Q&A with sydney khoo
“From up here, bathed in the solar energy of three suns, surrounded by the chitter of Empyrean families and clean air, you could – if you wanted to – convince yourself this is utopia.”
~ ‘THE NINTH CLOUD’ by sydney khoo
Your speculative short story ‘THE NINTH CLOUD’ takes place in an alternate world, where our narrator, a lower-class Nethizen, is attempting to save their sister from an upper-class Empyrean stronghold. What was the inspiration behind your piece?
I had this idea of a planet becoming so damaged and polluted that its citizens began moving to ships or cities suspended above the ground. Realistically, only the rich and privileged would have access to move there, leaving the poor and disenfranchised to struggle on below. This got me wondering, if these gated communities existed, would they allow a select few to seek asylum?
The airy world of the story is so imaginative and beautifully realised. What elements were important to you in creating this setting?
In my first few drafts, Empyreas was a lot more cyberpunk, with bustling markets and steam trains, but I found the contrast with the Netheryns wasn't stark enough. If the planet below is slowly flooding, filled with unbreathable air, and acid rain, Empyreas needed to be viciously juxtaposed as The Heavenly City. I wanted it to be seem pure and clean — futuristic, yet filled with life and free-flowing resources (enough that they could share with the planet, if they chose not to hoard it).
Your YA fantasy novel ‘The Spider and Her Demons’ was chosen for the 2019 Penguin Write It Fellowship. Can you tell us a bit about the novel and what the mentoring process has been like?
‘The Spider and Her Demons’ follows half spider-demon, Zhi Leong Yao, who lives above her aunt's dumpling shop in Chinatown, Sydney. She's pretty much mastered hiding her demon form, so all she has to worry about is surviving high school — until she accidentally eats a man, in front of the most popular girl in school.
It's a coming-of-age story, specifically from the point of view of a second-generation Asian immigrant, trying to survive in a world that constantly feels unsafe. It's been extremely tough writing in the wake of the anti-Asian racism spikes since the pandemic, but I'm still working on it. The mentoring process has mostly been Michelle waiting on me to send her edits (sorry, Michelle)! It's been great for getting constructive feedback, but the hard part is doing the big plot and character reworks. It's my first novel, and the length of the story compared to short stories has been challenging. I'm extremely fortunate to have such a patient editor.
Who are some great writers or poets we should be adding to our reading list?
Definitely anything by Ken Liu; ‘Paper Menagerie’ (2011) makes me bawl my eyes no matter how many times I read it. Warsan Shire's ‘Teaching My Mother How To Give Birth’ (2011) is always at the top of my poetry stack. I'm particularly fond of YA and have reread the ‘Not My Sidekick’ (2016) series by C.B. Lee multiple times. But honestly, I wouldn't be here if it weren't for fanfiction. A lot of people give it flack for not being "highbrow," but most of my favourite stories are fanfics. Nothing better than losing an entire night scrolling on your phone and weeping into your pillowcase.
sydney khoo is a non-binary and queer writer, born in Australia, to Malaysian-Chinese parents. Though typically located drinking bubble tea in Cabramatta, or eating fries in a McDonald's carpark, they can occasionally be found writing nonsense stories at cafés with their dog Gizmo. Follow them on Twitter @sydneykhoo and check out their website www.sydneykhoo.com.