MAUREEN YEO
WRITER & SPEAKER
Hello! I am the author of five children's books featuring local wildlife. My sixth book does NOT feature wildlife
but two wild sisters! Check it out here.
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I do copywriting, most recently for the Mandai group, including Bird Paradise, Rainforest Wild Asia
and Curiosity Cove. ​
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I was formerly a teacher, and I keep in touch with that side of things by giving talks and conducting workshops on writing techniques and Singapore's biodiversity. I also organise events to promote a love of nature.
Order signed copies of my books or get in touch by dropping me an email!
ABOUT MAUREEN YEO
"The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps." - Proverbs 16:9
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My youth was full of drama.
High: Winning the Singapore Young Dramatist Award
for a double bill of plays I wrote about murder by poison.
Low: Acting as a sea sponge in a blacklight theatre-puppetry-mime disaster.
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At 17, I went to Canada on a United World College scholarship.
My school had 200 students from 88 countries.
High: Presenting "The History of Singapore in Just 5 Minutes" - an amusing skit with a real Malay playing a villager in Temasek, a real Brit playing Raffles, real Japanese students playing Japanese soldiers, and a dude from Kenya playing Sang Nila Utama.
Special mentions: A play I wrote about an estranged family entitled "Moving House" was one of 6 winners at the Vancouver Island Young Playwrights' Festival and was staged with young actors and a professional director. That felt pretty cool. I also received a Media Development Authority National Scriptwriting Competition Merit Award, which felt like a consolation prize because it was. But there was a bit of money given, which became the budget for "The Beautiful Game", an unforgettably fun short film about the parallels between football and dating I made with my international schoolmates.
Low: That time my Chechen roommate yelled, "You hurt me worse than the Russians!"
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I majored in Film and Video Production at the University of Southern California.
High: A prof I respect said my kungfu short was the manliest film in the class.
Low: Crashing a golf cart at the Universal Studios backlot where I interned.
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Spent a few years working in media-related gigs.
High: A year as a VFX production coordinator in London. Love that city.
Low: Screenwriting in Hong Kong was great, but I lived in a matchbox flat with no kitchen. I cooked with a hotpot on top of the toilet bowl and washed my dishes in the shower.
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Switched careers and taught English and Literature.
High: Explaining Shakespeare's dirty jokes.
Low: Room inspections as boarding mistress at a boys' school. Smells you cannot imagine.
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Now a full-time wife and mum. Writing and speaking on the side.
High: "The Most Irritating Person in the World (Self-Proclaimed)" transformed into
"Husband of the Year" over 20 hours of labour. Baby E, future philosopher and astronaut clown, was thus born. Doctor was so baller that she delivered E while wearing home clothes and slippers, then thanked me for not pooping on her. Epidural FTW.
Special mention: The second Baby E was born in a completely painless labour (epidural FTW). The only thing more incredible than how much hair she has is how self-sufficient and cheerful she is. The irritating husband and I are truly blessed.
Low: When the dog had diarrhoea in the house.
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But all this is old news! Follow me on Instagram for regular updates.
