Thursday, November 20, 2008

Malaysian Takes First in International Prize

Here's a piece of happy news. Malaysian writer Elaine Peckleng Chiew has just won first prize in The Bridport Prize International Creative Writing Competition for her short story Face, and wins £5000. Judge Helen Simpson praised the story for being :
... powered by real emotional honesty.
Elaine says about herself :
I'm originally from Ipoh, Malaysia but currently live in London with my husband and two children. I have a B.A. in Political Science from Amherst College, Massachusetts, and a J.D. law degree from Stanford University. Prior to writing fiction seriously in 2005, I was a corporate securities lawyer for a law firm in New York, and later for an investment bank in Hong Kong and New York. I have lived and worked also in Thailand and Vietnam, among other places. My short stories have appeared most recently in Alimentum, Hobart, Best of the Web 2008 (published by Dzanc Books, USA) and other online literary journals. I am planning a collection of short fiction.
She is also a blogger and check out the long list of work she's had published in her sidebar.

8 comments:

dreameridiot said...

Another Malaysian writer we can all cheer from the 'home' shore. :)

Anonymous said...

Ah, Bridport, I remember it well, and the nearby village of Walditch, where one of my my mother's dearest friends was marrried to the local squire. Now that England has changed irrevocably, my memories of a no longer green and pleasant land are particularly precious to me.

bibliobibuli said...

britain is no longer green and pleasant? oh dear I've been away for far too long!

gnute said...

There is certainly something about the drinking water in Ipoh.

E.P. Chiew said...

Sharon:
Thank you for your encouragement on my Bridport win and for saying so on my blog. I'd be delighted to do a reading when next in K.L. Let's stay in touch.

Best
Elaine Chiew

Anonymous said...

I like to read..I don't find it necessary to make a trek to some place or other to listen to writers reading excerpts from their masterpieces......especially if their voices are not up to par...

Anonymous said...

Hearty congrats to Elaine! The Bridport is a great honour.

-- Preeta

Anonymous said...

"Yet again, others might suggest keeping at it, even if you write a million shitty little words that you can't bear to read over. The hope is that at the end of the drivel there's a pot of gold.

I can't write the latter. It makes me loathe myself. And I find that when I loathe myself, other people loathe me too."

A good argument against the nano don't you think?