Welcome to my blog
News
Resources
Events
Reviews
In March 2025, it was my second time joining the panel of judges for the annual Inter-school Interpretive Reading Competition organized by and held at Law Ting Pong Secondary School in Tai Po, Hong Kong. We were warmly greeted by the school principal, Mr. Kwok Wing Keung, and their dedicated librarian, Ms Melody Chan Pui Yan. We judges listened, enraptured, to the nervous yet brave students who participated in the competition, each of them taking turns to interpret and read aloud excerpts from books that resonated with them. The works ranged from a Shakespearean play to translated literature by Osamu Dazai.
It wasn’t easy selecting the winners – in our view, they were all winners! – but as judges, that was our job. Congratulations to juniors Chan Ning and Sharma Arjun (joint champs) and Aidan Chan (2nd runner up), and seniors Esther Hutton (champ), Chloe Cheung (1st runner up) and Ho Hei Ting (2nd runner up)!
March 8, 2025
Inter-school Interpretive Reading Competition @ Law Ting Pong Secondary School (LTPSS)
If I can create a mirror for even one child in the world, I will have accomplished something meaningful
Read a little of what I've written
Writing
Discover my books and articles
Let's talk writing
in real life
Speaking & School Visits
See my Signature Talks
"Maureen was agile, warm, brilliantly organized - a joy to speak with"
"I was stunned at how much time and thought she had put into preparing ...and then how spontaneous, fun and thoughtful she was as our conversations unfolded. Helping to organise the Hong Kong Literary Festival in 2023, Maureen was as professional, kind and engaging as any such host i've ever known, and as a writer herself - as well as so many other things - she brought more to our interactions than I had any reason to expect. "
Pico Iyer, Author
© Derek Shapton
"What Maureen did on our days was the first of its kind"
"She showed our senior elementary girls how refreshing it is to read stories where the contexts are relatable, and the characters look like them and carry some of the same emotions as they do. To be seen and heard in a diverse world is comforting.
Maureen’s hands-on techniques were engaging and facilitated meaningful interaction during the workshop. The girls thoroughly enjoyed the sessions.
English Dept. Head
"Thank you for telling us that we should put down our phones and not be imprisoned by our phones.
"Nowadays actually many people use their phones all the time and never put it down, also I am one. After listening to you, I think I would like to try a day without my phone, and I can already foresee many new experiences in my ‘daily’ life
Secondary School Student
Kind words from cool people
Read my musings as a Malaysian writer, wandering the earth, listening to the universe and writing the stories behind my photographs.
Freshly-brewed stories and photographs,
delivered to your inbox.
Join me on substack
Join me on substack
You're all signed up!
Be sure to whitelist our email address so that all the goodies make it to your inbox.
