Join award-winning and critically acclaimed Malaysian author Hanna Alkaf at the 2025 Malaysia Update, where she will deliver a Cultural Update.

What are the hopes, fears and aspirations of Malaysian youth today? How do they envision the future of Malaysia and their place within the region? And what unique responsibilities and challenges do writers face when crafting stories for a young audience?

In this session, Hanna Alkaf shares her journey of writing unapologetically Malaysian stories for a global audience. Don’t miss this opportunity to hear her insights on youth, identity, and the power of storytelling. Hanna will be joined by discussant Simon Soon (Melbourne) and moderator Ying Xin Show (ANU) as they explore Malaysia’s cultural landscape and the current state of its creative industries.

Copies of Hanna’s books will be available for purchase at the event – come and get yours signed!

Hanna Alkaf is an internationally bestselling, critically acclaimed author of young adult and middle grade fiction, including The weight of our sky, The girl and the ghost, Queen of the tiles, Hamra & the jungle of memories and The hysterical girls of St. Bernadette's.

She is also co-editor of the YA anthology The grimoire of grave fates, co-creator and author of the MG horror series Tales from cabin 23, and editor of the upcoming MG Southeast Asian fantasy anthology The beasts beneath the winds. Hanna graduated with a degree in journalism from Northwestern University, and is a Freeman Award winner and a Kirkus Prize finalist. She lives in Kuala Lumpur with her family.