Printable view of Desmond Kon

Desmond Kon [1]

Listed as:

Poet

Public address:

Email:

desmond.kon.zhicheng.mingde@gmail.com

Bio:

Desmond Francis Xavier Kon Zhicheng-Mingdé (b. 1971) is the author of an epistolary novel, a quasi-memoir, two lyric essay monographs, four hybrid works, nine poetry collections, a guided creative journal, and several chapbooks. The founding editor of Squircle Line Press, he has edited more than twenty-five books and co-produced three audiobooks, several pro bono for non-profit organizations including Sok Sabay Cambodia, Riding for the Disabled Association, the National Volunteer & Philanthropy Centre, and SAGE Counselling Centre. These titles span the genres of ethnography, journalism, creative writing, and corporate literature. Trained in book publishing at Stanford University, Desmond studied sociology and mass communication at the National University of Singapore, and later received his theology masters (world religions) from Harvard University and fine arts masters (creative writing) from the University of Notre Dame. A former entertainment journalist with 8 Days, he has travelled to Australia, France, Hong Kong and Spain for his stories, which have included features on Madonna, Björk and Morgan Freeman, culminating in the authorship of the limited edition Top Ten TCS Stars for Caldecott Publishing. With early freelance illustration for The Straits Times, he has at times returned to drawing and design, with his Madding Mission Series of stationery. His online novelty store, ECRITUREartefacts, creates literary curiosities, which include glassware, book totes, and laptop cases. As a consultant, Desmond’s editorial projects have seen him collaborating with authors and artists from an international community spanning Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Chile, China, Colombia, Czech Republic, Finland, Georgia, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Russia, Serbia, Slovenia, South Africa, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tibet, Turkey, Ukraine, and Vietnam, among other nations. An interdisciplinary artist, Desmond also works in clay. Through his Potter Poetics Collection, he has designed and sculpted ceramic works to commemorate Albert Camus’ 50th Anniversary, the Dalai Lama’s 50th Year of Exile, Gerard Manley Hopkins’ 120th Anniversary, Walter Benjamin’s 70th Anniversary, Matteo Ricci’s 400th Anniversary, Marguerite Porete’s 700th Anniversary, Edgar Allan Poe’s Bicentennial, Simone Weil’s Birth Centennial, Swami Abhishiktananda’s Birth Centennial, Thomas Merton’s 40th Anniversary, Jack Kerouac’s 40th Anniversary, Cave Canem’s 10 Years of Service to African American Poets, Grolier Poetry Bookshop’s 80 Years of Service as the Oldest Continuous Poetry Bookstore in the US, and Poet Lore’s 120th Anniversary as the Oldest Continuously Published Poetry Magazine in the US, among other commemorative pieces. His ceramic works are housed in museums and private collections in India, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Writing under several heteronyms, Desmond divides his time between his art, writing, teaching, editing, design, and publishing, his poetry and prose having placed in literary competitions in Australia, Canada, England, France, Greece, Ireland, Israel, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Scotland, Singapore, and the United States. Among his honoraria are appointments as juror for literary competitions/projects – these include Singapore National Poetry Competition, Singapore Poetry Slam, National Youth Slam League, Creative Arts Programme Portfolio Selection, Poetry on Platforms, Budding Writers Project, and Writing the City Competitions – organized by Marshall Cavendish, Word Forward, Poetry Festival Singapore, National Library Board, Ministry of Education, and The British Council.

Gives readings:

Yes

Travels for readings:

Yes

In which languages are you fluent?:

Chinese

English

Website:

https://www.desmondkon.com [2]

Prizes won:

Illumination Christian Book Award (Digital Media [Gold]); IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award (Poetry [Gold]); Independent Publisher Book Award (Book/Author/Publisher Website [Gold]; Multicultural Fiction [Silver]); Singapore Literature Prize (Poetry); PEN American Center Shorts Prize; Poetry World Cup; eLit Book Award (Best Book Website [Gold]; Anthologies [Bronze]); Beverly Hills International Book Award (Poetry & Visionary Fiction); National Indie Excellence Book Award (Poetry); Living Now Book Award (Death & Dying [Gold]; Inspirational Fiction [Silver]; Metaphysical [Bronze]); USA Regional Excellence Book Award (Adult Fiction, Poetry, Spirituality [Northeast]; Poetry [West]; Poetry [Midwest]; Anthology, Poetry [Southwest]); University of Canberra Poetry on the Move Meniscus Award (First Prize); Vallum New International Poetics "Naani" Poetry Award; Excel For Charity Swale Life Poetry Prize & High Commendation; Cyclamens & Swords Publishing Poetry Prize; Stepping Stones Nigeria Poetry Prize; Little Red Tree Publishing International Poetry Prize; New England Book Festival Runner-Up (Anthologies); Los Angeles Book Festival Runner-Up (Anthologies); Florida Book Festival Runner-Up (Anthologies); Paris Book Festival Runner-Up (Anthologies); Amsterdam Book Festival Honorable Mention (Fiction); San Francisco Book Festival Honorable Mention (Fiction); Green Book Festival Honorable Mention (Fiction); University of Notre Dame Poetry Fellowship; National Arts Council Creation Grant; NAC Writer-in-the-Gardens Residency, Singapore International Foundation Grant; Hiew Siew Nam Distinguished Academic Award; Ngee Ann Distinguished Teaching Award (1999, 2001 & 2013); Ngee Ann Humanities Special Incentive Award; International Association of Paradoxism Distinguished Achievement; Writers Billboard Poetry Prize; Scratch Poetry Prize; Champion of Birds Poetry Prize; Tom Howard/John H. Reid Poetry High Distinction Award; TRYangle Project Poetry Competition Second Prize; Hungry Hill "Poets Meet Politics" Second Prize; Lupus UK Poetry Competition Second Prize; Smartish Pace Erskine J. Poetry Third Prize; The Medulla Review Oblongata Contest Third Prize; The Psychiatry Research Trust Poetry Competition Third Prize; Thynks Publications Ltd Inspirational Poems Third Prize & Runner-Up; Hour of Writes Runner-Up; Alan Sillitoe Open Poetry Competition Runner-Up; Georgetown Review Magazine Contest Runner-Up; Thynks Publications Ltd "Serendipity" Poems Runner-Up; Tupelo Press Poetry Project Honorable Mention; Artsmith Literary Award Honorable Mention; Spilling Ink Flash Fiction Prize Honorable Mention; The New Writer Magazine "Single Poem" Honorable Mention; Sketchbook Journal "Found Poetry" Honorable Merit; Deux-Sèvres Segora Open Poetry Commendation Award; Sentinel Literary Quarterly Poetry High Commendation Award; Mobil National Essay Writing Commendation Award; Eric Hoffer Book Award Category Finalist (Fiction); USA Best Book Award Finalist (Multicultural Fiction, Visionary Fiction, Death & Dying); International Book Award Finalist (Cross Genre Fiction); National Indie Excellence Book Award Finalist (Multicultural Fiction); Beverly Hills International Book Award Finalist (Poetry); USA Regional Excellence Book Award Finalist (Anthology [Southeast]); Noemi Press Poetry Chapbook Award Finalist; Arts & Letters Rumi Prize For Poetry Finalist; United Poets Laureate International Noriko Mizusaki Award Finalist; United Poets Laureate International Mary Halliburton Award Finalist; A River & Sound Review Duckabush Poetry Prize Finalist; Aquillrelle Poetry Finalist; Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Finalist; Terrain.org Annual Poetry Finalist; The Winter Anthology Writing Contest Finalist; The Association of Writers & Writing Programs Intro Journals Project Nominee; Best of the Net Nominee; Zazzle "Today's Best" Award; Naugatuck River Review Narrative Poetry Semi-Finalist; The New Guard Knightville Poetry Semi-Finalist; Cinnamon Press "Concrete Poetry" Special Mention; Limnisa Bluethumbnail Short Story Contest Short List; Flash 500 Competition Short List; Margaret Reid Traditional Verse Short List; Pank 1001 Awesome Words Short List; Strokestown International Poetry Prize Short List; Cutbank Patricia Goedicke Poetry Prize Publication Choice; University of Canberra Vice-Chancellor’s International Poetry Prize Long List; National University of Singapore Sociology Book Prize

Identifies as:

BIPOC

Christian

Other

Prefers to work with:

Any