English is Not the Only Fruit: Embracing Linguistic Diversity in Children’s Literature

Andrea Wang (USA)

Andrea Wang is an acclaimed author of children’s books. Her picture book Watercress was awarded the Caldecott Medal, a Newbery Honor, the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature, and a Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor, among other accolades. Her other books, Summer at Squee, The Many Meanings of Meilan, Luli and the Language of Tea, Magic Ramen, and The Nian Monster, have also received awards and starred reviews. Her work explores culture, creative thinking, and identity. She lives in Colorado with her family. For more information about Andrea and her books, please visit www.andreaywang.com.

Joel Donato Ching Jacob (Philippines)

Joel is a novelist, poet, and translator based in Bay, Laguna in the Philippines. His novel, Wing of the Locust, is the 2018 Scholastic Asian Book Award winner and a 2021 Singapore Book Award finalist. His short story, Artifacts from the Parent, is an Editor's Choice awardee for Best Asian Short Stories in 2019. He was awarded by the Philippine National Commission on Culture and the Arts with the Ani ng Dangal for Literature in 2021.

Josephine Chia (Singapore)

Josephine Chia is a  local author who likes to feature Singaporean history, life and fables in her books. Proud of her Peranakan heritage , she includes facets of her rich culture and heritage. Josephine writes both fiction and non-fiction, with 14 published books here and in UK. When she was living in UK, she was a finalist for UK’s Ian St James Award and won other literary prizes. Her Masters in Creative Writing is from UK Bath Spa University. After her return home, she won the Singapore Literature Prize in 2014 for her non-fiction memoirs, Kampong Spirit/Gotong Royong, which is based on the attap village she grew up in the 1950s. Her children’s novel, Queen of the Sky, was shortlisted for the Scholastic Asian Book Award 2018. In 2019, she won the Singapore Publishers Book Award for her first YA Novel, Big Tree in a Small Pot.

Josephine is a Creative Writing mentor with a passion to nurture the future writers of Singapore. Several of her students are now published writers. 

Moderator Hwee Goh (Singapore)

Hwee Goh was classically trained at the Medill School of Journalism and spent 16 years at CNA before writing 12 fiction and non-fiction books for children. She is also a strategic communications and editorial specialist. Hwee is most appreciated for her experience as a journalist and her insights on reading and writing. Since 2014, she has been known for her bookish content, reviews and author interviews @hweezbooks.