Writing

Browse through JY Tan’s latest published writing, or scroll to the bottom and pretend you’re interested in the pitch of her novel-in-progress, The Return of Spring.

NutMag Vol. 6: Hope.
Latest Publication

"A Life of Nine Deaths" in
NutMag Vol. 6: Hope (2022)

NutMag 6 brings you 10 short stories, poems and essays crafted around the theme of hope, a counterpoint to the pandemic feels of NutMag 5.

Told from the perspective of a cat, “A Life of Nine Deaths” follows a feline who survives tumultuous times and multiple owners before [SPOILERS]. 

Other Publications

The Best of Malaysian Short Fiction in English: 2010—2020

NutMag Vol. 5: Lost
(Passing)

Upcoming: The Return of Spring

In a world where everyone’s capable of building tiny homes that represent relationships, made with magic blocks containing treasured memories of a loved one, beloved kopitiam (coffee shop) owner Lee Ai Boey has recently passed. Her adoptive granddaughter, Fong Sze Mun, is tasked with building her Ah Ma’s final home: her Resting Place.

Sze Mun needs blocks from at least 50 people, but she only has 4. All hope seems lost until two strangers show up at her doorstep, claiming to be Ah Ma’s nephew and lesbian ex-partner, respectively.

The more Sze Mun reconnects with the rest of her adoptive family, the more questions she has about Ah Ma’s past. She’s determined to uncover her grandmother’s secrets and finish her Resting Place. Instead, she finds herself struggling to reconcile Ah Ma’s capacity for kindness with her capacity for callousness.