Wan Phing Lim was born to Malaysian parents in 1986 in Butterworth, Penang. She is a full-time writer who has lived in the UK, China, Italy, Singapore and Malaysia. She graduated with a BA in Politics and International Relations from the University of Manchester. For the last five years before returning to her hometown in Penang in 2016, Wan Phing worked in Singapore as the Editor-in-Chief of Asian Geographic Magazine.
As a fiction writer, her poems and short stories have been published by Monsoon Books, Ethos Books, Math Paper Press, the National Library Board and the British Council of Singapore. She was finalist at the 2015 Esquire Magazine x Montblanc Fiction Project for her story ‘Oil & Water’ and also won second prize at the 2016 Shakespeare Lives writing competiton for her story ‘Curry of the Day’.
Wan Phing enjoys writing modern fiction set in Malaysia and Singapore with a twist of grit and urban legend. Her short story ‘The Red Kemboja Tree’ received a positive review in the South China Morning Post, described as having a “flowing, conversational narrative with a brief reference to a Malay legend… immediately creating an enjoyable Singaporean fable”.
Reviews & Mentions
“An incredibly layered narrative about an undocumented foreign worker… a very compelling character” – Karla Comanda, Fiction Editor, Ricepaper Magazine, May 2017
“Takes us on a wild ride with a particularly ambitious Mat Rempit in her story ‘Snake Bridge Temple'” – The Little Basket 2017 Editors, Fixi Novo, March 2017
“A devastatingly beautiful essay … with clear, deliberate prose.” – Mensah Demary, editor of Catapult, 22 February 2017
“A keen ear for transcribing the local patois as well as a fine literary sense.” – Anna Tan, author of Co-exist, HinBus Depot Facebook Page, 16 October 2016
“Flowing, conversational narrative… creating an enjoyable Singaporean fable.” – Book Review by William Wadsworth, South China Morning Post, 2 February 2016
35 Peserta Disenarai Pendek (35 Writers Shortlisted) – Berita Harian Singapore’s writing competition ‘Mencari Kristal’, 6 August 2016
George Town Literary Festival Highlights 2016 – Star2.com, 2 December 2016
