O Thiam Chin

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

In this Chinese name, the family name is Hu.
O Thiam Chin
Born(1977-12-08)8 December 1977
OccupationWriter
LanguageEnglish
NationalitySingapore
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese胡添進[1]
Simplified Chinese胡添进
Hanyu PinyinHú Tiānjìn
Hokkien POJÔ Thiam-chìn

Biography

O was born into a family of Mandarin-speaking hawkers. He studied English and literature at Ang Mo Kio Secondary School, but only barely passed these subjects in his O-Level examinations. Unsure of his future career prospects, he pursued a diploma in mechatronics at Temasek Polytechnic.[2]

During National Service, he began to read authors such as Raymond Carver and Banana Yoshimoto, whom he still regards as great influences. Later, he worked in a telecommunications company, then joined Mediacorp as a marketing and communications executive. In 2000, he took up a part-time course in English language and literature at the Singapore Institute of Management.[2] This experience inspired him to begin writing fiction.[3]

After this, he 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: 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. His stories have also been featured in numerous journals, such as Asia Literary Review, Kyoto Journal, The Jakarta Post, Cha: An Asian Literary Journal, the Quarterly Literary Review Singapore, Karavan, and Asia Writes.[3]

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. It was the winner of the inaugural Epigram Books Fiction Prize in 2015.[4] His second novel, Fox Fire Girl, looks at a mysterious young woman and the self-destructive men who love her.[5] It was shortlisted for the same award in 2016.

O is also an avid marathon runner, completing at least one full marathon every year.[5]

Short story collections
  • Free-Falling Man (2006) ISBN 9780595384990
  • Never Been Better (2009) ISBN 9789675997969
  • Under The Sun (2010, MPH Group Publishing) ISBN 9789675997952
  • The Rest Of Your Life and Everything That Comes With It (2011, ZI Publications) ISBN 9789675266232
  • Love, Or Something Like Love (2013, Math Paper Press) ISBN 9789810776718
  • Signs Of Life (2019, Math Paper Press) ISBN 9789811407963

Novels
  • Now That It's Over (2016, Epigram Books) ISBN 9789814757287
  • Fox Fire Girl (2017, Epigram Books) ISBN 9789811700934
  • The Dogs (2020, Penguin Books) ISBN 9789814882873

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

References
  1. "我们的作家 · 我们的文学 · 我们的故事" [Our Writers. Our Literature. Our Stories from Home.]. Arts Republic. 22 June 2012. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
  2. Lee, Jian Xuan (5 July 2016). "Award-winning author O Thiam Chin knows what it's like to fail". The Straits Times. Retrieved 1 December 2018.
  3. Read Singapore. "O Thiam Chin". www.nlb.gov.sg. National Library Board, Singapore. Archived from the original on 10 April 2019. Retrieved 1 December 2018.
  4. "Mackerel O Thiam Chin: Now That It's Over". Mackerel. Retrieved 1 December 2018.
  5. Ho, Olivia (4 April 2017). "Characters eaten away by sorrow in self-destruction in O Thiam Chin's second novel Fox Fire Girl". The Straits Times. Retrieved 1 December 2018.

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