Anand Panyarachun
Non-fiction
Anand Panyarachun is a leading senior statesman in Asia and was twice prime minister of Thailand (1991 and 1992). Cambridge-educated in Economics and Law, Anand had a distinguished career in foreign service and in business. During 23 years in the foreign service, he served as Thailand’s permanent representative to the United Nations, ambassador to Canada, the United States and the Federal Republic of Germany, and ultimately permanent secretary to ministry of foreign affairs. In his business career, he served as business executive of various companies and associations and was actively involved in the work of the ASEAN Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

After having served as prime minister, he resumed his business career and has since been called upon to assist successive Thai governments in economic and social policies, human rights and governance, including as chairman of the Constitution Drafting Committee (1997), chairman of the National Economic and Social Advisory Council (2001), and chairman of the National Reconciliation Commission to restore peace in Thailand’s deep South (2005). Internationally, he is a member of the Advisory Group of Anti-Corruption Issues for the East Asia and Pacific Region, World Bank, Group of International Advisors of International Committee of the Red Cross and the Advisory Council of Transparency International (TI). He was also appointed by the former UN secretary-general, Kofi Annan, as chairman of the United Nations High-Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change as part of the UN reform.

Anand has been recognized both internationally and nationally for his dedication and work for the advancement of Thai society. He received the prestigious Ramon Magsayay Award for government service in 1997. He lives with his family in Bangkok.

Police General Vasit Dejkunjorn
Non-fiction
Police General Vasit Dejkunjorn has had a long and distinguished career as a police officer, newspaper columnist and writer. Widely regarded as a public servant with high integrity and professionalism, as a career police officer he served as police inspector-general, deputy director-general of the Royal Thai Police, chief or Royal Court Police, and after his retirement, senator and deputy minister of interior. He started his career in literature early. Since his time as a student at Chulalongkorn University in the late 1940s, he has written thousands of articles, numerous short stories and over 20 novels. Many of his Thai-language novels have been best-sellers among Thai readers and made into films and TV series. He was named National Artist in Literature in 1998.

H.E. Sam Sotha, Secretary-General, Cambodian Mine Action Authority, and Advisor to the Prime Minister of Cambodia
Non-fiction
Sam Sotha and his wife Sony are survivors of the Khmer Rouge’s brutal regime. Sam Sotha’s memoir, In The Shade of A Quiet Killing Place, is an inspirational story of faith in the couple’s four-year journey and survival through the Killing Fields.

After 15 years of resettlement in the United States—where he became a leading advocate for refugees and an active local political leader, whose contributions have been recognized with numerous awards—Sam Sotha returned to Cambodia in 1995. Ever since, he has devoted his life to help reconciling his country to the past. As the Secretary General of the Cambodian Mine Action Authority, Sam Sotha’s mission is to clear Cambodia of landmines. He also serves as advisor to the prime minister of Cambodia.

Christopher G. Moore
Fiction, Thai language
Christopher G. Moore is a Canadian author of 18 novels, one collection of interlocked short stories, and one book on Thai language. Oxford-educated, Moore was a law professor at the University of British Columbia for 10 years. His first book His Lordship’s Arsenal was published in New York to a critical acclaim in 1985, when he decided to become a full-time writer.

Moore moved to Thailand in 1988 and from Bangkok continued to write literary and commercial fiction. He has attained somewhat of a cult status among his readers in Asia and Europe and has an increasingly strong following in North America. Moore is probably best known by his cult classics, Land of Smiles Trilogy, his behind-the-smiles study of his adopted country, Thailand, and his highly popular Vincent Calvino Private Eye series.

Moore has been called “complex, moody, rewarding” (Chicago Sun-Times) as well as a writer “in the great literary tradition that hasn’t really touched down since Somerset Maugham” (The Globe and Mail). He is often praised for his in-depth knowledge and sharp insights about the part of the world he writes about. “One of Moore’s greatest strengths is his knowledge of Southeast Asian history,” said Newsweek. He is known, in the words of the National Post, for the way he “captures the bewitching spirit and rice-cooker passions of Southeast Asia.”

List of novels by Christopher G. Moore: A Killing Smile, A Bewitching Smile, A Haunting Smile, His Lordship's Arsenal, Tokyo Joe, Red Sky Falling, God of Darkness, Chairs, Waiting for the Lady, Gambling on Magic, Spirit House, Asia Hand, Zero Hour in Phnom Penh, Comfort Zone, The Big Weird, Cold Hit, Minor Wife, Pattaya 24/7, The Risk of Infidelity Index, and Heart Talk (3rd ed.).

Chistopher G. Moore's presskit.

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Maya Raine
Non-fiction
Maya Raine is a pseudonym of a Thai author who is fascinated by language and culture. Maya is bicultural and bilingual (in English and Thai) and has extensive cross-cultural experience. Her primary career is in international development.