Updated, 5 October 2025:

• The call for applications for 2025-2026 mentees is closed. Applicants will receive results in November 2025.

General information

I’m a fiction writer from Singapore, now living in the US, who mentors promising fiction writers in Singapore who are earlier in their careers to help them advance their craft. I’ve been writing fiction for almost fifteen years. My debut novel, Names Have Been Changed, will be published in June 2026 by Tiny Reparations Books, an imprint of Penguin. My short fiction has received a Pushcart Prize special mention, been shortlisted for the Commonwealth Prize, and won the Mississippi Review Fiction Prize.

I believe that the act of writing can change both ourselves and the world (even Singapore). I’m particularly interested in mentoring writers from communities in Singapore that are underrepresented in publishing and who lack access to traditional routes and resources for development such as university programmes, government grants, and professional services (e.g. coaching or editorial consultation).

I have mentored two writers every year since 2021 and eight writers in total (scroll to the bottom of this page for the list of current and previous mentees).

How the mentorship works:

• The mentorship is free to mentees. I volunteer my time.

• I usually mentor two fiction writers, each for six months. This cycle, because of my personal schedule, the mentorship will run for five months from late October 2025 to end-March 2026.

• I speak with each mentee one-on-one on a video call for one hour every month. During this year’s five-month mentorship, we’ll have at least five calls; we’ll squeeze in a sixth if schedules permit.

• Because I live in the US, the calls are usually scheduled in the mornings or evenings Singapore time.

  • One week before the first and third calls, the mentee sends me the craft questions they would like to discuss.

  • One week before the second and fourth calls, the mentee submits a draft of a short story or novel excerpt (maximum 5,000 words) that I provide feedback on during the call.

  • For the fifth call (and the sixth, if we’re able to do it), the mentee and I will discuss how to allocate the time between discussing craft questions and reviewing another draft by the mentee.

• One mentee position is dedicated to a short story writer. The other spot is for someone writing either a novel, novella or short stories. I do not accept mentees in other forms of writing.

• That said, developing a full novel manuscript is beyond the scope of this programme. If you’re applying with a novel project, I advise you to choose a specific section of the manuscript to focus on for the mentorship period.

• I expect that mentees will use the six-month period to work on their writing, not merely talk about it. If a mentee repeatedly does not submit drafts, prepare for calls, or attend them, I have the discretion to terminate the mentorship. Mentees who find that the programme is not a good fit also have the discretion to terminate the mentorship.

Previous and current mentees (in alphabetical order):

• Sarah Ang

• Isha B.

• Wisha Jamal

• Mohamed Shaker

• Marcus Ong Kah Ho

• Jay Panicker

• Audrey Tan

• Yap Shi Quan