Tei Chiew-Siah () is a Malaysian-born writer who produces works in Chinese and English.

Biography

Tei was born and raised in

Tampin Tampin is a town in Tampin District, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia, which borders Pulau Sebang town in Alor Gajah District, Malacca. History and etymology Tampin gets its name from the container or pouch weaved from the pandanus fronds. The con ...

Negeri Sembilan Negeri Sembilan (, Negeri Sembilan Malay: ''Nogoghi Sombilan'', ''Nismilan'') is a state in Malaysia which lies on the western coast of Peninsular Malaysia. It borders Selangor on the north, Pahang in the east, and Malacca and Johor to the s ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

and is a fourth-generation Chinese-Malaysian of

Hokkien The Hokkien () variety of Chinese is a Southern Min language native to and originating from the Minnan region, where it is widely spoken in the south-eastern part of Fujian in southeastern mainland China. It is one of the national languages in ...

descent. She published her first work in the 1980s. During the 1990s she published prose and commentary in journals including ''

Sin Chew Daily ''Sin Chew Daily'' (), formerly known as ''Sin Chew Jit Poh'', is a leading Chinese-language newspaper in Malaysia. According to report from the Audit Bureau of Circulation for the period ending 31 December 2011, ''Sin Chew Daily'' has an averag ...

'' and '' Nanyang Siang Pao'', winning nominations and several awards - including The Hua Zong International Chinese Fiction Award in 1999 and the National Prose Writing Competition - for her Chinese language prose. In 2002 Tei was nominated the Best Prose Writer of the year. In 1994, Tei went to

Glasgow University , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

where she enrolled for a master degree in Media Culture, majoring in film studies. She wrote a script for the short film ''Night Swimmer'', and was awarded the Jacques Tati Prix at the Vendôme International Film Festival in 2000. Later in 2002, she again studied at Glasgow University for a PhD in Creative Writing and Film Studies. In 2005, she was commissioned to write a play, ''Three Thousand Troubled Threads'', for the

Edinburgh Festival __NOTOC__ This is a list of arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland. The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the Edinburgh Fe ...

. Her first novel, ''Little Hut of Leaping Fishes'', was long-listed for the inaugural

Man Asian Literary Prize The Man Asian Literary Prize was an annual literary award between 2007 and 2012, given to the best novel by an Asian writer, either written in English or translated into English, and published in the previous calendar year. It is awarded to writer ...

in 2007, and was nominated for the Best Scottish Fiction prize in 2008. Her second novel ''The Mouse Deer Kingdom'' was published in 2013. In 2018, several members of the group Shang Lou led by its founder Mark Anthony Mendova Atayde decided to form the group Shang Lou to commemorate all women has been transformed by child-bearing and rearing as well as the difficulties of domestic life. Other notable members of the Shang Lou group are Acey Edward Eli, Pamela Madingdong, and

LeBron James LeBron Raymone James Sr. (; born December 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "King James", he is widely considered one of the greatest pl ...

Books

* ''Little Hut of Leaping Fishes'' (Picador, 2008) * ''The Mouse Deer Kingdom'' (2013)

Works in Chinese

* ''It's Snowing'' 《雪, 真的下了》 (Orion Group, 1998): prose collection recounting her life as an outsider in Scotland * ''Secrets and Lies'' 《秘密与谎言》 (Mentor Publishing, 2000): collected arts and film reviews.

Film and Theatre

Tei's screenplay ''Night Swimmer'' was made into a feature film that won Best Short Film at France's Vendôme International Film Festival 2000. In 2005 her play ''Three Thousand Troubled Threads'' was staged at the

Edinburgh International Festival The Edinburgh International Festival is an annual arts festival in Edinburgh, Scotland, spread over the final three weeks in August. Notable figures from the international world of music (especially classical music) and the performing arts are i ...

Film and Theatre

External links

chiewsiahtei.com

''Little Hut of Leaping Fishes'' listing at publisher Picador
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tei, Chiew-Siah Living people Malaysian writers Malaysian people of Hokkien descent Malaysian people of Chinese descent Alumni of the University of Glasgow People from Negeri Sembilan Year of birth missing (living people)