Kelly Kaur was raised in Singapore and moved to Canada for post-secondary education (BA(H) and MA) at the University of Calgary. Kaur’s published writings include poetry, short stories and one novel. She is an instructor at Mount Royal University in Calgary, Alberta. Her juvenile biography Howdy, I’m Singh Harry, illustrated by Ravina Kaur Toor and published by Red Barn Books in 2025 was shortlisted for the 2026 Children’s and Young Adult Book of the Year (Alberta Book Publishing Award).
Fiction
Letters to Singapore: A Novel
Edmonton: Stonehouse Publishing, 2022.
Publisher’s Synopsis (From its website)
Growing up in Singapore, Simran always knew what was expected of her: to learn how to be a good mother and wife. The only problem? Simran has no interest in any of this. After a close escape (almost at the altar!), Simran earns a reprieve to attend the University of Calgary in Canada. Letters exchanged back home to her mother, sister and friends reveal that no matter which path women take, traditional or independent, life is fraught with conflict, hilarity and peril. Simran’s experience as a brave and hopeful young woman and a new Canadian will touch your heart; her thoughtful determination to chart her own course will inspire you.
Poetry
My Love is a Durian
Calgary: University of Calgary Press, 2026.
forthcoming October 2026
Publisher’s Synopsis (From
In My Love is a Durian, Singapore and Canada twine and intertwine, the places adopted and left behind bunch and twist. Kelly Kaur leads readers through markets in Singapore and up mountainsides in Kananaskis. These poems enliven the senses, from the taste of durians eaten fresh to the chill of snow melting on the cheek, as they dance the insider-outsider dance
My Love is a Durian seeks belonging without judgement, a place to rest, a place to work, and a place to grow. It shares the easy happiness of time with friends and family, the tension of coming of age, the fear and joy of making a life. These poems tangle with ideas of colour and race, freedom and acceptance. These are poems that reach out to readers to create empathy, connection. My Love is a Durian lifts up the voices that sing in the margins of the world.