Kyla Zhao

What started as a safe space helped turn this young writer, living alone in a foreign country and homesick, into a two‑time published author

- Valerie Lim

It was in the troughs of the Covid‑19 pandemic that Kyla Zhao rediscovered her love of storytelling. Facing loneliness as well as lingering imposter syndrome on the cusp of a career pivot in 2021 from the fashion industry to a more technical role in Silicon Valley, she channelled her vulnerabilities into writing, using it as an outlet to grapple with negative emotions.

The Fraud Squad, Zhao’s debut novel published in 2023 by Penguin Random House, and Valley Verified, launched earlier this year by the same publisher, were the unexpected results of this judgement‑free penning of thoughts. The latter, which Zhao calls “a book of her heart”, tells the tale of Zoe Zeng, who leaves her dead‑end job as a fashion writer to discover the cut‑throat world of tech. Zhao crafted the fish‑out‑of‑water narrative from personal experience and it was her friends’ initial reactions to the early draft of this book that made her realise that many felt the same way, but never voiced their fears.