Warran Kalasegaran
1. BIOGRAPHY
2. SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
3. SELECTED PROSE
an excerpt from Lieutenant Kurosawa’s Errand Boy
BIOGRAPHY
Warran Kalasegaran studied Politics with International Studies at the University of Warwick, and graduated with a Master of Public Policy from the University of Tokyo. He wrote his debut novel, Lieutenant Kurosawa’s Errand Boy (2017), during his time there.
Lieutenant Kurosawa’s Errand Boy follows an eight-year-old boy in Singapore who is forced to work for the Japanese military during the Occupation. From Lieutenant Kurosawa, Nanban receives his name, learns their language and customs, studies their martial art, and prays to the Emperor. But watching the cruelty with which the Imperial Army rules Singapore, Nanban is forced to confront the question of whether he can be just as ruthless to survive. Warran’s own interest in the Japanese Occupation was sparked by having maternal grandparents who were orphans during that period, and his studies in Tokyo.
The novel was longlisted for the 2016 Epigram Books Fiction Prize and shortlisted for the 2018 Singapore Book Awards (Best Fiction Title). It has been reviewed by local news outlets such as The Straits Times and literary journals, including CHA, QLRS and The Historical Novels Review.
In addition to speaking at schools, Warran has been an invited speaker for various literary programmes organised by the likes of The Arts House, the National Museum of Singapore, Epigram Books, as well as for both the 2017 and 2018 Singapore Writers Festival.
Warran currently works at Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and continues to write.
Author Biography © Warran Kalasegaran. Author Photo © Epigram Books. All rights reserved.
