Ayam Buah Keluak and the Art of Writing: a memoir on living creatively

“Josephine Chia’s Ayam Buak Keluak is a masterful piece of Singapore literature. One part memoir, one part philosophy, and one part writing guide, it offers a look into the soul of one of Singapore’s most celebrated writers. This is a story of a person who finds healing, joy and renewal In the creative process. A woman who puts her heart into everything, and rediscovers her capacity to reinvent herself after a marriage goes south. Alongside great courage is grace and tenderness. Here, ayam buak keluak is the perfect symbol of a life that has experienced poison yet finds the ability to channel that and emerge stronger, freer and with great clarity. There is agency in life. The take-away is powerful: that if we can just let go of fear and doubt to embrace what we know to be true, we can finally set ourselves free.”
—Lin Suling, Senior Columnist, The Straits Times

“Make space for creativity to visit, and watch your life bloom!

Our beloved Singapore Literature Prize Winner Josephine Chia takes us into the secret spaces of her existence. By giving us access to how she creates her art and has overcome difficult circumstances—from poverty, chauvinism and domestic violence—she helps us all make our way to lives of greater joy.

This is a rare and beautiful memoir. It glitters with the compressed wisdom of an indomitable woman that life cannot hold down. Whether you are 15 or 50, there is something here that will help light your way forward.

This book is a balm for the overwhelmed soul in a noisy world. At a time of burnout, and anxiety, how can we find our way back to lives of purpose? Pick up this book, learn to work with your creativity and find out!”
—Michelle Martin, Journalist, Broadcaster, Speaker

“In Ayam Buah Keluak and the Art of Writing, Josephine Chia weaves her recipe for making ayam buak keluak, writing and healing from trauma into a literary tapestry of her life. She courageously speaks of her journey, while exemplifying the success of her recipe for self-care and happiness. Her book offers comfort and fortitude to both survivors of abuse and writers, just like a good ayam buah keluak!”
—Sugidha Nithiananthan, Director, Advocacy, Research and Communications, Association of Women for Action and Research (AWARE)

Josephine Chia likes to capture vignettes of Singaporean history, life and fables in her books. She loves writing about her rich Peranakan culture and heritage. Josephine writes both fiction and non-fiction. Altogether, she has published 14 books. Ayam Buah Keluak and the Art of Writing will be her 15th book.

When she was living in the UK, she was a finalist for the Ian St James Award and won other UK literary prizes. She has a UK Masters in Creative Writing.

After her return to Singapore, she won the Singapore Literature Prize in 2014 for her nonfiction memoir, Kampong Spirit/Gotong Royong, which is based on the attap village she grew up in the 1950s. Goodbye My Kampong! is a sequel to this. Her children’s novel, Queen of the Sky, was shortlisted for the Scholastic Asian Book Award 2018. In 2019, she won the Singapore Book Publishers Award for her first YA Novel, Big Tree in a Small Pot.

Josephine is a Creative Writing mentor on various writing programmes as she has a passion to nurture the future writers of Singapore. Several of her students are now published writers. She also runs Creative Writing workshops in schools and for adults.