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 (Hons) in Politics and International Relations from the University of Manchester.
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 in USA, Canada, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines and Australia. Her story ‘Oil & Water’ was a finalist at the Montblanc X Esquire Fiction Project 2015, while ‘Curry of the Day’ won second prize at the Shakespeare Lives writing competition in Singapore. Wan Phing enjoys writing modern literary fiction set in Malaysia and Singapore, with a twist of grit and urban legend.
Favourite authors: Patricia Highsmith, Anne Rice, John Steinbeck, Fuminori Nakamura, Dennis Lehane, CS Lewis, Gillian Flynn, Paul Jennings
Awards for Fiction Writing
- “Snake Bridge Temple” – shortlist, Best Asian Short Stories 2017 and New Malaysian Writing 2017 and 2018
- “Pentagram” – shortlist, Mencari Kristal writing competition, Berita Harian Singapore, 2016
- “Curry of the Day” – first runner-up, Shakespeare Lives, British Council Singapore, 2016
- “Oil & Water” – Top 10 finalist, Montblanc X Esquire Fiction Project, 2015
Reviews & Mentions
- ‘Nutmag’ anthology celebrates Penang writers with bumper 5th anniversary issue – The Star, 15 Feb 2021
- Giving Words to Growing Pains – Penang Monthly, Feb 2021
- ‘Home Groan’, an anthology on a changing Penang – TheVibes.com, 16 Jan 2021
- ‘The Principal Girl’: Tales from Asia where girls are the heroes – The Star, 30 May 2019
- Malaysian authors publish YA fiction with a feminist, folkloric twist – The Star, 2 April 2019
- “Amusing and vividly told in Lim’s distinctive style” – Book review by Anna Tan, 17 October 2018
- Malaysians Get into ‘Best Asian Short Stories’ book on life as an Asian – The Star, 3 October 2018
- In the Spotlight – Lucent Dreaming, 21 September 2018
- “A manifestation of a monster moth from Chinese superstition...” – The Star, 18 August 2017
- “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
