9 groundbreaking Singaporean writers to read in 2021

Singapore’s literary movement had a strong grassroots beginning, largely organised by writers themselves, so it makes sense that Singapore’s writers are as diverse as its population. 

Some of the writers in this list came from that movement, and some took other avenues to develop their craft, but all of them have created work worth reading.

There’s no better time than a new year to dedicate yourself to supporting our local writers.

Marylyn Tan

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Marylyn Tan started making waves in Singapore’s spoken word scene in the early 2010s with her unapologetically queer, feminist poetry.

She breaks taboos without breaking a sweat, and you’ll find her best in her debut solo collection of poems, Gaze Back.

Drawing from inspiration from diverse topics ranging from Catholicism and computer programming to critical theory and kink, she’s received a Lambda Literary Award nomination for her efforts.

If that’s not impressive enough, she’s also the first female winner of the Singapore Literature Prize in English Poetry.

Find Marylyn Tan on Instagram and Facebook. Buy her book, Gaze Back, here.

Rachel Heng

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One of Singapore’s exported successes, Rachel Heng is Singapore-born and based in the United States.

Her 2018 novel, Suicide Club, was a national bestseller locally, and gained her recognition in the US and beyond, while her short fiction has garnered a Pushcart Prize Special Mention and has been listed among Best American Short Stories’ Distinguished Stories.

What’s more, her non-fiction has been listed among Best American Essays’ Notable Essays. Look forward to her new novel, The Great Reclamation, in 2022.

Find Rachel Heng on her website, Instagram and Twitter.

Hamid Roslan

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After winning the Outstanding Capstone Prize in Arts and Humanities from Yale-NUS College in 2017, Hamid Roslan has gone on to be published in journals like The Volta, Asymptote and the Quarterly Literary Review Singapore.

His 2019 poetry collection, parsetreeforestfire, is a bilingual book where poems in Singlish occupy one side of the book while poems in “standard” English occupy the other.

This collection interrogates the purpose of the poem, the way we use language, and the things we inherited from our colonisers and now take for granted.

Buy Hamid Roslan’s book, parsetreeforestfire, here.

Deborah Emmanuel

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Deborah Emmanuel , also known as Arunditha, is an established artist performing spoken word poetry, singing and making theatre.

She’s been featured by TEDx Singapore and has toured alongside poetry star Sarah Kay. Not only has she published a poetry collection, non-fiction, and a visual poetry book, she also has multiple music albums (check out her band Mantravine ) under her belt.

Currently working on a manuscript of short stories with paranormal themes, Emmanuel’s work has been heavily influenced by political and feminist discourse and spirituality.

Find Deborah Emmanuel on her website , Instagram and Facebook.

Pooja Nansi

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Singapore’s first Youth Poet Ambassador and recipient of the Young Artist Award, Pooja Nansi has been writing lyrical, unflinching poems since she was a teenager.

Two collections of poetry, an NTU writing residency and two theatre works later, she is now preparing to release her third collection, We Make Spaces Divine.

Available for pre-order, this collection speaks on belonging and not belonging, resistance and reclamation, oppression and joy.

Find Pooja Nansi on her website, Instagram and Twitter. Pre-order her book We Make Spaces Divine here .

Stephanie Dogfoot Chan

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Stephanie Dogfoot, also known as Stephanie Chan, is a highly lauded slam poet.

The curator and host of monthly open mic poetry night Spoke & Bird, they also run a comedy and storytelling night called Siao Char Bors that highlights female and LGBTQ comedians.

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Chan’s 2019 poetry collection Roadkill For Beginners is a magical realist, mildly surreal depiction of their travels, tours and growing up.

Find Stephanie Dogfoot Chan on their website , Instagram and Twitter . Buy their book, Roadkill For Beginners, here .

Joshua Ip

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One of Singapore’s more prolific writers, Joshua Ip has published four volumes of poetry and edited nine anthologies.

He’s won awards for both his prose and poetry, but he’s probably most well known for founding SingPoWriMo (or Singapore Poetry Writing Month), where poets write a poem a month for 30 days each year.

He also co-founded Sing Lit Station, Singapore’s foremost literary non-profit.

Find Joshua Ip on his website, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Tania De Rozario

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Tania De Rozario rose to prominence in the local literary scene after she won Singapore’s 2011 Golden Point Award for English Poetry.

In the following years, she published Tender Delirium, And The Walls Come Crumbling Down, and Somewhere Else, Another You, all books of different mediums but focusing on sexuality, gender, home and memory.

Find Tania De Rozario on her website, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Jennifer Anne Champion

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Jennifer Anne Champion is a poet, writer, educator and one of the founding members of the national poetry archive poetry.sg.

She is the author of poetry collections Caterwaul (2016) and A History of Clocks (2015), dealing with issues of suburbia, pain and desire. Owing to her experience in poetry performance, her style is dynamic and evocative.

Find Jennifer Anne Champion on her website and Instagram.