Ng Yi-Sheng (b. 25 November 1980, Singapore–) is a writer whose literary works have garnered much critical acclaim.1 Besides fiction, poetry, critiques and non-fiction, he also writes plays, which have been staged by theatre groups.2 Among his many accolades, Ng is the two-time winner of the Singapore Literature Prize, in 2008 and 2020.3
Education
Born in Singapore on 25 November 1980, Ng studied at Anglo-Chinese School and Raffles Junior College before going to Columbia University in New York to study comparative literature and creative writing.4 He completed a master of arts degree in creative writing at the University of East Anglia in the United Kingdom, and subsequently obtained his PhD in creative writing from Nanyang Technological University.5
Ng’s interest in creative writing and poetry began as a student. In 1996, he won the Ngee Ann Polytechnic’s short story writing competition.6 He started work on his award-winning debut poetry collection, last boy (2006), during his sophomore year at Raffles Junior College.7
Ng’s literary development was aided by the support and encouragement he received from the Creative Arts Programme while in college, a scheme designed to nurture young writers by providing mentorship and creative opportunities.8 Prior to university, he received playwriting mentorships at TheatreWorks and The Necessary Stage.9 Ng’s mentors include poets Lee Tzu Pheng and Angeline Yap, and playwright Haresh Sharma.10
Literary career
Publications
Ng’s literary talents were recognised from an early age. He won first prize in the National University of Singapore’s Poetry Competition in 1999, and also the first prize in the Writers’ Week Poetry Slam organised by night spot Velvet Underground in 2003.11 His debut poetry collection, last boy, which deals with identity issues and sociocultural concerns, won him the Singapore Literature Prize in 2008.12 His poems have been featured in various literary anthologies, including Eye On the World (1998),13 No Other City: The Ethos Anthology of Urban Poetry (2000),14 Love Gathers All: The Philippines-Singapore Anthology of Love Poetry (2002)15 and Over There: Poems from Singapore and Australia (2008).16
Ng both contributed and served as editor for projects such as First Words (1996)17 and Onewinged (2001), two anthologies of young writers’ works put together by the Creative Arts Programme Alumni.18 In 2006, Ng’s book SQ21: Singapore Queers in the 21st Century was published. Based on first-hand interviews, the book chronicles the love stories of 15 individuals and their struggles for acceptance, addressing issues of sexuality and social misconceptions.19 The work was named the best non-fiction book of 2006 by Straits Times.20
Commissioned by the National Library Board and the National Book Development Council of Singapore, Ng undertook a film novelisation of Kelvin Tong and Jasmine Ng’s local independent film, Eating Air.21 Revolving around teenage bikers, the novel was published in 2008.22
Ng was the lead writer for his alma mater’s commemorative book, On His Wings: Soaring Twenty Years On (2008), which traces the history of the Anglo-Chinese School.23 In addition, his work has been published in various journals including Asian Journal and Quarto (both publications by the University of Columbia), The 2nd Rule Journal and the Quarterly Literary Review of Singapore.24 Ng has also written for the children’s newspaper, What’s Up, and reviewed theatre performances for Straits Times, The Flying Inkpot and The Substation Magazine.25
Playwriting
Ng won the SPH-TheatreWorks 24-hour Playwriting Competition in 1998 and 1999. Among his works, those that have been staged include Hungry by TheatreWorks (1998), Snake by Stage Right (1999), Redhill Blues by the CAP Alumni (1999) and Serve by The Ordinary Theatre (2006).26 In 2007, he served as playwright for Musical Theatre Ltd’s Georgette, a play based on the life of painter Georgette Chen, and for Toy Factory’s 251, which was about the life of former pornographic actress Annabel Chong. Together with TheatreWorks’s multidisciplinary art collective V.I.S.T.A. Lab, Ng wrote and performed in the plays, Impetus and Interference, in 2007.27 In 2008, his play, Reservoir, was staged by TheatreWorks.28 Another play, The Last Temptation of Sir Stamford Raffles, was staged by Wild Rice at the Drama Centre as part of that year’s Singapore Theatre Festival.29
Gay rights activism
Ng has never shied away from his homosexuality.30 Many poems in last boy centre on his reconciliation and acceptance of his sexuality.31
Besides working on SQ21: Singapore Queers in the 21st Century, a project that highlighted the challenges faced by gays, lesbians and bisexuals, Ng also participated in events that sought to create more awareness about alternative sexualities.32 In 2005, he performed slam poetry for ContraDiction, Singapore’s first gay poetry recital, and has co-organised and performed at various subsequent editions of ContraDiction. Ng has also been a co-organiser for the local gay pride festival known as IndigNation.33
Ng’s vocal and affirmative stance on the need for society to value those of different sexual orientations has not gone without its challenges. His work Lee Low Tar was banned from public performance at IndigNation 2007.34 In 2009, he was dropped by the Ministry of Education as a mentor in the Creative Arts Programme just one month into his mentorship. Ng felt that he had been fired because of his participation in political and gay rights activism.35
Notable distinctions
Ng has received multiple accolades for his plays and publications. Most notably, he is a two-time winner of the Singapore Literature Prize: in 2008 for his debut poetry collection, last boy and 2020 for Lion City. In 2019, he was also awarded Best Literary Work at the Singapore Book Awards for Lion City.36
In 2005, Straits Times identified him as one of the “50 Young People to Look Out For”.37 He was also listed in the same newspaper’s “Power List 2007: Faces to Watch” and as one of the “30 Under 30” promising young people in the arts in 2008.38
Single-authored books
2006: SQ21: Singapore Queers in the 21st Century; last boy 39
2008: Eating Air 40
2016: Loud Poems for a Very Obliging Audience41
2017: A Book of Hims42
2018: Lion City43
2020: Black Waters, Pink Sands44
Anthologies
1996: First Words A Selection of Works by Young Writers in Singapore (co-editor)45
2000: No Other City: The Ethos Anthology of Urban Poetry; Onewinged: An Anthology of Young Writing (project editor)46
2002: Love Gathers All: The Philippines-Singapore Anthology of Love Poetry47
2003: 5 under 25: Prize-Winning Plays from the Writers’ Lab48
2008: Over There: Poems from Singapore and Australia49
2010: GASPP: A Gay Anthology of Singaporean Poetry and Prose (co-editor)50
2013: Stories in the End; Eastern Heathens: An Anthology of Subverted Asian Folklore (co-editor)51
2016: Heat: A Southeast Asian Urban Anthology (co-editor); Forty-Four Winning Plays from the TheatreWorks 24-Hour Playwriting Competition (co-editor)52
2018: SingPoWriMo 2018: The Anthology (co-editor)53
2019: Sanctuary Short Fiction from Queer Asia54
2021: EXHALE: An Anthology of Queer Singapore Voices (co-editor); A Mosque in the Jungle: Classic Ghost Stories by Othman Wok (editor)55
Plays
1998: Hungry, Theatreworks56
1999: Redhill Blues, Creative Arts Programme Alumni; Snake, Stage Right57
2006: Serve, The Ordinary Theatre58
2007: 251, Toy Factory Theatrical Productions; Georgette, Musical Theatre Ltd; Frostbite, Short and Sweet Singapore59
2008: The Last Temptation of Stamford Raffles, Wild Rice; Reservoir, TheatreWorks60
2009: Bird Call, Arts Fission61
2012: The Lan Fang Chronicles, Choy Ka Fai; Perfection of 10, Sean Tobin62
2016: Painted Shadows: A Queer Haunting of the National Gallery, The Substation63
2019: Ayer Hitam: A Black History of Singapore; The Vault: Desert Blooms, Centre 4264
Translations
2012: The New Village(co-translator)65
Achievements
1996: First prize, Ngee Ann Polytechnic Short Story Writing Competition66
1998: Fourth prize, Commonwealth Essay Writing Competition; First prize, SPH-TheatreWorks 24-hour Playwriting Competition; First prize, National University of Singapore Poetry Competition67
1999: First prize, SPH-TheatreWorks 24-hour Playwriting Competition68
2003: First prize, Velvet Underground Singapore Slam for Writer’s Week69
2007: First prize, Very Short Story Writing Competition, Culturepush70
2008: Singapore Literature Prize, National Book Development Council of Singapore71
2019: Best Literary Work, Singapore Book Awards72
2020: Singapore Literature Prize, National Book Development Council of Singapore73
Author
Sheena Kumari Singh
References
1. Ng Yi-Sheng, Eating Air (Singapore: National Library Board; National Book Development Council of Singapore, 2008), 118 (Call no. RSING S823 NG); “The Power List 2007: Faces to Watch,” Straits Times, 6 December 2007, 71. (From NewspaperSG)
2. Ng, Eating Air, 118–19.
3. Singapore Book Council, “Singapore Literature Prize 2008”; Singapore Book Council, “Singapore Literature Prize 2020.” (From NLB’s Web Archives Singapore)
4. Stephanie Yap, “Last Boy Scores Top Honours for Poet,” Straits Times, 4 December 2008, 33 (From NewspaperSG); Koh Hui Theng, “Yi-Sheng’s Arts Grand Slam,” My Paper, 31 December 2008. (From Factiva via NLB’s eResources website)
5. Ng Yi-Sheng, Loud Poems for a Very Obliging Audience (Singapore: Math Paper Press, 2016), 125 (Call no. RSING S821 NG); Ng Yi-Sheng, “A Gate of Dragon's Teeth: A Decolonial Approach to Writing Precolonial Historical Fiction in Singapore” (doctoral thesis, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, 2011).
6. Ng Yi-Sheng, “Ng Yi-Sheng’s CV,” http://lastboycv.blogspot.sg/, accessed 28 February 2024.
7. Yap, “Last Boy Scores Top Honours for Poet.”
8. Ng Yi-Sheng and Gail Aw, eds., Onewinged: An Anthology of Young Writing (Singapore: UniPress, 2001), xii. (Call no. RSING S828 ONE)
9. Ng Yi-Sheng, last boy (Singapore: Firstfruits Publications, 2006), 64 (Call no. RSING S821 NG).
10. Ng, Eating Air, 118–19.
11. Koh, “Yi-Sheng’s Arts Grand Slam.”
12. Yap, “Last Boy Scores Top Honours for Poet.”
13. Anne Pakir and Doreen Goh, eds., Eye on the World: Imprinting the Journey (Singapore: UniPress, Centre for the Arts, National University of Singapore, 1998). (Call no. RSING 820 EYE)
14. Alvin Pang and Aaron Lee, eds., No Other City: The Ethos Anthology of Urban Poetry (Singapore: Ethos Books, 2000). (Call no. RSING 821 NO)
15. Ramon C. Sunico et al. eds., Love Gathers All: The Philippines–Singapore Anthology of Love Poetry (Singapore: Ethos Books, 2002) (Call no. RSING 821.00803543 LOV)
16. John Kinselle and Alvin Pang, eds., Over There: Poems from Singapore and Australia (Singapore: Ethos Books, 2008). (Call no. RSING 808.81 OVE)
17. Toh Hsien Min et al. eds., First Words: A Selection of Works by Young Writers in Singapore (Singapore: UniPress, 1996). (Call no. RSING S820 FIR)
18. Ng and Aw, Onewinged: An Anthology of Young Writing.
19. Ng Yi-Sheng, SQ21: Singapore Queers in the 21st Century (Singapore: Oogachaga Counseling and Support, 2006). (Call no. RSING 306.76609225957)
20. Ng, Eating Air, 118–19.
21. Ng, Eating Air.
22. Stephanie Yap, “Local Films Get Novel Treatment,” Straits Times, 23 June 2008, 49 (From NewspaperSG); Ng, Eating Air.
23. Chan Chee Wei, Ng Yi-Sheng and Fanny Tan, eds., On His Wings – Soaring Twenty Years On (Singapore: Anglo-Chinese School (Independent), 2008). (Call no. RSING 373.5957 ON)
24. Ng, last boy, 64.
25. Ng, Eating Air, 119.
26. Ng, last boy, 65.
27. Ng, Eating Air, 119.
28. Adeline Chia, “Shrine a Light,” Straits Times, 30 August 2008, 124. (From NewspaperSG)
29. Mayo Martin, “New Man at Raffles’ Helm,” Today, 13 August 2008, 30 (From NewspaperSG); Koh, “Yi-Sheng’s Arts Grand Slam.”
30. Khairani Barokka and Ng Yi-Sheng, eds., Heat: A Southeast Asian Urban Anthology (Petaling Jaya, Malaysia: Fixi Novo, 2016), 238. (Call no. RSEA 828.995903 HEA)
31. Yap, “Last Boy Scores Top Honours for Poet.”
32. Ng, SQ21: Singapore Queers in the 21st Century, 220
33. David Chew, “Poetry in Pink,” Today, 6 August 2005, 42 (From NewspaperSG); Ng Yi-Sheng et al. eds., GASPP: A Gay Anthology of Singaporean Poetry and Prose (Singapore: The Literary Centre, 2010), 220 (Call no. RSING S828 GAS); Shabana Begum, “Singapore’s LGBTQ+ Pride Month: What You should Know About IndigNation’s 13-Year Run,” Popspoken, published 3 December 2017.
34. Ng, Eating Air, 119; “Police Cancel Licence for Singapore Gay Forum,” Today, 4 August 2007, 17; “Censor with Care,” Straits Times, 20 June 2010. (From NewspaperSG)
35. Adeline Chia, “Education Ministry Drops Arts Mentor,” Straits Times, 3 October 2009, 109. (From NewspaperSG)
36. Singapore Book Council ,“Singapore Literature Prize 2008”; Singapore Book Council, “Singapore Literature Prize 2020”; Singapore Book Publishers Association, “Singapore Book Awards 2019,” accessed 28 February 2024.
37. Ng, “Ng Yi-Sheng’s CV.”
38. “The Power List 2007: Faces to Watch”; Eddino Abdul Hadi et al., “30 under 30,” Straits Times, 8 December 2008, 78. (From NewspaperSG)
39. Ng, SQ21: Singapore Queers in the 21st Century; Ng, Last Boy.
40. Ng, Eating Air.
41. Ng Yi-Sheng, Loud Poems for a Very Obliging Audience (Singapore Math Paper Press, 2016) (Call no. RSING S821 NG)
42. Ng Yi-Sheng, A Book of Hims (Singapore: Math Paper Press, 2017) (Call no. RSING S821 NG)
43. Ng Yi-Sheng, Lion City (Singapore: Epigram Books, 2018). (Call no. RSING S823 NG)
44. Ng Yi-Sheng, Black Waters, Pink Sands (Singapore: Math Paper Press, 2020) (Call no. RSING S822 NG)
45. Toh et al., First Words: A Selection of Works by Young Writers in Singapore.
46. Pang and Lee, No Other City: The Ethos Anthology of Urban Poetry; Ng and Aw, Onewinged: An Anthology of Young Writing.
47. Ng Yi-Sheng, “Adamsapple,” in Ramon C. Sunico et al. eds., Love Gathers All.
48. Ng Yi-Sheng, “Hungry,” in K. K. Seet, ed., 5 under 25: Prize-Winning Plays from the Writers’ Lab (Singapore: Theatreworks, 2003), 29–63. (Call no. RSING S822 FIV)
49. Ng Yi-Sheng, “Ng Yi-Sheng,” in Over There: Poems from Singapore and Australia.
50. Ng et al, eds., GASPP: A Gay Anthology of Singaporean Poetry and Prose.
51. Ng Yi-Sheng, “The Crocodile Prince,” in Stories in the End (Singapore: The Substation, 2013), 57–78 (Call no. RSING S823 STO); Amana Lee Koe and Ng Yi-Sheng, eds, Eastern Heathens: An Anthology of Subverted Asian Folklore (Singapore: Ethos books, 2013). (Call no. RSING 398.2095 EAS)
52. Barokka and Ng, Heat: A Southeast Asian Urban Anthology; Ng Yi-Sheng and Dan Koh, eds., Forty-four Winning Plays from the TheatreWorks 24-hour Playwriting Competition (Singapore: TheatreWorks: Husken-Ulbrich Books, 2016). (Call no. RSING S822 FOR)
53. Desmond Kon Zhicheng-Mingdé et al. eds., SingPoWriMo 2018: The Anthology (Singapore: Math Paper Press, 2018). (Call no. RSING S821 SIN)
54. Libay Linsangan Cantor and Ng Yi-Sheng, eds., Sanctuary: Short Fiction from Queer Asia, (United Kingdom: Signal 8 Press, 2019), https://www.ngyisheng.com/home/edited, accessed 28 February 2024.
55. Ng Yi-Sheng et al. eds., EXHALE: An Anthology of Queer Singapore Voices (Singapore: Math Paper Press, 2021) (Call no. RSING S828 EXH); Ng Yi-Sheng, ed., A Mosque in the Jungle: Classic Ghost Stories by Othman Wok (Singapore: Epigram Books, 2021). (Call no. RSING 899.2305 OTH)
56. Ng, last boy, 65.
57. Ng, last boy, 65.
58. Ng, last boy, 65.
59. “Where is Annabel?” Straits Times, 7 September 2006 (From NewspaperSG); Stephanie Yap, “Song for Georgette,” Straits Times, 6 June 2007 (From NewspaperSG); Ng, “Ng Yi-Sheng’s CV.”
60. Martin, “New Man at Raffles’ Helm”; Adeline Chia, “Shrine a Light,” Straits Times, 30 August 2008 (From NewspaperSG)
61. Tara Tan, “Speak to the Beat,” Straits Times, 18 June 2009. (From NewspaperSG)
62. Ng, “Ng Yi-Sheng’s CV”; Corrie Tan, “Valentine to the Theatre,” Straits Times, 15 September 2012, 27. (From NewspaperSG)
63. Ng Yi-Sheng, “Ng Yi-Sheng: Performances”, accessed 29 February 2024.
64. Ng, “Ng Yi-Sheng: Performances”; Centre 42, “The Vault: Desert Blooms,” accessed 12 December 2023. (From NLB Web Archives Singapore)
65. Wong Woon Wah, The New Village 新村, trans. Ho Lian Geok and Ng Yi-Sheng (Singapore: Ethos Books, 2012). (Call no. RSING 895.1152 WON)
66. Ng, “Ng Yi-Sheng’s CV.”
67. Ng, “Ng Yi-Sheng’s CV”; Soh Wen Lin, “Time Limit Squeezes Out Theatre Gem,” Straits Times, 13 July 1998. (From NewspaperSG)
68. Francis Chin, “Wake Up, You Won First Prize,” Straits Times, 3 August 1999 (From NewspaperSG)
69. Koh, “Yi-Sheng’s Arts Grand Slam.”
70. Ng, “Ng Yi-Sheng’s CV.”
71. Singapore Book Council, “Singapore Literature Prize 2008.”
72. Singapore Book Publishers Association, “Singapore Book Awards 2019.”
73. Singapore Book Council, “Singapore Literature Prize 2020.”
The information in this article is valid as of December 2023 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic.
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