Kon Zhicheng-Mingdé, Desmond Francis Xa: - Desmond Francis Xavier Kon Zhicheng-Mingde (b. 1971) has authored 19 books, spanning poetry, fiction, memoir, and experimental writing. A former journalist, he has edited over 25 titles. He is the recipient of the IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award, Singapore Literature Prize, two Illumination Christian Book Awards, two Independent Publisher Book Awards, and five Living Now Book Awards. A Harvard and Notre Dame alumnus of theology and creative writing, Desmond has taught writing for over two decades.