Suchen Christine Lim

Suchen Christine Lim is a Malaysian-born Singaporean author known for her novels and children's books. She received the Southeast Asia Write Award in 2012 and the Cultural Medallion in 2023.

Suchen Christine Lim was born in 1948 in Malaysia. Lim grew up in both Malaysia and Singapore. She moved to Singapore at 14 and studied at the Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus schools. She later attended the National University of Singapore. Lim worked as a teacher in a junior college and as a curriculum specialist in the Ministry of Education before resigning to write full-time in 2003.

In an interview, Lim reflected on her journey to becoming a writer: "I did not set out to be a writer. As a child, I wanted to sell chicken porridge. As a teenager in the late sixties, I was a romantic. I dreamt of making revolutionary changes for a better, kinder Singapore." She described herself as "a failed revolutionary who became a teacher who became a writer."

Lim's third novel, Fistful Of Colours (1992), was awarded the inaugural Singapore Literature Prize. Her first novel, Rice Bowl (1984), has been described as "a landmark publication on post-independence Singapore." A Bit Of Earth (2000) is described as 'a literary masterwork as well as a historical document' and 'un-put-downable — a sure sign of a master storyteller.'

A short story from Lim's collection, The Lies That Build A Marriage (2007), was adapted into a film for national television. She is featured in Writing The City, a project commissioned by the British Council in Singapore. Lim is also a prolific children's author, with many picture books adopted by the Ministry of Education for use in kindergartens and primary schools.

Lim has received several notable grants and fellowships, including a Fulbright grant. She was a Fellow of the International Writers' Program at the University of Iowa and served as its International Writer-in-Residence. In 2005, she was the writer-in-residence at Moniack Mhor in Scotland.

She has traveled to the UK several times as an Arvon Tutor, conducting writing workshops and reading at the Edinburgh Book Festival. In 2011, she was a Visiting Fellow in Creative Writing at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. Lim has also held writing residencies in the Philippines, Myanmar, South Korea, Australia, and the United Kingdom.

Lim's most recent novel, Dearest Intimate (2022), explores complex themes of love and relationships. Her previous work, The River's Song (2013), was launched during the Singapore Writers' Festival and in London in 2014. It was featured in Kirkus Reviews as one of "The Best Books of 2015."

Suchen Christine Lim resides in Singapore.

Photo credit: suchenchristinelim.com