SEA writers

A Guide to Southeast Asian Authors of the Fantastic:

The following is a non-comprehensive list of authors in Southeast Asia (or of Southeast Asian Descent) who have written Speculative Fiction of any stripe — including Fantasy, Horror and Science Fiction. Please let me know in the comments section below if I have missed anyone.

By definition Southeast Asia refers to the countries of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor Leste and Vietnam.

This page will forever be under construction.

Brunei

Cambodia

Indonesia

Malaysia

Myanmar

1. Htay Oo Kyaw
2. Kyaw Sein Min
3. Min Lu  – Poet who wrote the Science Fiction short stories in Burmese:  “Myanmar Pyi Twin Htoke Lote Thi” (Manufactured in Myanmar), a story about a machine that produces milk from grass and “Modern Swan In” (Modern Energy) about a scientist who tries to produce electricity from human tears. The latter story is included in his book Myauk Lat’s Literary Caricature

Philippines

Singapore

Thailand

1. Kupratakul, Shaiwatna (also writes under the pen names Shaikupt, Tachyon, Watanachai and Sriwat) – – Pioneering Thai Science Fiction writer. Unfortunately his novels and short stories are not easily available in English.
2. Siriboonrod, Juntree – Thai Novelist and Short Story writer known as “The Father of Thai Science Fiction”. “Phu Dap Duang Athit” (ผู้ดับดวงอาทิตย์ , “The Man Who Put Out the Sun”) is his collection of adventure and speculative fiction short stories.
3. Somtow S.P. (Sucharitkul, Somtow Papinian) –  A Thai-American musical composer, he is also an award-winning science fiction, fantasy, and horror author writing in English (“Sonnets About Serial Killers“, “Dragonís Fin Soup“, “The Bird Catcher ” in The Apex Book of World SF ). Somtow Sucharitkul won the World Fantasy Award for best Novella in 2002 for The Bird Catcher, and has been nominated four other times. He has won the International Horror Guild Award, the John W. Campbell Award in 1981, the Locus Award for Best First Novel (1982, for Starship & Haiku), the Homer Award, the American Horror Award and numerous other awards. He has been nominated for two Hugos and five Bram Stoker Awards. In 2008, he became one of the first recipients of the newly created Silpathorn Kittikhun Award, given by the Office of Contemporary Art and Culture of Thailand’s Ministry of Culture. Blog Interview
4. Sriduangkaew, Benjanun “Bee” – Short Story Writer nominated for the John W. Campbell Award in 2014 (“Courtship in the Country of Machine-Gods“) – Note: Benjanun Sriduangkaew has been outed as the vicious hate/rage blogger Winter Fox/ Requires Hate .A complete report by Laura J. Mixon can be read here: A Report on Damage Done by One Individual Under Several Names. There have also been some doubts raised regarding the true authorship of her works. More discussions on failfandomanonwiki
5. Yoon, Prabda – Translator and Short Story Writer whose works occasionally contain Fantasy Elements (“Pen in Parentheses” in Asymptote).

Timor Leste

Vietnam

1. de Bodard, Aliette (based in France) – BSFA, Nebula and Locus award winning short story writer (“The Shipmaker“, “Immersion“, “The Moon Over Red Trees“) and novelist  of Fantasy and Science Fiction (The Obsidian and Blood Trilogy, On A Red Station, Drifting) – Blog
2. Pham, Hoa (based in Australia) – Young Writer of the Year award-winning novelist (Vixen), short story author (“Fox Fairy“), playwright (“49 Ghosts“) and children’s book writer.
3. Vo, Nghi (Based in the US) – Short story writer (“Gift of Flight“, “Tiger Stripes“, “River Bride“) – Interview 

Artwork above by Jon Jaylo from the book “Here be Dragons“