Clara Ng
| Clara Ng | |
|---|---|
| Born | Clara Regina Juana 28 July 1973 Jakarta, Indonesia |
| Occupation | Author |
| Language | Indonesian |
| Citizenship | Indonesian |
| Alma mater | Ohio State University |
| Period | 2002–present |
| Genre | Novels, short stories, children's |
| Notable awards | Three Adhikarya Awards |
| Spouse | Nicholas Ng (2000-present) |
| Children | 2 |
Clara Ng (born 28 July 1973; née Clara Regina Juana, last name pronounced [ŋ̍]) is an Indonesian writer who is known for both adult fiction and children's literature.
During her childhood in Jakarta, Ng enjoyed reading and read at an advanced rate. After finishing her primary and secondary education in Indonesia, during which time she took up writing, Ng went to the United States to study at Ohio State University. After her graduation in 1997, she worked in the US for a year before returning to Indonesia to work at a shipping company. After three years working there, in which time she married and had two miscarriages, Ng quit to become a professional writer. Her first novel, Tujuh Musim Setahun (Seven Seasons in a Year; 2002), sold poorly, but her subsequent trilogy Indiana Chronicle was better received. Since then, she has released several novels, as well as numerous short stories (including one anthology) and twenty-one children's books, and some collections of fairytales.
Ng, who is a stay at home mother, writes in her spare time at home. Her topics are different depending on the genre she is writing in; her adult-oriented works often deal with minority groups, while her children's books are meant to teach empathy. Her children's works have won three Adhikarya Awards from the Indonesian Publishers Association, and LGBT groups have praised her novel Gerhana Kembar (Twin Eclipse; 2007) for avoiding stereotyping the group. However, some educators have protested the lack of an explicit moral message in her children's books.
Ng was born in Jakarta on 28 July 1973 with the name Clara Regina Juana and raised in the Kemayoran sub-district. She took up reading at a young age, reportedly capable of reading translations of The Adventures of Tintin by kindergarten. She also enjoyed Hans Christian Andersen's fairytale The Snow Queen, which influenced her writing. By age 11 she was reading adult-oriented works by Mira W. Ng attended Budi Mulia Elementary School from 1979 until 1986, then attended Van Lith Middle School until 1989; it was while in middle school that she taught herself creative writing and began creating works. She completed her high school education at Bunda Hati Kudus, graduating in 1992. While in high school, she became interested in social issues, including discrimination faced by ethnic Chinese, LGBT, and women.
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