Writer. Researcher. Cultural Observer.
Stories at the intersection of memory, culture, and Southeast Asia.
BIO
Dina Zaman is a writer and researcher whose work sits at the intersection of culture, belief, and memory in Southeast Asia.
She is the author of four books — I Am Muslim, Holy Men, Holy Women, King of the Sea, and Malayland — and the co-founder of IMAN Research, a think tank examining socio-political realities in Malaysia and Southeast Asia. Her short fiction has been longlisted for the Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award.
Her current work traces the histories that Malaysia has not quite decided to remember — African slaves in Terengganu, the East Coast's royal courts, the quiet violence of class among the Malays. She is represented by Sivagurunathan & Chua Literary Agency.
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PROJECTS
www.gongkapasmedia.comDesta - The Story of Ya
Dina and her collaborators at RnD Studio are developing an animated documentary on the history of African slaves in Terengganu. The project blends archival research, oral histories, and visual storytelling to recover a largely untold strand of Malaysian history.
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King of the Sea – Screen Adaptation
Dina’s short story collection King of the Sea has been optioned by WayangWorks for screen adaptation. The project expands her coastal, magical-realist universe into a visual world of sea spirits, royal courts, and East Coast folklore.
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Long-Form Narrative Research - Untitled
Dina is currently immersed in a multi-decade narrative nonfiction project tracing how global politics seep into family histories, memory, and everyday life in Malaysia. The work brings together archival research, interviews, and personal narrative.
BOOKS
I Am Muslim. Silverfish Books, 2007.
Holy Men, Holy Women. SIRD, 2017.
King of The Sea. Silverfish Books, 2012 . Republished with three new stories, Clarity Publishing, 2024.
Malayland. Ethos Publishing and Faction Press, 2024.
Work: dinazaman@imanresearch.com
Personal: dinazaman@gmail.com
My agent: Devina Sivagurunathan, devina@litagencysc.com