At only 23, Kyla Zhao is living the dream of every aspiring writer: the rights to the Singaporeans’ first novel, The Fraud Squad, was acquired by Berkley Books/Penguin Random House and is slated for publication in January 2023. 

When Kyla speaks about the events of the past year, she still sounds incredibly happy at times, incredulous at others – which is perhaps not all too surprising because when she started writing her book, it was never with the intention of letting other people read her story, let alone getting it published.

Born and raised in Singapore, Kyla moved to California, the United States, to attend Stanford University. She graduated earlier this year with a master’s degree in Communications and a bachelor’s in Psychology. 

“My whole life, I have been doing a lot of non-fiction writing,” Kyla explained. “I did some editorial internships with magazines and newspapers, like Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar, and also in the field of communications, but I never thought I was creative enough to write fiction.”

But the pandemic hit hard. Far away from her family in Singapore, not knowing when she would be able to see them again, Kyla felt isolated and lonely. Writing became a welcome distraction, something she did for herself to take her mind off the pangs of homesickness.

“I didn’t tell anyone about it for the longest time. In fact, I only told my family that I was writing a book after I reached 50,000 words,” she said. “I didn’t make a big deal out of it, and no one had any expectations, so I was under no pressure.” 

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