YOUNG AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT: AYAA Judges

Kenrick started out as one of the pioneer batches of the Young Author’s Scheme and was the 1st Runner Up awardee in the Young Author Awards in 2008.

Kenrick is currently a lawyer in private practice. He graduated from the National University of Singapore in 2020 and was called to the Singapore bar in 2021. He now advises on complex litigation matters, with a keen interest in commercial disputes.

Outside of law, Kenrick is an active member of Singapore’s arts and cultural scene, having filled roles as a conductor, performer and teacher with various arts groups in Singapore. Most notably, he has sat as the associate double bass principal in Singapore’s premiere of the Wagner Ring Cycle with the Orchestra of the Music Makers in 2019. He has also performed in numerous concerts in Singapore as well as in overseas venues. He also leads the community arts program Orchestra Jam supported by Bedok Community Centre.

Kenrick’s other interests include an unhealthy love of watches and pens, as well as an avid interest in travel and food.

Nanda is a law student at the Singapore Management University (SMU). He is also the President of SMU Legal Innovation & Technology and a Steering Committee member of the Asia-Pacific Legal Innovation and Technology Association. Ever since he published “From Young to Old” in 2010 under the Young Author Scheme, he has traversed multiple domains of writing. This ranges from co-authoring a paper in the American Chemical Society, to editing the State of Legal Innovation in Asia-Pacific Report 2020, to churning out legal research papers for school. Nanda believes that a story lies behind every change and innovation – life is a matter of telling these stories and listening to them. Nanda enjoys learning new languages, dabbling in code, and giving back to the new generation. He also hopes to carve out time for personal, casual writing endeavours.

Heya! I’m Shania Marie Matris, best known as “Shane Matris”, and the author of the book, “Ophir: Child of Levant”. My current hobbies are watching anime, playing video games, and exploring other forms of art such as singing, acting and song writing. Creating my own characters and adventures through story writing and illustrating is something I’ve enjoyed ever since I was little. All thanks to the Asia Young Author Awards last 2020, I was given the opportunity to show my love for writing to a bigger audience and enhance my writing skills. Before joining, I kept on refusing because I believe what I have won’t be good enough for the competition, but with encouragement from my family, I learned to not let what others say break me. This is one of my inspirations in creating my story, “Ophir: Child of Levant”, which won 2nd place at the 2020 Philippine Young Authors Awards.

Bryan Joel’s sole literary output remains his entry for the Youth Author Awards in 2005 but it appears the only thing he’s done ever since is write. His one true love isn’t really writing – it’s music. But instead of picking up the guitar, he picked up the pen: He became a music writer in his teens, reviewing records and producing press releases. When getting paid in free concert tickets wasn’t enough, he ventured into doing copy for local companies (for peanuts instead). Extra-curriculars aside, he did some writing in school too: Bryan spent an education analysing the narrative techniques of fiction (Literature) and real life (Linguistics). Later on, he pursued law at the National University of Singapore. There, he got to read and write, whether he liked it or not. After a Masters’ at New York University, he began his career as a Public Prosecutor. Now, Bryan writes for a living.

The last time I was involved with YAA was about a decade ago, and it has been a long time since I’ve written short stories. These days, I’m more interested in plays and poetry than prose. I’m currently studying English at university, which makes me incredibly self-conscious about my writing after reading the works of great literary figures, but I’ve had so much fun reading the submissions for AYAA that I’m inspired to start writing short
stories again!

Currently a 16-year-old studying at ACS(I), John participated in the YAS six years ago when he, like today’s recipients, was selected as a YAA finalist. Learning on his YAS experience, he refined his skills using the advice from peers and mentors alike to become a better write. Since then, he has participated in numerous other writing or writing-adjacent competitions and programmes locally where he has managed to further hone his craft. He hopes that, like him, finalists will take this as a learning opportunity to grow as authors regardless of whether they win or not. If he has any piece of advice, it is to always stay true to yourself and keep your chin up high.

Hello! I’m Syamayne, and I’m 17 this year. I was first introduced to the Young Author’s Club in my primary school’s writing club. I have always enjoyed writing, and I am grateful for the opportunities that YAC has presented to me. The mentoring and support I have received here has been a wonderful source of motivation for me to continue writing. I actually won 2nd Place for the Young Author’s Award in 2017! Writing has provided me with a safe outlet to channel my creative juices. I was pleasantly surprised to receive the invitation to be a judge this year. I thoroughly enjoyed reading the submissions this year, with a sense of nostalgia. I am glad to be able to give back to such a wonderful community.

I am Timothy Lagman, a Secondary Three student in Anglo-Chinese School (Independent), and I participated in the Young Authors Scheme in 2016. It was an extremely enriching experience that gave me the necessary skills and confidence to pursue my writing and hone my writing skills, allowing me to look towards new horizons. The Young Authors Scheme was simply the first step in my writing journey and sparked my interest in creative writing, giving me a platform to showcase my writing. I went on to participate in the Creative Writing Programme in 2017 and the Create Arts Programme just this year where we underwent various workshops taught by many prominent local authors such as Mrs Eliza Teoh and Mr Felix Cheong. In these programmes, I was able to immerse myself in different genres of writing and explored the majestic realm of poetry and prose, unlocking new doors in the world of literature.