Farish Ahmad Noor

Academic, writer and columnist Farish A. Noor is presently Senior Fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University.  He has also served as Affiliated Professor at Muhamadiyah University, Surakarta and Sunan Kalijaga Islamic University, Jogjakarta; and researcher at the Centre for Modern Orient Studies (ZMO), Berlin; taught at Freie University Berlin, the Institute for the Study of Islam in the Modern World (ISIM), Leiden; and Sciences-Po, Paris.

He is the author of The Madrasa in Asia: Political Activism and Transnational Linkages. (With Martin van Bruinessen and Yoginder Sikand (Eds.), University of Amsterdam Press, Amsterdam, 2008; and Islam Embedded: The Historical Development of the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party PAS: 1951-2003, Malaysian Sociological Research Institute (MSRI), Kuala Lumpur, 2004.  His other writings include: Writings on the War on Terror (Globalmedia Press, India, 2006), From Majapahit to Putrajaya: Searching For Another Malaysia (Silverfish Books, Kuala Lumpur, 2005), Islam Progresif: Peluang, Tentangan dan Masa Depannya di Asia Tenggara (SAMHA, Jogjakarta, 2005), The Other Malaysia: Writings on Malaysia’s Subaltern History (Silverfish Books, Kuala Lumpur, 2003); and New Voices of Islam, (International Institute for the Study of Islam in the Modern World, Leiden, Netherlands, 2002).

His weekly columns appear in several regional newspapers in Southeast and South Asia; he has also been a radio essayist for the BBC World Service and BBC Radio 4.   In 2005 he was voted as one of the top forty Malaysians who have shaped the development of post-colonial Malaysia and in 2010 was awarded the Annexe Freedom of Speech award. 

http://www.othermalaysia.org/

Iskandar Al-Bakri

Iskandar Al-Bakri’s first novel The Beruas Prophecy is his attempt to challenge the predominantly linear and polished observations of Malaysian history.  Iskandar wants to portray the Malays in a purely ethnic context; as exponents of silat and practitioners of black magic.  Every incantation or charm in the novel is real.  Every paranormal event is documented.  Every location cited in the novel exists and the reader can visit each location today. Iskandar spent two years interviewing Orang Asli, bomohs and historians in preparation for the novel.

The eldest of four, Iskandar was born in Teluk Intan, Perak.  He received his early education at SRK Sultan Yussuf Batu Gajah, SMA Sultan Azlan Shah and St Michael Institution, Ipoh.  He graduated with a Bachelor of Laws degree from the Australian National University.   Iskandar is a vocalist in a band and is an amateur bodybuilder.

Muhammad Haji Salleh

Muhammad Haji Salleh, Ph.D. is known in Malaysia and abroad as a poet, critic, editor and translator in Malay and English.   He has published twelve collections of poetry and thirty-odd books of criticism, translation, and anthologies.   Among his major poetry collections in Malay are Perjalanan Si Tenggang II, Sajak-sajak Sejarah Melayu, Salju Shibuya, Meraih Ruang, Setitik Darah di Bilik Bundar; while in English, they include Time and Its People, Beyond the Archipelago and Rowing Down Two Rivers.   Among his critical works are Romance and Laughter in the Archipelago, Menyeberang Sejarah, Yang Empunya Ceritera: The Mind of the Malay Author, An Introduction to Modern Malaysian Literature and Jatuh ke Rumput, Gilang.

In all he has written and edited more than 50 books in Malay and English, of poetry, translation and literary criticism/theory.   These are published in Malaysia, Indonesia, Europe, Australia and the U.S.

Muhammad is a National Laureate of Malaysia.   

Interview with Muhammad Haji Salleh

Shih-Li Kow

Shih-Li Kow’s short stories first appeared in print in News from Home, a three author anthology.   Her subsequent collection, Ripples and Other Stories (Silverfishbooks) was shortlisted for the 2009 Frank O’Connor Short Story Award.

Her stories also have also been published in various media and anthologies such as Body 2 Body (Matahari Books), Clutch, Brake, Sellerator (MPH), Sharp Sticks, Driven Nails (Stinging Fly) and the Swedish literary magazine, Karavan.

She previously practised as a chemical engineer and has worked in a detergent factory, a clothing store and a cultural market.   She now works in a mall and lives in Kuala Lumpur.

Interview with Shih-Li Kow

Tan Twan Eng

Tan Twan Eng is a Malaysian author born in Penang.   His first novel The Gift of Rain was published in 2007 and long-listed for the Man Booker Prize.   He worked as an intellectual property lawyer before going full time into writing.   He has a first-dan ranking in aikido.

He has spoken  at and appeared at various literary festivals, including the Singapore Writers' Festival, the Ubud Writers' Festival in Bali, the Asia Man Booker Festival in Hong Kong, the Shanghai Literary Festival, the Perth International Writers' Festival, and also at the Abbotsford Convent in Melbourne, Australia.   In May 2009 and May 2011 he was a guest at the Franschhoek Literary Festival in South Africa.

He ranks Salman Rushdie and Kazuo Ishiguro as two of the best writers writing today.

The Gift of Rain has been translated into Italian, Spanish, Greek, Romanian, Czech, Serbian and French.   His second novel, The Garden of Evening Mists will be published in January 2012.

http://www.tantwaneng.com/