Samantha Cheh
writer | editor | educator
About
Samantha Cheh is a writer and editor of big and and small things, and works full-time in education.
She is currently making forays into fiction with some success (it's going pretty great, actually), and writes a somewhat-irregular newsletter.
In a previous life, she was a journalist with Tech Wire Asia where she covered technology and business, with a smattering of social issues. She has also freelanced with a number of publications on a range of topics, producing arts and cultural criticism, commentary on social issues, as well as reportage on Malaysia. Her work has appeared in South China Morning Post, Tech in Asia, e27, Salaam Gateway, New Naratif, Art Republik Singapore, and others.
Leveraging off her journalism background, Samantha also produces content for brands and publications, and provides copywriting and copyediting services.
Find out more about her work here 👇
Selected Works
You'll find a selection of works from my portfolio here, including fiction, journalism, content and copywriting for both brands and art galleries.
If you are interested in working together please get in touch through the information in the Contact page.
Fiction
"Hotel California"
(Kill Your Darlings Magazine, April 2020)
Non-Fiction
My non-fiction work includes journalism, personal essays, and criticism.
Journalism
Since 2017, I have worked both full-time and freelance with a number of publications. My work has covered the intersections of technology and business, as well social issues, arts and culture.
Please click through for a selection of journalism.
Essays & Criticism
"Letters from KL: Inside is forever" (Plural Art Mag, April 2020)
"four stories of friendship" (BEAUTART 2019)
"Concrete Therapy" (Critics republic, April 2017)
A review of Remedy, dir. by Jeremy Ooi (March 2017, DPAC).
Playstosee.com
Between 2015 and 2016, I was a regular contributor to Playstosee.com, a London-based platform for promoting the performing arts. Click here for my portfolio of theatre criticism.
tech Wire Asia
I was a staff writer with Tech Wire Asia in 2017, covering Southeast and East Asia's technology scene.
Freelance Journalism
- Weaponising Science: Malaysia’s LGBTQ “Research” (New Naratif)
- Malaysia artisanal mooncake makers keep baking into old age for the love of the job (SCMP)
- How life is tough for transgender people in conservative Malaysia, who face violence, religious and official bias, and abusive media (SCMP)
- What Malaysia really needs to do to empower women, according to rights activists (SCMP)
- Malaysian mining town’s Chinese Hakka heritage is under threat, despite efforts to keep the history alive (SCMP)
- Robo-advisors ready to morph Malaysia’s Islamic finance industry (Salaam Gateway)
- IFRS or AAOIFI? We’ll stick with the former, say Malaysian accounting experts (Salaam Gateway)
- Industry jargon and technical terminology: No such thing as a ‘halal hotel’ in Malaysia – Islamic Tourism Centre head (Salaam Gateway)
Content & Copy
I work with a number of brands, companies and individuals to produce content and copy for websites, publications and collateral. For website and collateral copy, please contact me to discuss your project. For art gallery or artwork-related content, please click through to the Art page.
To see examples of technology-related branded content, please click on the icons below.
Copy-editing
I have copy-edited a number of book-length works, including memoirs, essays, essay collections and corporate copy. Please get in touch if you would like to see examples of copy-editing work I have done.
Art Writing
I have produced content for a number of art publications and galleries in Southeast Asia, including catalogue essays, criticism and guides. The following are selected works. Please reach out if you would like to see other pieces.
Memories by james seet (Sept 2019)
Catalogue essay written for James Seet's September 2019 solo show, Memories. Commissioned by Our Arts Projects.
Malaysia: Dulu, Kini Dan..." (Chang Fee Ming, Oct 2018)
An art essay written on Chang Fee Ming's *Malaysia, Dulu, Kini, dan..." exhibition at Art Expo Malaysia 2018. Commissioned by A+ Works of Art.
"The contrasts of life in the Thai deep south is explored in depth throughout the exhibition. The soldiers policing the region are from other parts of Thailand, and have little ability to communicate with Malay-speaking locals."
Art Republik Singapore (2017-2018)
Between 2017 and 2018, I was a regular contributor to Art Republik Singapore, a quarterly magazine on Southeast Asian artists and artwork. Read a selection of my published works here.
Footnotes from the Void
Footnotes from the Void is a collection of meditations and dispatches from a life haphazardly lived in Kuala Lumpur.
I started this newsletter in 2018 in the form of a Tinyletter, as a way to practise regular writing and perhaps do some good by sending out some recommendations, essays and observations. My Kuala Lumpur is a constantly shifting territory of diverse residents, narratives, ideas.
No one stays forever. People are always leaving. The story is always changing.
My newsletter is life-writing, it's literary record-keeping. Subscribe for updates on life in KL, fiction and updates.
Love from the void.
Contact
If you would like to work together, please send me an email or reach out via Telegram, to discuss.