Shawn Seah is a published author and public speaker. He wrote the children’s non-fiction series Our Amazing Heroes (2025) and Our Amazing Pioneers (2023). He also wrote several non-fiction books on Singapore’s history for the general public, including Seah Eu Chin: His Life & Times (2nd edition 2019); Leader and Legislator: Seah Liang Seah (2019); and My Father’s Kampung: A History of Aukang and Punggol (2020), a finalist for Best Non-Fiction Title and Top 10 Readers’ Choice at the Singapore Book Awards 2021.
An engaging historical storyteller, Shawn brings history to life through public talks at libraries, museums, and cultural institutions, such as the Punggol Regional Library; the Peranakan Museum; Blackbox at Fort Canning Centre during the Singapore Bicentennial in 2019; and the Nanyang Sacred Union, a Chinese temple. He has been a part of many heritage, cultural, and literary festivals, including the Singapore Heritage Festival (2018, 2020, 2023), the Peranakan Association Singapore’s Baba Nyonya Literary Festival (2019, 2022, 2024), and the Singapore Writers Festival (2023, 2025).
Shawn has also contributed to meaningful conversations with fellow children’s literature writers, educators, and publishers at the Asian Festival of Children’s Content (2025) and the Singapore Children’s Book Festival (2025). A sought-after speaker, he has also spoken to regional and international audiences, including at the Australasian College of Legal Medicine’s Awards Dinner (2025) and an international conference at Korea University in Seoul (2025).
A strong believer in the importance of National Education, Shawn delivers morning assembly talks in primary schools across Singapore. Through school talks, he edutains students with historical stories of Singapore’s pioneers like Seah Eu Chin, Syed Omar Aljunied, and Elizabeth Choy, while conveying enduring values like hard work, courage, and service. His children’s books are used to support educators as resources for National Education, Total Defence, and Character and Citizenship Education programmes.
At the university level, Shawn has frequently been invited to speak to undergraduates at the National University of Singapore. With his passion for sharing knowledge and an interactive lecture style, he has been a regular guest lecturer for a module offered by the Department of Chinese Studies; a regular guest speaker at a senior seminar at the College of Alice and Peter Tan; and a facilitator of book discussions.
Through interviews on television documentaries about topics such as the Punggol Zoo, Bendemeer House, and gambier and pepper plantations, Shawn has helped to raise awareness of lesser-known chapters of Singapore’s history. He has also been interviewed on CNA938, Kiss92, and Capital 958, sharing his reflections on writing family history and telling Singapore stories over the airwaves. Shawn’s books and stories about family history have been featured in The Straits Times, The Business Times, Lianhe Zaobao, and publications such as the Singapore Federation of Chinese Clan Associations’ Yuan and the Peranakan Association Singapore’s The Peranakan magazine. He has also received coverage in Chinese-language media in Malaysia and China.
Shawn holds a Master’s degree in Economic History from the London School of Economics and Political Science. His thesis on private order institutions in colonial Singapore (1819 to 1867) explored Peranakan middleman traders and Chinese secret societies. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics, with a minor in History, from the National University of Singapore, where he completed the University Scholars Programme. He also holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Education from the National Institute of Education and a Professional Certificate in PR and Mass Communication from the Institute of Public Relations of Singapore.
Shawn has received scholarships, grants, and awards, including from the National Heritage Board (2016, 2018, 2020) and Our SG Fund (2018). For his contributions to historical storytelling, Shawn was conferred the Outstanding Young Alumni Award by the National University of Singapore in 2023.
Beyond his deep and abiding interest in Singapore’s history, Shawn has extensive experience in policy formulation and research; education and community engagement; and planning, strategy, and data analysis. Among his past work, he visited and studied museums and institutions in the United States, including the 9/11 Memorial Museum, the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, the National Constitution Center, Independence Hall, and the Newseum. In support of National Education and Total Defence, he developed educational content, lesson plans, and curricula.
He works by day, writes by night, and speaks publicly about family history on weekends.
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Copyright © 2019 by Shawn Seah Li Song
Updated 3 January 2026
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Shawn Seah Li Song 
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