SBC Mentorships for
Emerging Writers and Translators

Yashmita D/O Ananthan (English Poetry)

Yashmita D/O Ananthan's passion for literature began at 13. She loves exploring how personal experiences and social factors shape our perception of the world through literary works. She is currently pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in Arts with a double major in English and Creative Writing, and Sociology. Her poems often explore themes of family, friendship, and love, reflecting her experiences growing up as a woman of colour and moving abroad independently in early adulthood.

Jaryl George Solomon (English Poetry)

By day, Jaryl George Solomon is an educator and curriculum designer/writer, striving to deliver the wonders of English, Literature and Theatre to his bright-eyed students. By night, he sleeps – sometimes soundly, mostly not. His writing is often an amalgamation of issues revolving around race, queerness & the complexities of being big. Currently, Jaryl is the poetry editor & co-founder of Mahogany Journal, Singapore’s only online literary journal dedicated to featuring and honing +65 South Asian voices. Also, he really loves Pokémon.

孙志伟 (Sun Zhiwei) (Chinese Poetry)

孙志伟是本地诗刊编辑，曾主持2022年新加坡作家节诗歌工作坊。

Sun Zhi Wei is a poetry editor. He moderated the Creative Writing Workshop: Writing Chinese Poetry in SWF 2022.

Nur Hikmah Md Ali (Malay Poetry)

Nur Hikmah Md Ali adalah seorang penulis dan penyair. Beliau telah menerbitkan beberapa puisi, komentar, dan esei di pelbagai platform termasuk BeritaMediacorp dan Yayasan Warisan Melayu. Pada tahun 2021, beliau telah dilantik sebagai Sahabat Sastera oleh Majlis Bahasa Melayu Singapura.

Nur Hikmah Md Ali is a budding writer and poet. She has published some poems, commentaries and essays on several platforms, including Berita Mediacorp and Malay Heritage Foundation. In 2021, she was nominated as a Sahabat Sastera (Friend of Malay Literature) by the Malay Language Council.

Rakunanthan (Tamil Poetry)

நான் ரகுநந்தன், தற்போது ஈராண்டு தேசியசேவையில் இருக்கிறேன். நான் தொடக்கக்கல்லூரியில் தமிழ்மொழி விருப்பப்பாடத்திட்ட மாணவர் ஆவேன். தமிழ் மொழி மற்றும் இலக்கியத்தின் மீதுள்ள அதிக பற்றும் ஆர்வமுமே நான் கவிதைகள் எழுத ஊக்கமாக அமைகின்றன. மேலும் நான் பல்வேறு தமிழ் மொழி சார்ந்த போட்டிகளிலும், பட்டறைகளிலும் பங்கேற்று வருவதோடு, கவிமாலை சிங்கப்பூர் நிறுவனத்தின் மாணவரணியின் துணைத்தலைவராகவும் 2021 ஆம் ஆண்டு முதல் பணியாற்றி வருகிறேன்.

Rakunanthan is currently serving his national service. He was a student in the Tamil Language Elective Program in junior college. His deep interest in Tamil language and literature led him to write poetry. As an active member of the Kavimaalai organization, he participated in Tamil poem writing workshops and many Tamil literary competitions. Since 2021, he have been the vice president of the youth wing of Kavimaalai.

Saranya Mushila (Tamil Poetry)

நான் நன்யாங் தொழில்நுட்பப் பல்கலைக்கழகத்தில், மொழியியல் மற்றும் பன்மொழி ஆய்வுகள் பட்டப்படிப்பில் இரண்டாம் ஆண்டு மாணவராகப் பயின்று வருகிறேன். பதின்மூன்று வயது முதல், நான் சிறுகதைகள், கவிதைகள் மற்றும் நாடகங்கள் எழுதி தமிழ் இலக்கியத் துறையில் ஈடுபட்டு வருகிறேன். கவிமாலை சிங்கப்பூர், சிங்கப்பூர்த் தமிழ் எழுத்தாளர் கழகம், அதிபதி அனைத்துலக நாடக நிறுவனம் போன்ற உள்ளூர்த் தமிழ் அமைப்புகளிலும் அவற்றின் இளையர் பிரிவுகளிலும் நான் உறுப்பினராகப் பங்களிக்கிறேன். எதிர்காலத்தில் நான் ஒரு தமிழாசிரியராக அடுத்தத் தலைமுறை எழுத்தாளர்களையும் கவிஞர்களையும் வளர்த்து ஊக்குவிக்க வேண்டும் என்பதே என் குறிக்கோளாகும்.

Saranya is a year 2 undergraduate student in Nanyang Technological University, majoring in Linguistics & Multilingual Studies. She has been involved in the Tamil literary field since young, primarily writing Tamil short stories, poetry and plays. She is also actively involved in local Tamil organisations, such as Kavimaalai Singapore, Association of Singapore Tamil Writers and Athipathi International Theatre. She aspires to become a Tamil teacher to instill passion for Tamil in the next generation and develop their literary potential.

Zoe Weng (Chinese to English Fiction)

Zoe Weng recently graduated from university. She has translated and written several short stories and hopes to pursue a career in translation.

Lee Oi Leng (Chinese to English Poetry)

Lee Oi Leng is a teacher who plans to teach until they no longer need her. She is a proud parent of two children and enjoys staying indoors. Her favourite outdoor activity is reading at the beach. Oi Leng volunteers as a docent in the museum where she forces her visitors listen to her babbling about her love for history and culture. She picked up tennis at the advance age of 53 and enjoys it despite the muscle aches after each session.

Mohamad Tauhid (Malay to English Fiction)

Mr. Mohamad Tauhid is an undergraduate at the National University of Singapore (NUS), majoring in Malay Studies with a minor in Religious Studies. Having taken up Malay Literature in his JC stint, Tauhid has since realised the value and richness of Malay literature and thus strives to pursue his passion. He has also been appointed as a Sahabat Sastera (Friends of Malay Literature) and has presented at several Literature events.

Rashikin Rajah (Malay to English Poetry)

Rashikin Rajah recently obtained his Master of Arts from the Department of Malay Studies in the National University of Singapore. Prior, he has worked as a Malay & English translator and interpreter, including roles in Criminal Investigation Department and Ministry of Communication and Information for almost 15 years. His research interests include analysing the aesthetics concepts in the Malay world through a socio-philosophical approach, and is interested to pursue postgraduate studies in translation and bilingualism in Singapore.

Pooja Nansi (English Poetry)

Pooja Nansi’s latest collection of poetry We Make Spaces Divine (2021) was shortlisted for the Singapore Literature Prize. Her previous collections include Stiletto Scars and Love is an Empty Barstool. Her key performance work includes her evolving one-woman show, You Are Here which explores issues of migration and Thick Beats for Good Girls which explores the intersections between feminism, identity and hip hop. She received the Young Artist Award in 2016. She served as festival director of the Singapore Writers Festival from 2019 to 2023.

周德成 Chow Teck Seng (Chinese Poetry)

 周德成，生于新加坡，英国剑桥大学博士候选人，曾获新加坡文学奖、金笔奖诗歌组冠军等。写诗、散文、小说，创作书法绘画，兼及艺术和文学翻译。曾于南洋理工大学教育学院中文系和新加坡国立大学中文系等兼任讲师，教授文学，并担任新加坡文学奖（诗歌）和历年大专文学奖（小说）评审，以及共和联邦小说奖的华文作品遴选和翻译工作。最新诗集有《用整个白天使黑夜安静》（2022，入选2022“联合早报书选”）和《你和我的故事》（2012），部分诗作译成英、法、德文字，及改编成动漫微电影、歌曲和绘画等。他也把微电影《第四个男人》和《红楼梦》为现代小说版本（2023）。

Born in Singapore, Chow Teck Seng 周德成 AKA ZHOU Decheng has won the Singapore Literature Prize and the Golden Point Award for Chinese Poetry. He writes poetry, creative prose, and fiction in Chinese, creates calligraphy and paintings, and also works in art and literary translation. A PhD candidate at Cambridge University, he has lectured Chinese literature modules at the National Institute of Education (NTU) and the National University of Singapore, and served as a judge for the Singapore Literature Prize (Poetry), Singapore Tertiary Literature Award (Fiction), and curator and translator of Chinese entries for the Commonwealth Short Story Prize. His latest poetry collections include The Daylight Makes the Night Fall into Silence (2022, selected for the 2022 "Lianhe Zaobao Book List") and The Story of You and Me (2012), and he has adapted the microfilm "The Fourth Man" and the classical novel "Dream of the Red Chamber" into modern fiction texts (2023). Some of his poetry has been translated into English, French, and German, and adapted into microfilms, songs, and art paintings.

Khairool Haque (Malay Poetry)

Inbha (Tamil Poetry)

இன்பா

தஞ்சாவூரில் பிறந்து சிங்கப்பூருக்குக் குடியேறிவர். கவிதைகள் இயற்றுவதில் தனித்து விளங்கும் இவர் சிறுகதைகளும் எழுதியிருக்கிறார். சிங்கப்பூர்க் கவிமாலை அமைப்பின் தலைவராகப் பொறுப்பேற்று பல்வேறு நிகழ்ச்சிகளை முன்னெடுத்து நடத்தி வருகிறார். சிங்கப்பூர் தேசிய கலைகள் மன்றம் நடத்திய "தங்க முனை விருதுப் ' போட்டி - 2009ல் முதல் பரிசு பெற்றவர்.

Inbha
Writing is Inbha’s passion and pleasure. She won the Golden Point Award 2009 and the Muthamizh Vizha prize a few times, as well as the Kavimanam Poetry competition prize. Her published books include Ngappol Nimir and Mazhai Vasam.