The David T. K. Wong Creative Writing Fellowship is a unique and generous annual award of £26,000 to enable a fiction writer who wants to write in English about East and Southeast Asia to spend a year at the University of East Anglia.

The Fellowship is named for its sponsor Mr David T.K. Wong, a retired Hong Kong businessman who has also been a teacher, journalist and senior civil servant, and is a writer of fiction. The Fellowship was launched in 1997 and the first Fellow appointed from 1st October 1998.

David T.K. Wong's first novel The Evergreen Teahouse was published in 2003, his collection of short fiction Chinese Stories in Times of Change in 2009.  His most recent novel is The Embrace of Harlots. To read excerpts from David Wong's work and for more information, please visit his website.

Fellowship Award 2023/24

We are delighted to announce that the 2023/24 David T. K. Wong Fellowship has been awarded to Xing Zhao.

Xing Zhao is a writer and translator. He holds a Master’s degree in Cultural Studies from The Uni-versity of Edinburgh. He worked as a gallerist and journalist in Shanghai and has written about con-temporary art, design, and queer cultures in China. His work has appeared in publications including The Washington Post, Architectural Digest, The Art Newspaper, The World from PRX, Literary Shanghai, Time Out Shanghai, OutThere Magazine, City Weekend, and Numéro. He also works in the audio form as a script editor and voice actor for a storytelling podcast. He is interested in explor-ing ideas such as memory, nostalgia, displacement, and imagined reality in his writing. He is currently working on a collection of short stories and a first novel, set in contemporary Shanghai.

Former David T.K. Wong Fellows

You can read more about the former Fellows on UEA Writers.

  • Mishi Saran (2022/23)
  • John Bengan (2021/22)
  • Che Yeun (2020/21)
  • Joe Milan Jr. (2019/20)
  • Melissa Fu (2018/19)
  • Nathaniel Go (2017/18)
  • Meng Jin (2016/17)
  • Violet Kupersmith (2015/16)
  • Jack Wang (2014/15)
  • Sharlene Teo (2013/14)
  • Ramesh Balakrishna Pillay (2012/13)
  • Presca Ahn (2011/12)
  • Chau (Cab) Tran (2010/11)
  • Hanh Hoang (2009/10)
  • Nam Le (2008/9)
  • Balli Jaswal (2007/8)
  • Mulaika Hijjas (2006/7)
  • Linh Dinh (2005/6)
  • Rattawut Lapcharoensap (2004/5)
  • Lakambini (Bing) Sitoy (2003/4)
  • Wendy Law-Yone (2002/3)
  • Liisa Laing (2001/2)
  • Simone Lazaroo (2000/1)
  • José Dalisay (1999/2000)
  • Po Wah Lam (1998/99)

Applying for the Fellowship

Applications for the 2024/25 Fellowship are open between January 8th and 28th February 2024.

Payment of the £10 admin fee can be made here.

Please contact the Fellowship Administrator if you have any queries.