Erni Salleh is the author of The Java Enigma, which was shortlisted for the 2020 Epigram Books Fiction Prize. She completed her Master's in Southeast Asian Studies at the National University of Singapore, where she first got interested in colonial maps, art, religion and ancient kingdoms of the region. A librarian by profession and a self-professed antiques aficionado, she travels the region collecting bits of the past—from 19th century ceremonial scrolls in Laos to generations-old kerises in a remote village in Yogyakarta. When she’s not writing, Erni continues telling stories, be it to a room full of toddlers and parents, or storyboarding a puzzle adventure book for tweens.
