Rachel Heng

Rachel Heng (born 1988) is a Singaporean novelist and the author of the literary dystopian novel Suicide Club. Her short fiction has been published in many literary journals including Glimmer Train, Tin House, The Minnesota Review and others. Her fiction has received recognition from Pushcart and from the Jane Geske awards and she has been profiled by the BBC, Electric Literature and other publications.

Rachel Heng
BornSingapore
OccupationWriter
NationalitySingaporean
EducationBA (Comparative Literature), Columbia University
Website
rachelhengqp.com

Biography

Rachel Heng majored in Comparative Literature at Columbia University. She then worked in the private equity industry in London.[1] She received a James A. Michener Fellowship to pursue a MFA in fiction and screenwriting at the University of Texas at Austin's Michener Center for Writers.[2]

Works

Her first novel Suicide Club was published by Hachette's Sceptre imprint in the UK, and Macmillan's Henry Holt imprint in the US in July 2018. The manuscript won a six-figure publishing deal after a bidding auction between international publishers.[3] The novel is a piece of dystopian fiction set in a world of compulsory state-managed longevity, and satirizes contemporary culture's obsession with health.[4] The plot centers on a group of rebels called the "Suicide Club" which circulates secretly-filmed videos of their own suicides as a form of release and protest against the health-obsessed establishment.[5] The novel was inspired by dystopian pieces such as George Orwell's Animal Farm and Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale.[1] Heng's novel was named a most anticipated novel of the summer by The Huffington Post, Gizmodo, The Irish Times, The Millions, Bustle, NYLON and Elle.[6] Critics have compared Suicide Club favourably to Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go,[5][4] Chuck Palahniuk's Fight Club and Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray.[7] Suicide Club is pending translation into 10 languages worldwide.[6]

Heng's short fiction has been published widely in literary journals such as Glimmer Train, Tin House, Prairie Schooner, The Offing, Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern, and The Minnesota Review.[8] Her fiction has received a Pushcart special mention and Prairie Schooner's Jane Geske award.[8] She has written essays and features for The Telegraph,[9] The Rumpus,[10] Grazia[11] and Catapult.[12] Her essay 'On Becoming A Person of Colour' was one of The Rumpus's top read posts of 2018,[13] a 2018 Staff Pick[14] and has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize.[15] She was listed by The Independent as one of ten emerging authors to look out for in 2018[16] and has been profiled by outlets such as the BBC,[1] Electric Literature[17] and The Straits Times.[18]

Bibliography
  • Suicide Club (Hachette, Henry Holt, 2018) ISBN 978-147-36-7291-8

References
  1. Rackham, Annabel (16 July 2018). "What if burgers and beer were illegal?". Archived from the original on 2018-11-16. Retrieved 2018-12-01 – via www.bbc.com.
  2. hermes (18 July 2017). "Singaporean's debut novel scores six-figure sums from US, UK publishers in auction". Archived from the original on 2018-12-01. Retrieved 2018-12-01.
  3. "Singaporean Author Lands Six-Figure Deals From U.S., U.K. Publishers for Her First Novel". nextshark.com. Archived from the original on 2018-12-01. Retrieved 2018-12-01.
  4. "Suicide Club by Rachel Heng: Who wants to live forever?". Archived from the original on 2018-07-21. Retrieved 2018-12-01.
  5. Smith, Rosa Inocencio (31 August 2018). "'Suicide Club' Takes On the Tyranny of Wellness". Archived from the original on 2018-12-01. Retrieved 2018-12-01.
  6. "Rachel Heng in conversation w/Liz Moore". Blue Stoop. Archived from the original on 2018-12-01. Retrieved 2018-12-01.
  7. Stallings, M. Brianna (October 12, 2018). "Suicide Club: A Novel About Living by Rachel Heng". Retrieved 2 December 2018.
  8. "RACHEL HENG: Turning Rejections into Motivation - 88 Cups of Tea with Yin Chang". Archived from the original on 2018-12-01. Retrieved 2018-12-01.
  9. Heng, Rachel (2018-07-10). "I was a City worker addicted to exercise". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2018-12-29.
  10. "On Becoming A Person Of Color - The Rumpus.net". therumpus.net. Retrieved 2018-12-29.
  11. "'Clean Eating Is Just Another Way To Punish Ourselves'". Grazia. 2018-07-24. Retrieved 2018-12-29.
  12. "You Bet Your Life: 'Death Bonds,' the Investments That Want You Dead | Rachel Heng". Catapult. 2018-08-02. Retrieved 2018-12-29.
  13. "The Rumpus Top 20 Of 2018 - The Rumpus.net". therumpus.net. Retrieved 2018-12-29.
  14. "What To Read When: Rumpus Staff Favorites 2018 - The Rumpus.net". therumpus.net. Retrieved 2018-12-29.
  15. "The Rumpus 2018 Pushcart Prize Nominees! - The Rumpus.net". therumpus.net. Retrieved 2018-12-29.
  16. "Emerging authors to look out for in 2018". Archived from the original on 2018-12-01. Retrieved 2018-12-01.
  17. Chen, Karissa (2018-07-12). "What if You Could Live Forever?". Electric Literature. Retrieved 2018-12-29.
  18. hermes (2017-07-18). "Singaporean's debut novel scores six-figure sums from US, UK publishers in auction". The Straits Times. Retrieved 2018-12-29.
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