O Thiam Chin (born 8 December 1977) is a Singaporean author. Many of his stories explore themes of love, heartbreak, alienation and gay male sexuality.

Biography

O was born into a family of Mandarin-speaking hawkers. He studied at

Ang Mo Kio Secondary School Ang Mo Kio Secondary School (AMKSS) is a co-educational government secondary school in Ang Mo Kio, Singapore, offering education for Secondary 1 to Secondary 5. Students at AMKSS are known as AMKsians. History The school was the first school to ...

, and later pursued a diploma in mechatronics at

Temasek Polytechnic Temasek Polytechnic (TP) is a post-secondary education institution and statutory board under the purview of the Ministry of Education in Singapore. Established in 1990, it is the only polytechnic in Singapore offering a law programme. Histor ...

. In 2000, he took up a part-time course in English language and literature at the

Singapore Institute of Management The Singapore Institute of Management (SIM) is a provider of private tertiary education and professional training in Singapore. It was established by the Economic Development Board on 28 November 1964. SIM is registered under the Committee for Pr ...

. During this period, he started writing fiction. He also began writing for magazines and online media, even writing and directing a short film. He became a full-time writer in 2005, and self-published his first collection, ''Free-Falling Man'', in 2006. He has been featured three times on the longlist of the

Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award __NOTOC__ The Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award—named in honour of Frank O'Connor, who devoted much of his work to the form—was an international literary award presented for the best short story collection. It was presented betwe ...

: in 2010 for ''Never Been Better'', in 2012 for ''The Rest of Your Life and Everything That Comes with It'', and in 2014 for ''Love, or Something like Love'', which was also shortlisted for the 2014 Singapore Literature Prize. His stories and writings have also been featured in numerous journals, such as Granta, The Cincinnati Review, The Brooklyn Rail, ''

Asia Literary Review The Asia Literary Review was a quarterly literary journal published in English and distributed internationally. It included articles of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and the photography genre. The journal first published in Hong Kong in 2000 as ...

'', '' Kyoto Journal'', ''

The Jakarta Post ''The Jakarta Post'' is a daily English-language newspaper in Indonesia. The paper is owned by PT Niskala Media Tenggara and based in the nation's capital, Jakarta. ''The Jakarta Post'' started as a collaboration between four Indonesian med ...

'', '' Cha: An Asian Literary Journal'', the ''

Quarterly Literary Review Singapore ''Quarterly Literary Review Singapore'' (''QLRS'') is a Singapore online literary journal founded and edited by Singaporean poet Toh Hsien Min in 2001. Overview The first issue of ''QLRS'' appeared in October 2001. The journal is an online publi ...

'', ''Karavan'', and ''Asia Writes''. His debut novel, ''Now That It's Over'', explores the heartbreak and trauma of two Singaporean couples, one gay and one straight, before and after the

2004 Indian Ocean tsunami An earthquake and a tsunami, known as the Boxing Day Tsunami and, by the scientific community, the Sumatra–Andaman earthquake, occurred at 07:58:53 local time (UTC+7) on 26 December 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of northern Suma ...

. It was the winner of the inaugural Epigram Books Fiction Prize in 2015. His second novel, ''Fox Fire Girl'', looks at a mysterious young woman and the self-destructive men who love her. It was shortlisted for the same award in 2016, and is currently being adapted into a feature film. In 2023, he was one of three winners of the RisingStories Story Pitching Competition, for his script treatment for Boy and The Beast. He is part of the judging panel (Asian region) for the 2024 Commonwealth Short Story Competition. O is an avid marathon runner.

Short story collections

* ''Free-Falling Man'' (2006) * ''Never Been Better'' (2009) * ''Under The Sun'' (2010, MPH Group Publishing) * ''The Rest Of Your Life and Everything That Comes With It'' (2011, ZI Publications) * ''Love, Or Something Like Love'' (2013, Math Paper Press) * ''Signs Of Life'' (2019, Math Paper Press)

Novels

* ''Now That It's Over'' (2016, Epigram Books) * ''Fox Fire Girl'' (2017, Epigram Books) * ''The Dogs'' (2020, Penguin Random House SEA) * ''We Are Not Alone Here'' (2022, Penguin Random House SEA) ISBN 9789815058062

Awards

* Young Artist Award (Literary Arts), 2012 * Epigram Books Fiction Prize, 2015

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:O, Thiam Chin 1977 births Living people Singaporean people of Chinese descent Singaporean novelists