Joyce Chng's Blog

At the time of writing this update post, November is entering its last week. Disasters, fires, floods in the news. Pretty grim and pretty sobering, considering some parts of the world are entering into an odd capitalistic frenzy of manufactured joy. One thinks if there is indeed something to be thankful for – we do not celebrate Thanksgiving here, but the faith traditions I am brought up with do celebrate thanksgiving.

So, I give thanks. To my family, friends, readers, people who have walked ...

The Southeast Asian sff publishing thing… you know… Giant Oarfish is now in indefinite hiatus.

Because 1. I know we don’t fund overnight.

Because 2. Money does not fall from the sky.

It’s awards eligibility season.

Wolf’s Path (Atthis Arts) – Best Collection.

Cold Steel (Snowy Wings Publishing) – Best YA novel.

Light of the Spirit (Snowy Wings Publishing) – Best Novella/Novella/Longer Than Short Form

The Freedom – Best short story. (self-pub)

Red’s Heart – Best short story. (self-pub).

Forest (Inner Worlds) – Best flash fiction.

I have been putting a lot of stories on my Kofi – and it’s weird, speaking now from a fiction editor, that short fiction is hard to sell in the bigger platforms.These are the pro-paying ones. I have been wondering how sustainable the short form sff markets are… granted many of the publishers are depending on crowdfunding, and editor positions are volunteer-basis.There should be a way to make the editor positions more… sustainable. They are already doing professional jobs without profess...

At the time of writing this update, it’s a week before I fly off to Brighton for World Fantasy Convention. And when you finally get to this, I will be in Brighton.

So what happened in October? A lot. My dad got hospitalised for a superbug infection gone bad. Superbug as in antibiotics-resistant. So oral antibiotics are not able to get rid of this thing, only IV antibiotics. He got discharged and was given two weeks of home care, with the antibiotics administered by a nurse who goes to my folk...

I have joined the Strange Horizons fiction department.

September came and went. There were online conferences and conventions I was involved in. Likewise, I am now straddling two departments in Strange Horizons: articles and fiction. So delving into slush (fiction) is fun and a learning curve.

Ghost Month is over and everyone is waiting for Mid-Autumn Festival. I know the world is a dumpster fire now, goaded by the powerful and enabled by the rich. But Mid-Autumn Festival is one of my favourite cherished lunar festivals: time to enjoy mooncakes, ...

My sapphic pirate collection will be published by Queen of Swords Press and is slated for a 2026 publication!

At the time of writing this update, August is about to end in about five days and Ghost Month (Zhong Yuan) has started.

August has been weird because of all the medical stuff that have just surfaced up like unwanted debris. Also because turning fifty reinforces the fact we are not getting any younger. Spouse ends up having another medical appointment. I am just glad that my sinus infection is over and whatever happened after my surgical procedure is over and done with.

Writing-wise, I draf...

Thank you, Tess.

You taught me, a baby writer then, to write with my own voice.