Samantha Chong

BIO

Samantha Chong (she/her) is a YA Malaysian contemporary fantasy author who bops around quite a bit, though currently she’s based in NYC. Having moved across the world, Samantha’s stories dissect the tenuous art of homecoming and homemaking—she is fascinated by all the ways people (especially people of the diaspora) eke out their idea of what it’s like to belong. What is it like to build homes in places both familiar and not, and how do you build home in a place, a person, or a philosophy? Her debut YA fantasy novel, PRODIGAL TIGER, coming Spring 2026, is her first stab at answering these questions—if you don’t count the many essays and creative nonfiction lingering in her Google Docs, that is. 

By day, Samantha is a social media marketer, travel journalist and videographer, with words and videos featured in Gastro Obscura, BBC Travel, the Guggenheim website, Opentable, and more. She is represented by Larissa Melo Pienkowski at Jill Grinberg Literary Management, and you can often find her making memes about her characters, assigning them increasingly wacky incorrect quotes, experimenting with candy and jelly in her kitchen, or giving a Ted Talk about why Malaysian food is the best food in the world. 

Storytelling is at the heart of everything Samantha does, and she wouldn’t give it up for the world. As such, she’s excited to walk alongside other curious, enthusiastic writers, dig into their craft, and cheer them on their publishing journey, no matter where they’re at. Give her your character-driven stories that dissect the art of being human, the tenuousness of homecoming, and the intricacies of love, both romantic and platonic. Samantha is open to stories in the upper YA space, and is open to sci-fi, contemporary fantasy, horror, historical, or thriller stories. If you think a book will make her cry (either from laughter or from how moving it is), please send it to her.

MSWL

In terms of age groups, I’m mostly working in the upper YA space, and am primarily looking for sci-fi, contemporary fantasy, horror, historical, and thriller-based stories. However, these are not dealbreakers, and I’m willing to expand genres if your story contains any of the following:

  • Intense, personal relationships, whether it be romantic or platonic — I want to come away from a book kicking my heels about the friendship or relationships on the page. 

  • Myth retellings, especially of the BIPOC kind (bonus if it’s Southeast Asian!)

  • Diaspora stories, especially stories rooted in folks from the diaspora returning to their homeland and grappling with their new identity

  • Cinematic writing / scene-setting

  • Friends to lovers OR star-crossed lovers

  • Interesting worldbuilding systems or settings—while this is likely primarily in the realm of sci-fi or fantasy, I could make an exception for a romcom set in an unusual location, for example.

  • Heists! 

  • A deft balance of both action and emotion—think The Brothers Sun. 

  • Ghosts that serve as metaphors of everything a character can’t afford to lose. 

  • Loyal, supportive female friendships (bonus if it’s an ensemble)

  • Quips that will make me laugh out loud (bonus if there are artful puns)

These are elements I am not a great fit for: 

  • WWI // WWII fiction from a Western standpoint — while war stories are hard for me in general, I may reconsider if it’s from an area of the world that typically isn’t featured in discussions of the era. 

  • Stories that graphically feature sexual assault 

  • Elements including terrorists of any kind

  • Dystopias / post-apocalyptic settings

  • Dark academia 

  • Zombies/vampires/werewolves 

Books/Movies/TV I’ve loved:

TV/Movies

  • The Brothers Sun

  • The Untamed

  • The Good Place

  • Agatha All Along

  • Our Beloved Summer 

  • Space Sweepers 

  • First Love 

Books

  • The Storm We Made

  • I’m Not Done With You Yet 

  • Days at the Morisaki Bookshop

  • Where There Was Fire 

  • Monsters We Defy 

  • Daughter of the Moon Goddess 

  • Black Water Sister 

Bonus video games: 

  • Tears of the Kingdom 

  • Spiritfarer