Featured Illustrators
maniniwei ∕ 馬尼尼為
maniniwei is a writer and illustrator originally from Malaysia and now based in Taiwan. After graduating university with a degree in fine arts, there was a ten-year gap before the publication of her first book. She has since received multiple prose and reportage literature awards. On multiple occasions, her work has been selected for annual poetry and prose anthologies in Taiwan, and she has received several grants from the National Culture and Arts Foundation for literature and visual arts. She has over 20 publications to her name, including prose, poetry, and picture books. She volunteers at an animal shelter and lives in Taiwan with many cats and one child.
Facebook: @outsiderartschool
Instagram: @maniniwei
Bologna
Children’s
Book Fair
2024
Awards
2022 – My Sister’s Empty House, The BRAW Amazing Bookshelf, Selected
2022 – Taipei Literature Award, Annual Writing Project, Fiction Category
2021 – Knife Turns to Scrap–Malay Pantun, Golden Tripod Awards, Fiction Category
2021 – Chinese Writer in Residence, Hong Kong Baptist University
2021 – National Culture and Arts Foundation, Taiwan Documentary Writing Project Grant; the grant resulted in the publication of Lifetime of Love for Animals, the Documentary of Taipei Animal’s Shelter in 2023
Knife Turns to Scrap (Once a Sharp Blade, Now Just Scrap Iron)—Malay Pantun
以前巴冷刀．現在廢鐵爛：馬來班頓
Fiction
/ All Ages
This book contains thirty-seven Malay pantun (folk poems) and illustrations accompanied by woodcut prints. The planning, illustration, and translation were all done by the poet maniniwei. The traditional Pantun style comprises four lines and is characterized by its straightforward emotional expression as well as its rich use of plant and natural imagery and vivid flesh-and-blood sensations. Some poems contain delightful insights into the human existence, through which the book provides a glimpse into many aspects of rural Malay life and culture.
Author: maniniwei
Publisher: Zebra crossing Publishing・2020
64pages・25×35cm
ISBN: 9789869921008
★The 45th Golden Tripod Awards, Literary Book Category
★2020 OpenBook Good Book Award, Annual Literary Category
My Sister’s Empty House
姐姐的空房子
Children’s Books
/ All Ages
This is a poetry picture book written and illustrated by maniniwei, who uses relief printing combined with manual and digital collages to create magical, rough relief prints that renain captivating, even upon repeated viewing. The poem itself is wild and unrestrained, proudly exhibiting a carefree boldness. Novelist and scholar Ng Kim Chew comments: This is the most innocent poem, blending the tone of fairy tales, the perspective of picture books, and the vitality of poetry.
Author: maniniwei
Publisher: Zebra crossing Publishing・2022
28pages・19×26cm
ISBN: 9786269541201
★2022 The BRAW Amazing Bookshelf
The Use of the Foreign Land, Trilogy of a Taipei Migrant
異鄉之用
Picture Book
/ All Ages
This collection of fable-like stories serves as a condensed portrayal of the experiences of the author herself, a Malaysian-Chinese writer and artist, who has lived in Taipei as an outsider for twenty years. The collection includes three picture books: Mrs. Basin, Forest of Breast, and The Hands Which Grew. The three books are crafted in distinct styles, which, though at first glance dissimilar, resonate with the author’s strong and unique essence. The artwork includes pronounced linework, using relief printing, incorporating textured single-brush prints, ink effects, multi-layered collages, and computer-aided post-production, resulting in rich and eerie visuals.
Author: maniniwei
Publisher: Ding Ding・2022
116pages・9×25.5cm
ISBN: 9786269617418
★National Culture and Arts Foundation’s Taiwan creation genre and publication grant
The Princess of Mount Ophir
金山公主
Children’s Books
/ All Ages
The Princess of Mount Ophir is a classic, widely known Malaysian folk tale. Author maniniwei spent her childhood and adolescence visiting Mount Ophir, meaning this folk tale, with its geographical connection, became ingrained in her being. Years later, she reinterprets the inner and outer aspects of the Princess of Mount Ophir with her own words and images. Through her refined rhythm and beautiful woodcuts, she highlights the beauty and wisdom of the Princess of Mount Ophir, along with the unique Malay batik cloth.
Author: maniniwei
Publisher: Taiwan Interminds Publishing Inc.・2022
48pages・19×25.4cm
ISBN: 9789862943069
★Recommend books for Elementary and Middle School Students, 45th Edition
Lifetime of Love for Animals, the Documentary of Taipei Animal’s Shelter
今生好好愛動物：寶島收容所採訪錄
Non-fiction
/ All Ages
This book begins with a tragedy, in 2016, when Zhi-Cheng Jian, director of the Animal Shelter in Taoyuan City, reportedly unable to bear the responsibility of euthanizing unwanted dogs, ended her own life at the age of 32. In order to tell this story, maniniwei conducted in-depth interviews with 8 volunteers and 4 staff members, becoming a volunteer herself. With over 150 illustrations and 90,000 words, the book portrays real situations faced by the staff, volunteers, and animals.
Author: maniniwei
Publisher: Thinkingdom Media Gropup Ltd.・2023
424pages・17×23cm
ISBN: 9786267061961
★National Culture and Arts Foundation’s Taiwan documentary Writing Project grant
