art in all its forms in art galleries, museums, live performances, and pop-up art events.

Malvina Kang (Singapore)

Malvina is the founder of Hom Yoga. Hom Yoga is a yoga school and a place for self discovery, transformation and empowerment through high quality yoga teaching, set amidst a healthy and sustainable environment. She is the author of The Rainbow Hearted Boy and My Sun, My Sun, a mindfulness series for kids published by Math Paper Press.

Emma Quick (New Zealand)

Emma Quick is the founder of Calm Ahoy Kids and author of The Feelings Hotel. Over the last decade, she has worked with young people, and families in mental health and substance misuse services in the community, health and school settings. She is also a mum and is inspired to create resources for little ones to develop social-emotional skills from a young age, in a way that is fun, colourful and sparks their imagination.

Moderator 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.

Teresa Cremin (UK)

Teresa Cremin is Professor of Education at The Open University. An ex-teacher and pre-service lecturer, her research focuses on volitional reading and writing, teachers’ literate identities and creative pedagogies. Teresa is passionate about developing readers for life and works with the profession to ensure research-informed practice in reading for pleasure.

Moderator Loh Chin Ee (Singapore)

Loh Chin Ee is Associate Professor and Deputy Head (Research) at the English Language and Literature Academic Group at the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University. She is the co-editor of Little Things, Poetry Moves and co-author of Teaching Poetry to Adolescents: A Teachers' Guide to Little Things by Ethos Books. She recently produced and co-hosted the How We Read podcast series.

AKT Creations (Singapore )

AKT Creations is a local arts company that offer programmes, such as workshops, stage and video productions and lectures which are both fun and educational that enthuse and inspire performers, participants and audiences, while imparting and inspiring skills which last a lifetime.  

Hidayah Amin (Singapore)

Hidayah Amin had her first short story published when she was 11. It was only when she lost her childhood home that she resumed writing and published Gedung Kuning: Memories of a Malay Childhood in 2010. Hidayah has since written eight non-fiction books and published 14 children’s books including 10 books for readers with and without disabilities.

Jeffrey Tan (Singapore)

Jeffrey is an experienced Theatre Director and Drama Educator. He has taught ‘Creativity in Collaborative Learning’ and ‘Lesson Planning’ for the National institute of Education, ‘Educational Drama’ for Nanyang Technological Universtiy, 'Children's Theatre' for the University of Warwick and 'Educational Theatre' for New York University's Study Abroad Programme in London. 

Shereen Tan (Singapore)

Shereen is the Outreach & Education Manager at the Malay Heritage Centre under the National Heritage Board. She oversees the educational programmes, volunteer management and outreach initiatives at the Centre. She previously worked in outreach for the National Parks Board.

Yap Jia En (Singapore)

Jia En is a Visual Design and Exhibitions Manager at The Artground, a Children’s Art Centre which provides positive arts experiences across a variety of art forms. She works with creatives to design and develop arts spaces that welcome children from every community.

Yvonne Pek (Singapore)

Yvonne Pek is presently a lecturer at the NIEC – TP campus. Yvonne received her PhD, specializing in Language and Literacy, from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and her Masters of Arts (Literacy Specialist) at Teachers College, Columbia University. Yvonne is passionate about supporting the literacy learning of young children from less privileged backgrounds. She has taught at a variety of preschool settings and developed curriculum for a large childcare network.

Jenny Cheok (Singapore)

Jenny Cheok received her Master of Education (Early Childhood) from the University of Southern Queensland. Jenny’s passion for young children’s language and literacy learning has spurred her to take a foundation training course in Dyslexia Studies from the Dyslexia Association of Singapore, participate in Story Writing workshops, and organise poly students in conducting story-telling sessions at various NLB branches.

Marie Angelie (Singapore)

Marie Angelie holds a Master of Education from the University of Adelaide, Australia. Before devoting her time to being a lecturer, she served as a Cluster Principal at a private childcare where she led a team of principals for centre operation and executing curriculum. She is passionate about teaching children's language and literacy with storytelling and story dramatisation.

Amy Ang (Singapore)

Amy is a content creator on Tiktok and writes during her free time. She currently studies Mass Communication in Ngee Ann Polytechnic and enjoys reading thriller, crime and mostly fictional stories. Her favourite author is Amy Harmon, and she enjoys sports like shooting and table tennis. She intends to travel across China when she graduates.