SCBWI members from all over the world: Meet some of them here!

2003 June 24 Manila  
Fran Ng

 

Fran Ng was born in the central part of the Philippines, in Bacolod City, Negros Occidental. 
Early on, she loved telling stories. Her aunts attest to her endless storytelling when they 
took her on a road trip in Germany when she was six. Later she cast her stuffed gorilla in 
films shot on Betamax. In elementary school, she wrote rhymes instead of essays—whenever 
the teacher didn’t mind.

Before her senior year in college, Fran joined a summer workshop in Baguio City focusing 
on writing for children. At her first job in Ayala Museum, she wrote copy for the general 
museum visitor pegged at age 12. These led her to discover a desire to write for kids.

Fran's first book, The Brothers Wu and The Good-Luck Eel, came out in 2000. The story 
explains why a real Chinese family doesn’t eat eel, which is otherwise a Chinese treat. 
The book bagged many awards including the National Book Award, besides placing first 
in the Palanca Awards for Literature. Her second book, Once Upon a Time, retells Andersen’s 
classic fairy tales. Likewise bestowed a National Book Award, it’s the first volume in a series 
of fairy-tale retellings. 

A member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), Fran is also
an artist. She illustrated Windows in the Sky, a story about a boy’s search for his 
grandmother after she passed away. Her latest work, Sabrina’s Cookbook Diary, features both 
her story and drawings. Designed like a notebook with stick-on recipes, it narrates a shy 
fourth-grader’s efforts to win friends by playing Cookie Santa. This book also marks Fran’s 
first publishing venture, having published it under Boobooks, Inc. 

As managing editor of Real Living, Fran is also engaged in magazine publishing. She used to 
teach English at the Ateneo de Manila University. When she can, Fran enjoys scuba diving in 
the Philippines’ marine parks. She loves spying tiny fish darting in and out of corals. She 
looks forward to meeting a turtle, shark and manta ray in the wild.

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Fran Ng lives in Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines and may be reached at [email protected]
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