Were the contributors to "The SEA is Ours" all already established authors?

Question

The SEA is Ours is an anthology collection of steampunk stories by various South-East Asian authors, including names such as Olivia Ho, Marilag Angway, and Timothy Dimacali. I know very little about either steampunk or South-East Asian literature, so none of these names were familiar to me; however, a little online searching told me that at least some of them, such as Dimacali, were already well-known authors in the genre, and presumably were asked to contribute for that reason.

Were all of the contributors already established authors? In other words, is The SEA is Ours a collection of short stories by famous authors, the sort of anthology that might advertise itself by "includes stories from So-and-so!" - or is it a collaborative effort to create a new thing, a South-East Asian steampunk collection, by a mixed team qualified more by enthusiasm than experience?

Answer 1

The SEA is Ours features a combination of widely established authors, experienced authors who are not yet widely known outside a particular niche audience, and authors who are just beginning to be published. This is unsurprising; it's typical of anthology collections to use Big Name contributors to boost awareness of unrecognized talent.

• Marilag Angway has anthologized stories across several genres.
• Paolo Chikiamco is writer and editor of many comics and anthologies, as well as interactive fiction works.
• Timothy James M. Dimacali writes both science fiction and science journalism. His work is studied in Philippine schools.
• L.L. Hill's stories and poetry have been anthologized, and her entry for The SEA is Ours is an elaboration on a previous work.
• Alessa Hinlo is a newer writer; The SEA is Ours appears to be her second published short story.
• Olivia Ho may be newly published, or I may just be bad at Googling.
• Robert Liow is published in the Singapore Poetry Writing Month anthology and by the Singapore’s Creative Arts Programme, but I think The SEA is Ours is his first international distribution.
• Pear Nuallak is published in a couple magazines.
• Ivanna S. Mendels writes short stories and children's books.
• Kate Osias is an award-winning author, and co-editor of volumes of the Philippine Speculative Fiction.
• z.m. quỳnh writes short fiction, poetry, and non-fiction, but The Sea is Ours is her first speculative fiction work.
• Nghi Vo is a professional author.

Obscurity and a small publishing portfolio don't equate to inexperience; many excellent and prolific authors never break out of their local region, and often an author's first work is a highly polished gem representing time and energy they'll never have the opportunity to again devote to a single work once they're immersed in the publishing grind.