JOHN ASOME won a Supplementary Prize in the Proverse Prize competition 2019, with his historical work, "Coolie Ships of the Chinese Diaspora, 1846-1874", which was launched at the Proverse Autumn Reception 2020.

He was born in Hong Kong and educated in Hong Kong and Australia. His working life has been spent in the UK and Australia, with many years at sea. His first position—as a Radio Officer for the China Navigation Company—took him throughout East Asia, from China and Japan to Thailand and Indonesia, as well as Papua New Guinea and Australia. Later, after some years spent in different positions in the UK, he had four years in the Royal Fleet Auxiliary Service (RFA)—the civilian arm of the Royal Navy—and served on ships based in Malta and Singapore as well as on patrol duties in the West Indies and both East and West Africa. When he retired, John pursued his interest in the Chinese diaspora—stirred first by finding Chinese people in many of the places he visited—and the related topic of the indentured trade to Cuba, Peru and the West Indies. This has taken him to the Public Record Office at Kew, UK, and to many online encounters. He has communicated with many scholars in the field and been published on the subject in the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong.