Crafting Political Memoirs and Biographies

Alexander Chula is a British-Thai writer and a junior doctor based in London. His work in Malawi, first as a teacher of Classics at the Kamuzu Academy (known as 'the Eton of Africa') and later as a doctor, both inspired and informed his debut work of non-fiction, Goodbye, Dr Banda: Lessons for the West from a Small African Country. He has lived and worked in the UK, Thailand, Malawi, and Italy, and is interested in cultural exchange between Europe, Africa, and Asia. He has also contributed to The Spectator, The Telegraph, and other publications. Chula read Classics at Worcester College, Oxford, and later studied medicine at the University of London.

Alexander Chula adalah penulis berdarah Inggris–Thailand dan dokter muda yang berbasis di London. Pengalamannya di Malawi, pertama sebagai pengajar bidang klasik di Kamuzu Academy (dikenal sebagai “Eton dari Afrika”), lalu sebagai dokter, telah menginspirasi dan mewarnai karya nonfiksi perdananya, Goodbye, Dr Banda: Lessons for the West from a Small African Country. Ia pernah tinggal dan bekerja di Inggris, Thailand, Malawi, dan Italia, serta memiliki ketertarikan terhadap pertukaran budaya antara Eropa, Afrika, dan Asia. Tulisan-tulisannya telah dimuat di The Spectator, The Telegraph, dan berbagai publikasi lainnya. Chula menempuh studi bidang klasik di Worcester College, Oxford, sebelum melanjutkan pendidikan kedokteran di University of London.

Edward Wong is an American journalist and diplomatic correspondent for The New York Times (NYT). He is the author of At the Edge of Empire: A Family’s Reckoning with China, which was awarded the inaugural Baifang Schell Book Prize from the Asia Society in New York and was shortlisted for the Orwell Prize in the U.K. It was named by The Washington Post as a top non-fiction book of 2024. Edward has reported for the NYT for 27 years, serving for 13 of those as a correspondent and bureau chief in China and Iraq. He was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University and has been a visiting professor at Princeton University and U.C. Berkeley. He holds an honorary doctorate from Middlebury Language Schools.

Edward Wong adalah jurnalis asal Amerika Serikat dan koresponden diplomatik untuk The New York Times (NYT). Ia menulis buku At the Edge of Empire: A Family’s Reckoning with China, yang meraih penghargaan perdana Baifang Schell Book Prize dari Asia Society di New York dan masuk nominasi Orwell Prize di Inggris. Buku ini juga dinobatkan sebagai salah satu buku nonfiksi terbaik tahun 2024 versi The Washington Post. Edward telah berkarier di NYT selama 27 tahun, termasuk 13 tahun sebagai koresponden dan kepala biro di Tiongkok dan Irak. Ia pernah menjadi Nieman Fellow di Universitas Harvard, serta menjabat sebagai profesor tamu di Universitas Princeton dan U.C. Berkeley. Ia juga menerima gelar doktor kehormatan dari Middlebury Language Schools.

Ma Thida is a Myanmar medical doctor, writer, and human rights activist. She has been awarded several international human rights honors, including Vaclav Havel’s Disturbing the Peace and Courageous Writer at Risk Awards in 2016. She has published more than 25 books in the Myanmar language, including short stories, novels, and essays, as well as three books in English: The Roadmap, Prisoner of Conscience: My Steps through Insein, and A-Maze: Myanmar's Struggle for Democracy 2011-2023. She was the very first elected president of PEN Myanmar from 2013 to 2016, a board member of PEN International in 2016 and 2019, and has served as chair of the Writers in Prison Committee since 2021. She is currently a Writer-in-Exile program fellow with PEN Germany.

Ma Thida adalah seorang dokter, penulis, dan aktivis hak asasi manusia asal Myanmar. Ia telah menerima berbagai penghargaan internasional di bidang hak asasi manusia, di antaranya Disturbing the Peace Award dari Vaclav Havel dan Courageous Writer at Risk Award pada tahun 2016. Ia telah menerbitkan lebih dari 25 buku dalam bahasa Myanmar, termasuk kumpulan cerita pendek, novel, dan esai, serta tiga buku dalam bahasa Inggris: The Roadmap, Prisoner of Conscience: My Steps through Insein, dan A-Maze: Myanmar's Struggle for Democracy 2011–2023. Ma Thida merupakan presiden pertama yang terpilih secara demokratis untuk memimpin PEN Myanmar dan menjabat dari 2013 hingga 2016. Ia juga pernah menjadi anggota dewan PEN International pada 2016 dan 2019, serta menjabat sebagai ketua Writers in Prison Committee sejak 2021. Saat ini, ia menjadi fellow dalam program Writer-in-Exile yang diselenggarakan oleh PEN Jerman.