SBC Mentorships for
Emerging Writers and Translators

Winifred Wong Ying Chee (English Poetry)

Winifred Wong is a Singaporean poet, writer, and performer based in Berlin. Her poetry has appeared in SAND Journal, Softblow and SingPoWriMo, among others. As a journalist, she covers cultural events and has written for arts institutions such as Esplanade Theatres and news outlet Yahoo!

Kamalia Shafie (English Poetry)

Kamalia Shafie (mayakamalia) is an aspiring poet and english lit grad who has spent her life reading between the lines, only to learn that people are not as decipherable as fiction. She writes to hold confounding truths in one space, to resist sense while pursuing clarity in her poetry. What did you see last time you were out at sea is her contribution to Layl-Ash-Shayr’s The Opening Act anthology. Other personas include social service professional, excitable aunt, and known lover of green.

Zhang Zeding 张泽鼎 (Chinese Poetry)

张泽鼎，出生于江苏淮安的00后，如今在新加坡国立大学攻读中文系研究型硕士，研究方向为古典文学，学术研究之余也好创作。

Zhang Zeding, a Gen Z born in Huai'an, Jiangsu, currently pursuing a Master of Arts (Research) degree in Chinese Studies at the National University of Singapore, specialising in classical literature. Enjoys creative work besides academic endeavours.

Cheong Yun-yee 钟韵宜 (Chinese Poetry)

钟韵宜，教育工作者，生于新加坡，北京大学汉语言文学系荣誉学士、新加坡国立大学中文系硕士、伦敦大学学院测试与评估博士、哈佛大学受邀访问学人。曾获新加坡国立大学研究奖学金、陈嘉庚高级学位奖学金及新加坡教育部博士学位研究奖学金。分别于2012年、2019年及2023年代表新加坡出席亚洲华人青年文艺营、上海青年汉学家计划和东盟青年作家中国行。2016年、2020年及2021年分别获得新加坡全国诗歌比赛华文公开组金奖、季军及亚军。作品收录于《新华文学大系》及《国家艺术理事会年度诗选》。钟韵宜为新加坡作家协会副秘书及大士文艺促进会副主席。主编《新华文学》、《大士文艺》、《锡山文艺》与《殊途》若干期。

Cheong Yun Yee is a dreamer, educator and avid reader who writes to express her feelings and opinions. Educated in Singapore, China, the UK and the USA, she is a curious blend of various cultures. Yun Yee holds a PhD in Educational Testing from University College London and was a Visiting Predoctoral Fellow at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Her poems Deconstructing Myself at Thirty, Recollections of Poems by Khoo Seok Wan: Legacies and Creation and Outliers have won the Singapore National Poetry Competition (Chinese Open Category) in 2016, 2020 and 2021 respectively. Yun Yee spends her free time travelling, contemplating and withering into the truth.

Vennila Asokan (Tamil Poetry)

வெண்ணிலா | தகவல் தொழில்நுட்ப வல்லுநர் & கவிதை ஈர்ப்புள்ளவர்** சிங்கப்பூரைச் சேர்ந்த தகவல் தொழில்நுட்ப வல்லுநர், கவிதை மீதான ஆர்வத்துடன். கவிதை வெளிப்பாடுகளை ஆராயவும், பல்வேறு பார்வைகளிலிருந்து கற்றுக்கொள்ளவும் ஆர்வமாக உள்ளேன். செய்யுளின் கலை, படைப்பு கதைசொல்லல் மற்றும் சொற்களால் எழுப்பப்படும் உணர்ச்சிகளில் ஆர்வம் கொண்டவர். பகுப்பாய்வு சிந்தனையையும் இசை நயம் கொண்ட அழகையும் இணைக்க முயல்பவர். தொழில்நுட்பத்தையும் இலக்கியத்தையும் இணைக்கும் பயணத்தில் உள்ளேன். எப்போதும் கற்றுக்கொண்டே இருக்கும் ஆர்வலர்.

Singaporean IT professional with a passion for poetry. Eager to explore poetic expressions and learn from diverse perspectives. Interested in the art of verse, creative storytelling, and the emotions words evoke. Combines analytical thinking with a love for lyrical beauty, seeking to bridge technology and literature. Always curious, always learning.

Shruthika Kumar (Tamil Poetry)

Shruthika D/O Kumar is an aspiring Tamil educator with a growing interest in writing Tamil poetry. Her work draws inspiration from the quiet beauty of everyday life, often shaped by the sky, the moon, and other gentle moments. With a deep love for her mother tongue, she writes instinctively and sincerely, exploring the world through simple yet thoughtful verses. Through her work, she hopes to nurture creativity and spark a renewed appreciation for Tamil literature among younger generations.

Charmaine Tan (Chinese to English Fiction)

Charmaine is a budding translator. She can sometimes be found gobbling down waffles soaked with maple syrup. Otherwise, she reads and translates words.

Ian Tan (Chinese to English Poetry)

If language is a machine, I’m a mechanic. I’d take it apart, gaze at its cogs and wheels, twang a spring, get my hands dirty. Maybe it’s the chugging of glottal stops, the hissing of sibilants, or the wondrous hum of vowels. Who knows? In all seriousness, I’m a translation studies student at NTU. Maybe I’ll write something important. Maybe I’ll invent a new machine, a vehicle of meaning. Who knows? I'll consider any suggestions offered!

Cyril Wong (English Poetry)

Cyril Wong is a poet and fictionist. A two-time recipient of the Singapore Literature Prize (2006 and 2016) and the National Arts Council’s Young Artist Award for Literature (2005), he completed his doctoral degree in English Literature at the National University of Singapore in 2012. His most recent work is Beachlight, published by Seagull Books in 2023, and his writings have appeared in international magazines and anthologies by W. W. Norton and Everyman’s Library.

Jennifer Anne Champion (English Poetry)

Jennifer Anne Champion is best known as a poet, educator and archivist. She has written two collections of poetry - A History of Clocks (2015) and Caterwaul (2016). She has also been called a household name in Singapore spoken word by Tatler Asia and gifted with “swift, animated style” by Juice Magazine. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Jennifer expanded her artistic practice with textiles and music. Self-taught in both respects, Jennifer enjoys translating her poems and the works of her collaborators into new mediums.

林高 Lin Gao (Chinese Poetry)

林高是新加坡国立大学中文系兼任高级讲师。2013年赴韩国参加为期三个月的Toji文化馆驻馆作家计划。2014年获新加坡文学奖（小说）。2015年获颁新加坡文化奖。他的作品包括《一只飞行的水晶》、《记得》、《孤独瞭望：英培安小说世界》、《林高微型小说》、《遇见诗》、《框起人间事》、《被追逐的滋味》等。2023年出版了首部诗集《一只飞行的水晶》以及英译版。

Lin Gao is an adjunct senior lecturer at the Department of Chinese Studies at the National University of Singapore. In 2013, Lin Gao spent three months in South Korea as a writer-in-residence under the Toji Cultural Residency programme. He was awarded the Cultural Medallion in 2015. His notable works include The Feeling of Being Chased, Reading by the Window, Flash Fiction by Lin Gao, Poetic Encounter by Lin Gao, and Framing the Worldly Matters. His first poetry anthology and its English translation, A Flying Crystal, was published in 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.

Inbha (Tamil Poetry)

இன்பா ஆறு கவிதை நூல்கள், ஒரு சிறுகதைத் தொகுப்பையும் வெளியிட்டுள்ளார். இவரது "லயாங் லயாங் பறவைகளின் கீச்சொலிகள் நூல் 2022 இல் சிங்கப்பூர் இலக்கியப் பரிசைப் பெற்றது. கவிமாலை சிங்கப்பூர் அமைப்பின் தலைவரும், திணைகள் இணைய இதழின் ஆசிரியராகவும் இருக்கின்றார் . சிறுகதைத் தொகுப்பிற்காகத் தஞ்சாவூர் தமிழ்ப் பல்கலைக் கழகத்தின் கரிகாற்சோழன் விருதையும், அயலகத் தமிழ்க் கவிதைக்கான தமிழக அரசின் கவிதை விருதையும் பெற்றுள்ளார். சிங்கப்பூர் மற்றும் அதற்கப்பால் உள்ள இலக்கிய நிலப்பரப்பில் தனது முத்திரையைப் பதித்து வருகின்றார். நிலத்தினை மையப்படுத்திச் சமகாலக் கவிதைகளை தனக்கே உரிய மொழி நடையில் நுண்ணிய அனுபவங்களை அழகியலோடும் உயிர்ப்புடனும் எழுதுவதில் ஆர்வம் காட்டி வருகின்றார்.

Inbha has published six poetry books and a short story collection. Her dedication to her craft culminated in the poetry collection Layang Layang Birds Tweet, which won the 2022 Singapore Literature Prize. She has also received awards such as the Karikala Cholan Award. She is the head of Kavimaalai Singapore and editor of Thinaigal e-magazine.