Born in 1933
Abdul Ghani is an established poet-artist who produced a polemical Picasso-inspired abstract painting The Search (1965) and has exhibited in 14 cities in Asia. His latest work, however, received much critical praise with its synergy of the artistic elements of his paintings with the soul of his poems in Extracts of Feelings (2005), his bilingual anthology of painting and poetry. Abdul Ghani also writes short stories, essays, plays and newspaper articles. He is the recipient of three prestigious literary awards: the Tun Seri Lanang Award (1997), the SEA Write Award (1998), and newspaper articles. He is the recipient of three prestigious literary awards: the Tun Seri Lanang Award (1997), the SEA Write Award (1998), and the Cultural Medallion (1999).


Born in 1973
A very energetic young playwright, director and performer, Aidli wrote and directed her first play, Kosovo at the tender age of 19. Over the following decade, she helmed local and regional plays such as Tiga Dara Terbang Ke Bulan, Madu II, and Descendents of the Eunuch Admiral. She is quite radical in her theatrical experimentation as observed in the play Ikan Cantik, which created her reputation. Her plays Kosovo and Tiga Dara Terbang ke bulan won the Singapore Malay Literary Awards Commendation Prizes in 1995 and 1997 respectively.


Jim Aitchison, an Australian and Singapore permanent resident, was former executive creative director of Singapore's legendary Batey Ads. He won over 600 awards, many for advertisements which he wrote in Chinese.

Jim is now applying marketing principles to his new career as an author. Since 1994, he has published fourty-five of his works across different genres. His greatest success has been the Mr Midnight series of suspense thrillers for 7-12 year olds published by Singapore's Flame of The Forest. Mr Midnight is regarded as Asia's own children's fiction brand in its genre, selling over 1 million copies in five languages in Asia.


Born in 1977
Alfian left medical studies in 2002 for a fulltime arts career. He is Resident Playwright of W!LD RICE Theatre Company and Artistic Director of Teater Ekamatra.

He has published two volumes of poetry: One Fierce Hour (1998), while still an undergraduate at National University of Singapore (NUS), and the more mature A History of Amnesia (2001). Corridor: Twelve Short Stories (1999) won a Commendation Award in the 1998 Singapore Literature Prize. Alfian has written more than two dozen socio-politically engaged plays. Teater Ekamatra has produced all his Malay language works. Causeway (1998), a satire on relations between Malaysia and Singapore, won a Commendation award from the Malay Language Council in 1999. Fugitives (2002), co-written with Ng How Wee, marked his first foray into Chinese language theatre.

In 2001, he won the Golden Point Award for Poetry and received the Young Artist Award from the National Arts Council (NAC). Landmarks: Asian Boys Vol 2 (2004), part of a recently completed trilogy on homosexuality, won the 2005 Life! Theatre Awards for Best Script.


Born in 1946
(Pseudonym: Nadiputra) An outstanding playwright, director, and producer, his involvement in drama has extended over 30 years with hundreds of plays for stage, radio and television, among them Puncak, Malaikat, Selimut Putih and Vanda Miss Joaquim. His works are a critical reflection of society, as well as studies of religious and moral issues. Masjid Bersalib and Jembalang Tanah are among the more radical plays. Among his many awards is the 1993 Malay Literature Prize for his script Puncak. He was awarded the prestigious Cultural Medallion in 1986 for his contributions to theatre.


Born in 1939
Amallathasan is a poet. Since 1958, he has written over 1500 poems in the traditional style. In 2005, he published his collected poems in two volumes, namely Pullanguzhal (The Flute) and Thamizhar Thalaivar Thamizhavel (Thamizhavel, Leader of Tamils). He was President of the Association of Singapore Tamil Writers from 1987 to 2005, and initiated the annual Thamizhavel Award for Tamil Writers. In 2005, his song "Singapore Entru Sollum Pothilae" (While you say Singapore) won first prize in the National Day songwriting competition and was sung at the 2006 National Day Parade. Organisations in Singapore, Malaysia and India have honoured him with titles like Kavignaneru (Majestic Poet) and the Thamizhavel Award.


Born in 1957
A writer by profession. Anuar is mainly known as an author of short stories, although he has ventured into novels and poetry, as well as radio and television plays, literary essays, and song lyrics. He has the distinctive habit of using unconventional titles in his work. Titles such as Metamorfosis, Mendonan, Sam, Tatatuk, XII, and 1859 complement his meta-historiography approach to fiction. His short story Hashimoto-san won the Golden Point Award (1997), while Mimpi Shakespeare won in 1999.He attended the University of Iowa's International Writing Programme at the University of Iowa, USA, in 2000.


His illustrious literary career has seen him play a prominent role in the cultural and educational movements of the 1950s and 1960s. He is also credited for instituting changes to Tamil Murasu which helped ensure that the Tamil daily continues to attract readership and remain an integral part of Singapore Press Holdings' fold of publications.