UC Davis alum Jared Poon draws on public service experience in urban fantasy debut

In his debut novel, author Jared Poon, Ph.D. ’14, imagines a Singapore where civil servants manage supernatural disturbances alongside the everyday work of government. City of Others is set in a modern metropolis populated by humans, spirits and creatures drawn from Southeast Asian folklore.  

Released in January 2026, Poon’s novel blends fantasy with a sense of humor about bureaucracy, systems and the people who keep them functioning —as well as found family, queer romance and supernatural creatures. 

The story’s protagonist, Benjamin Toh, doesn’t fight monsters — he manages them through paperwork, negotiation and compromise. The story is inspired by Poon’s own experiences working for public institutions. He spent several years in Singapore’s civil service before turning his experiences into fiction.  

“There’s something arcane and magical about government,” said Poon. “There are processes no one understands anymore, words you recite to your bosses like spells, and things you fear but can’t quite see. That felt like the right foundation for a fantasy story.” 

“I wanted to tell a story about public servants. They’re not heroes in the traditional sense, but people trying to do their jobs within complicated systems,” Poon added. 

The world of City of Others draws from Southeast Asian folklore, including hantu—meaning ghost in Malay—and spirits and witches, while also incorporating popular figures like vampires. Poon said blending local myths with fantasy traditions was intentional, reflecting both the city he grew up in and the genre he enjoys reading. 

“Most urban fantasy is set in the U.S. or Europe,” he said. “I wanted something closer to home, something I wish I could have read growing up.” 

Inspiration from real experiences 

Poon’s career as a civil servant began when he returned to Singapore after earning his Ph.D. from UC Davis and joined the Center for Strategic Futures, a think tank within the Prime Minister’s Office. There, he applied philosophical training to long-term policy planning, developing future scenarios to test whether existing policies would hold under changing social and political conditions. 

“Our job was to challenge the government,” he said. “We asked what happens if values shift, if technology develops in unexpected ways, and whether policy would still work.” 

He later spent several years at the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, focusing on public engagement and communication. There, teaching experience from UC Davis helped him translate abstract ideas into accessible language. 

“As a teaching assistant, you spend every day explaining difficult concepts,” he said. “That prepared me for explaining government policy to citizens in an approachable way and hearing their thoughts.” 

Discovering a calling and community 

Poon’s interest in systems and unseen structures began well before his public service career. Raised in Singapore, he moved to the U.S. for his undergraduate studies, initially planning to pursue psychology. Philosophy entered his life through a general education course and quickly became a defining influence. 

“My very first philosophy class, just going through the syllabus, I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, you can do this for a living,’” he said. “You can talk about time and causality and existence. I fell in love with it on day one.” 

That moment led him to a master’s degree and eventually a doctorate, shaping how he approaches both policy and storytelling. As an international graduate student, Poon says he found UC Davis welcoming and community oriented. 

“Faculty invited us into their homes and friends brought me to their hometowns for holidays. I always felt welcome and I am so grateful for the time I spent there,” he said. 

Davis is also where he met his husband, mathematician Tim Wertz, Ph.D. ’15. Many of his favorite memories are from their experiences as graduate students — socializing with other mathematicians and philosophers, enjoying meals downtown and walking through campus. 

“Our first date was at Zen Toro Bistro, followed by a walk through the Arboretum. Very Davis,” reflected Poon.  

Applying philosophy across sectors 

Today, Poon’s work spans teaching, consulting and creative projects. He teaches executive education at the National University of Singapore, critical thinking at Singapore Management University and courses at the Civil Service College for current and future public servants. 

Alongside teaching, he runs consulting workshops on imagination and futures planning, encouraging organizations to think more boldly about what lies ahead. His work has taken him as far as East Africa, Central Asia and the Middle East. 

Poon is also part of a video game design studio developing Compensation Not Guaranteed, a narrative-driven game centered on moral tradeoffs in land development. 

“Former civil servants have told me it’s traumatizing,” he joked. “I think that means we got it right.” 

Poon credits his graduate training at UC Davis with helping him balance writing alongside his other commitments — including, as he points out, playing with his two cats. He plans for City of Others to be the first book in The DEUS Files trilogy.  

“When friends or colleagues ask me how I do all of this, one thing I tell them is that a lot of it is thanks to UC Davis,” he said. “The process of doing a Ph.D. makes you learn discipline and how to structure your work time.” 

For Poon, a lifelong reader, writing is the next adventure in a dynamic career and a way to playfully explore his time working for the government. 

“I’m proud of the work we did and the impact it can have for so many people.”