Malaysian Writers was originally founded as a Facebook Group in October 2014 by Tina Isaacs, who started the group for all writers hailing from Malaysia (Malaysian citizens/PRs, and expats who write, live, and work in Malaysia). It is a closed online group that provides support and networking opportunities for writers of all stripes—a safe haven to discuss industry matters and challenges, as well as share publication and job opportunities. The platform facilitates interaction, provides support, and fosters a sense of community through initiated physical gatherings, craft/learning exercises, industry news sharing, and various writer-focused discussions.
The group quickly reached 5,000 members within 3 years and continues to grow with an average of 30 members weekly. Any writers that fit the above-mentioned criteria can join the online group for free by logging on to Malaysian Writers Community/ Komuniti Penulis Malaysia on Facebook, and submitting a complete member request. An administrator will approve accordingly.
In 2015, Tina Isaacs organised the first fest, then titled “MYWriters Book Festival”, to celebrate the group’s first anniversary. This was a month-long festival with author appearances, book signings, and book sales held at various locations in Malaysia over the four weekends in October.
With the success of the 2015 MYWritersBookFest and continued growth of the Facebook Group, Tina Isaacs and Gina Yap Lai Yoong spearheaded the registration of the group as a national society. This was initiated both to provide oversight for the administration of such events, including accountability for funds collected and used, as well as to increase the means of the community to effectively advocate for Malaysian writers.
The Society was registered under the name Persatuan Penulis Malaysia (Malaysian Writers Society) with the Registry of Societies Malaysia on 6 September 2016 (PPM-008-10-06092016).
The founding EXCO and committee members were:
President: Gina Yap Lai Yoong
Vice President: Lokman Hakim
Secretary: Tina Isaacs
Assistant Secretary: Hanna Alkaf
Treasurer: Anna Tan
Committee: Fahmi Mustaffa, Helveron Sagulu, Izad Ishak, Jo Ch’ng, Lisa Ong, Michelle Leong, Pepper Lim, Shakila Munisamy, Tany Leia Harris, Zedeck Siew, Tutu Dutta
