Marylyn Tan made history as the first woman to win the Singapore Literature book prize earlier this month, with her debut collection, GAZE BACK. But her achievement stemmed from a violence done to her almost a decade ago, when she was videotaped against her will doing a homosexual sexual act in school. Young Marylyn was prosecuted harshly, while her perpetrator was let off scot-free. Society’s rejection of her, was just the beginning source of her inspiration. Reach us at [email protected].