Every writer has an origin story. For Kristin Lim, it began at age seven in a Grade One classroom in Cebu, where putting words on paper felt like coming home.
“I started writing when I was seven years old,” she recalls. “I simply fell in love with storytelling.”
What seemed like a small decision to keep writing, to keep imagining, and to keep showing up for the stories in her head eventually led her across oceans and onto some of the most respected platforms in the field of literature.
Today, Kristin Lim is an award-winning international author and illustrator whose works have been published in the United States and the Philippines. She is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of Mass Communication, a homeschooling mother, a wife, a brand ambassador for Seven Arts Foto and Framing and a resource speaker on creativity and storytelling. In 2025, her graphic novel Zugbo Chronicles: Adrift was named a Top Ten finalist at the Akdang Pinoy Choice Awards.
But long before any of that, she was simply a child who refused to stop writing.
The First Step
Kristin’s personal motto, “Never underestimate the power of the first step,” reflects a philosophy forged through decades of quiet persistence.
That first step was a notebook. Then a sentence. Followed by a complete story, written for the pure, uncomplicated joy of creation. She did not know then that she was training for a life of discipline and craft and only knew that writing made her feel whole.
“I didn’t think of it as a career path,” she explains. “Looking back, that consistency, writing simply because I loved it, was the foundation for everything that came after.”
What came after was a growing recognition that her childhood passion could become a professional pursuit and a pandemic that changed everything.
The Door That Opened During Lockdown
In 2020, as the world went into total lockdown and news outlets broadcast an unrelenting stream of sorrow, Kristin found herself turning back to the same impulse that had guided her: What if there was another world?
That question became her first published book, The Quest for the Golden Gate, written for her nephew and centered on a door that could lead somewhere better. The manuscript caught the attention of Shine a Light Press in the United States, which offered her a contract, making her the first Asian and Filipina author the press had published.
“I thought about children, about my nephew and I wondered: what if there was one door that could take you somewhere else? Somewhere hopeful?”
That book was followed by Wish Upon a Mirror, written for her daughter and set in Cebu. In a bold reimagining of the Snow White narrative, the Evil Queen and Snow White are portrayed as sisters whose physical resemblance poses a philosophical question: If two beautiful people look alike, how does one determine true beauty?
Both books established Kristin as a distinctive voice in speculative fiction for young readers and adults, a writer willing to ask difficult questions within the framework of accessible, engaging storytelling.
Zugbo and the Promotion of Cebuano Culture
Her most significant work to date is the graphic novel series Zugbo Chronicles: Adrift, whose title comes from “Sugbo,” the historic name for Cebu, and whose narrative promotes Filipino culture and traditions to an international audience.
In the year 3030, within the United Evelon Space Territory, Lila Zugbo crashes her Ziporia spacecraft on an abandoned Earth, on the island her ancestors once called home: Cebu. With her baby brother, Lanse, secretly aboard, she must repair the vessel before they are stranded on an island reclaimed by nature.
What distinguishes Zugbo Chronicles from conventional science fiction is its commitment to cultural education. Within its pages, readers learn how to cook banana cue and encounter whale sharks, while also being immersed in Cebuano traditions and adventures, all organically woven into a high-stakes survival narrative.
“Korea promotes tourism through K-dramas. I would love to promote Cebu through creative and engaging storytelling. There is no reason we cannot do the same.”
The strategy appears to be working. Zugbo Chronicles: Adrift has attracted a significant number of international readers, and its recognition as a Top Five finalist at the 2025 Akdang Pinoy Choice Awards has solidified its place in contemporary Filipino literature.
A Portfolio Without Borders
Kristin’s publishing history reflects a career built on cross-cultural collaboration. Her works have appeared with:
- Shine a Light Press, USA (her first publisher)
- Clean Fiction Magazine, USA
- Kawangis Publishing, Philippines
- Keys for Kids, USA (which will adapt one of her stories into an audio devotional radio drama, alongside works by other international authors)
The Shard That Binds
Her latest work, The Shard That Binds, holds a special place in her heart. Unlike her previous books, which were written for her nephew and her daughter, this one is written for her younger self.
“That seven-year-old who started writing in Grade One until high school deserves a story, too,” she explains. “Before anything, there was just a girl who loved to write, and I wanted to honor her.”
The book explores recurring themes of family, friendship, and love across her oeuvre, spanning fantasy, science fiction, and slice-of-life narratives. Her ability to move effortlessly between genres defines her as a writer.
A Life of Quiet Influence
Her message to aspiring writers is consistent with her own experience: start small, but start. Never underestimate the power of the first step. It is the only step you truly need to take, and the rest will follow.
A child writes a story in Grade One and, years later, becomes an award-winning author with readers across the globe. The connection between these two points is not magic, but persistence.
Kristin Lim began walking that path at seven years old, and she has not stopped since.
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