Eva Wong Nava

Awards

• Open: A Boy's Wayang Adventure

Organisations

• SCBWI
• Society of Authors
• British Isles SCBWI

Details

Eva Wong Nava lives between two worlds. She was born on a tropical island where a merlion spurts water. Her ancestors braved monsoon winds sailing to British Malaya to plant roots in Southeast Asia. When the winds changed, they sailed again and found another home somewhere in the western hemisphere, leaving behind a legacy of children born to the diaspora. 

Eva reads copiously and writes voraciously. She holds a degree in English Literature and Language from the University of Hull where Philip Larkin was once the University Librarian; a Post-Graduate Certificate in Education (P.G.C.E.) from University College London where the Institute of Education resides, and a certificate in Art Writing from Sotheby’s Art Institute which she undertook to better understand what the craft entails. She holds a M.A. in Art History and has taught children and adults how they can use writing for communication and play. Eva has been a speaker at the Asian Festival of Children’s Content on writing about diversity and representing marginalised voices. She is the founder of CarpeArte Journal, an online space, where flash fiction meets art. Eva’s flash fiction has appeared in various places and her articles on art have been published in international art journals. She was nominated for the Pushcart Prize and her debut middle-grade book, Open: A Boy’s Wayang Adventure, was awarded the bronze medal at the Moonbeam Children’s Book Award, 2018.

Although Eva writes across genres and age groups, she is primarily a children's book author. She has given talks on writing and owning our narratives at the Asian Festival of Children's Content. She has spoken about representation in children's stories and writing from a marginalised voice, and is an advocate for more diversity in children's literature. She has been to schools and parenting groups in France, Australia, and Singapore where she chatted with parents and children about children's literature, why it is important to use picturebooks to engage children in literacy, and why even read at all. 

Eva lives in London with her family and two scampering squirrels. She is happy to travel abroad to your schools and communities for workshops and events. Currently, Eva is conducting creative writing workshops--Telling Out Stories Through Art(e)Facts--online in respond to the unusual times we are living in. Telling Our Stories with Art(e)Facts is a curated workshop using artworks as prompts to memoir writing, to flash fiction, and to creative nonfiction essays. Eva is also happy to conduct virtual author tours as armchair travelling has become something she has started to embrace. She has her virtual seatbelt on waiting for you to invite her to your hall or classroom. 

Email Eva for more information: enquiries@evawongnava.com. Her fees are based on the Society of Authors recommended rates. 

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