Born in 1953
Peter Augustine Goh, the pen name of Goh Mey Teck, is a Chinese writer who writes in Malay. Peter’s has won numerous awards, which include the National Short Story Writing Competition (Commendation) in 1983, ‘84, ‘86 and ‘89; the Malay Literary Awards (Merit) in 1992, ‘94, ‘96, ‘98, 2003, 2005 and the first prize in 2007; the Singapore Literature Prize (Commendation) in 1990, ’94 and ‘96; and the Golden Point Award in 2003. To date, he has 12 children novels, 5 adult novels, 5 collections of short stories; 8 joint collections of short stories and 3 joint collection of poetry with writers from Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and Indonesia; and a joint collection of radio dramas with local writers to his credit.


Born in 1936
Goh is one of the pioneers of Singaporean literature in English. A medical doctor by profession, Goh was a literary entrepreneur ahead of his time. Goh set up Island Press, founded Tumasek, a literary magazine, and formed Centre 65 to promote the arts.

The Moon is Less Bright (1964), Goh s first play, incongruously uses the Queen s Englsih, but When Smiles are Done (1965) and The Elder Brother (1966) were among the earliest attempts to use colloquial Singapore English in drama. Goh has written four novels If We Dream Too long, (1972), The Immolation (1977); A Dance of Moths (1995) and Dance with White Clouds: A Fable for Grown –ups (2001), all concerned with self- actualization and fulfillment. Goh has published five volumes of poetry, including The Girl from Ermita and Selected Poems, 1961- 1988 (1988) and As Though the Gods Love Us (2000).

Goh received the NAC s Cultural Medallion in 1982. He emigrated to Canada in 1986.


(1927 – 2004) Goh Sin Tub a.k.a. Akbar Goh, a well-known pioneer of Singapore literature, was a teacher, civil servant, banker, builder, social worker and former chairman of the St. Joseph's Institution Board of Governors. Winner of several national short story writing competitions, Goh has more than a dozen books to his name written over the past two decades, including a collection of short stories in Malay. Goh's past bestsellers include Honour and Other Stories, The Nan-Mei-Su Girls of Emerald Hill, The Ghost Lover of Emerald Hill, Ghosts of Singapore, Loves of Sons and Daughters, 12 Women and their Stories, Moments in a Singapore Life and the One Singapore trilogy.

The One Singapore series was on the Times Bookshop list of top-five bestsellers. Over 9,000 copies of the book have been sold and there have been four reprints to date since its launch. This heart-warming and locally spiced anecdotal compilation has gained widespread popularity, having been adopted by a number of schools here in Singapore as part of the National Education curriculum; excerpts have also been reprinted in Reader's Digest and read over the radio.

He passed away from a stroke at the age of 77.


Leaving Singapore and retiring from a secure future as a Certified Accountant at the age of 30, Joan started a trekking and mountaineering enterprise in the Indian Himalayas. After 5 years of absorbing the diverse cultures in that area, she returned to Singapore and wrote a novel Valley of the Gods based on the peoples and places she had encountered in the Himalayas.

She was the chairman of the organising committee of the first Asian Children’s Writers and Illustrators Conference 2000 (organised jointly by the National Book Development Council and the National Arts Council) as well as a member of the Society for Reading and Literacy.

One of her other children’s stories, Bta The Star Child, inspired by a dream while struggling with her Asperger son, is available on www.lulu.com Joan currently lives and works in the U.K. Educated in London


(1970 - ) Gwee Li Sui has yet to learn how not to write and draw on the same table. His regular works include poems, essays, comic strips, reviews and illustrations. He is known to contribute to publications ranging from textbooks to fantasy books, from university publications to religious publications, and from The Straits Times to, yes, the People's Association Youth newsletters. Nobody asks what he is really interested in anymore. The more well-loved of his early works are still being reproduced with, but usually without, permission.

Dr. Gwee teaches literature with a passion at both the National University of Singapore and the Open University. His graphic novel Myth of the Stone (1993) was published to critical silence; it is out of print today and its publisher has since wound up. The thinly-disguised children's story tells of how a boy called Li-Hsu found his way into a realm of mismatched mythical creatures. Who Wants to Buy a Book of Poems? (1998), Gwee's volume of humorous poems, was not meant to be published at all; it was privately circulated for about three years before a selection was bravely issued under the same name.