Hello! I’m Emily, an independent writer-photographer and editor based in Kuala Lumpur and Berlin.
I usually begin by seeking out stories with a vivid sense of place, to better make sense of our rapidly changing world and our personal and collective place in it. That’s what most animates my curiosity, and I am currently working on two personal projects along such lines, fed by a desire to explore different storytelling forms. You can subscribe to my newsletter, Movable Worlds, for progress reports.
Meanwhile, I am still taking occasional and part-time writing, reporting, or editing work, so please feel free to get in touch.
I have been a journalist, photographer, and editor—on staff and as a freelancer—for more than a decade. My stories have ranged across varied themes: humans & nature, migration & culture, memory politics & the legacies of conflict. They have been published in print and online, in both news and literary media.
As a former columnist for Virginia Quarterly Review, I contributed a series of narrative nonfiction as braided Instagram stories. I have also written personal and critical essays for The Mekong Review.
My news features have been published in places like Al Jazeera, The Washington Post, The Guardian, CNN, Public Radio International, Vice Asia, South China Morning Post, Foreign Policy, Slate, Roads & Kingdoms, Wired UK, New Naratif, Esquire Singapore, Esquire Malaysia, Malaysiakini, and The Malaysian Insider.
Some of this work was supported by the Pulitzer Center, the National Geographic Society/Out of Eden Walk, and the Fuller Project.
I’ve also done a bunch of other things: researching and fact-checking for TV/film documentaries, managing an online literary magazine, editing news and feature stories for small Southeast Asian publications, and writing travel and commercial copy.
Being multilingual has helped ease my way into different contexts. English is my first language. I studied for six years at a Chinese-vernacular primary school and am conversational in Mandarin. I also speak Malay and Spanish and am taking B1-level German classes.
Born in Malaysia, I studied (Law and History) and lived for several years in England, spent a handful of seasons in Latin America, and more recently began an acquaintance with Germany. I still call Malaysia home but am ever curious about all the places I’ve never been, always looking to tell stories from wherever I go in hopes of better understanding the interconnections of our world.
