Author Q&A: Stephanie Ng

Author/ Bookish Everybody
4 October 2026

Stephanie Ng has writing in her DNA and yet authoring books is a side gig for her. Most of her time is spent working on Body Banter, a Hong Kong-based mental health charity that helps stimulate important conversations about body image. Big Bites Break Boundaries is the alliterative name of her book that draws on her own experiences of navigating an eating disorder in her early teens. Rather than being a book about personal triumph, the book announces that to be messy is to be alive and human.

How did you become a writer?

I’ve been a writer since I could first hold a pen! My dad is an educator and an author himself; and because I looked up to him so much, I naturally wanted to imitate him in any way I could. I started by writing fictional stories to entertain myself as an only child (this was long before the days of social media!) and later began journaling about my own life to better understand my experiences. Eventually, I started sharing these personal accounts publicly to serve my mental health advocacy mission – first on social media and, eventually, in the form of my book.

What would you be doing otherwise?

Actually, being a writer is my “side gig!” My day job involves running my mental health charity, Body Banter, which works with schools and universities to spark conversations about body image. Writing about my lived experience with mental illness and my advocacy work has been a really fruitful way to channel my passions through a different avenue.

Of the people you have written about which is your favourite and why?

While my memoir is primarily about my own experiences and reflections, I have really enjoyed writing about the people who have made an impact on me – in both big and small ways. Many of the stories in my book feature family members, healthcare professionals, and educators who have taught me invaluable lessons about navigating challenges, both within the context of my eating disorder and beyond.

How did you come to be in this part of the world and to start writing?

Well, I was raised in Hong Kong, so it was the natural place to situate my memoir! It’s a very special place for me to write about because I grew up witnessing the lack of resources allocated to mental health support. It truly feels like a full-circle moment to be giving back by sharing the lessons I learned through my lived experiences.

Tell us about your writing method. Is there a secret?

I keep a treasure trove of random ideas in my Apple Notes app. I’d say my secret is that I never deem an idea “too trivial” to write down; I’ve found that some of my “silliest” thoughts have actually become central parts of my work! (Fun fact: the title Big Bites Break Boundaries actually came to me in a dream, and I jotted it down while half-awake.)

Which author, alive or dead, would you most like to meet?

I’d be lying if I didn’t say Stephenie Meyer, author of the Twilight Saga. I was a huge fangirl of the series in my teens, and it would be incredible to catch up with her over coffee to ask about her process for creating such intricate story worlds.

Tell us about your favourite bookshop in the world.

I’m keeping it local for this one. I’ve been going to Bookazine to stock my bookshelves for as long as I can remember, so it’s a dream come true to see my own book on their shelves now!

What advice would you give your younger, writer self?

It doesn’t have to be perfect to be shared. While writing Big Bites, I had a deep fear that I would regret something I’d written or want to change a passage only after it hit the shelves. It was only toward the end of the journey that I realized if I kept revising the manuscript forever, I’d never actually publish the book. In re-reading it since then, I’ve realized that while I might cringe at certain sections, I marvel at the wisdom of my past self in others. I think it’s a beautiful thing that our writing documents different versions of ourselves and our thought processes throughout our lives.

Big Bites Break Boundaries by Stephaine Ng is available on Bookazine.

About the Author

Bookish Everybody

Books and reading are too often on the periphery. Enter: Bookish Everybody, a one-stop community of book enthusiasts to read or write reviews, join read-alongs, buy/sell/give books and join our competitions to win books: www.bookisheverybody.com.