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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260514
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260914
DTSTAMP:20260522T200133Z
CREATED:20260522T200133Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260522T200133Z
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SUMMARY:Exhibition: Ed Young’s Bright Worlds
DESCRIPTION:For over 60 years\, Ed Young (1931–2023) invigorated the world of children’s books through intimate storytelling\, inventive artistry\, and potent emotionality. This first U.S. retrospective features original artwork from 15 of his most significant projects—focusing on works drawn from his personal story and Chinese folktales—alongside a selection of his sketchbooks\, family photos\, and personal effects. \nYoung achieved distinction as a beloved storyteller and illustrator who challenged younger audiences with pictorial and moral complexity. He was a towering figure in children’s literature\, reaching wide audiences while earning the field’s top honors. His retelling of the Chinese “Little Red Riding Hood\,” Lon Po Po\, introduced generations of children to Chinese folklore and won the Caldecott Medal; he also received two Caldecott Honors for earlier works. Across his career\, he garnered numerous accolades\, including multiple selections for The New York Times’ “10 Best Illustrated Children’s Books” list. \nThe exhibition traces Young’s family life in Shanghai\, where he was the fourth youngest of five children. As a teenager\, he and his brother were sent to live in Hong Kong to flee the civil war in China. He immigrated to America for college\, eventually earning an art degree from the ArtCenter School in Los Angeles\, and then moved to New York. “I set out with $20 borrowed money in my pocket to bet my life in New York City\,” he wrote. After being laid off from an advertising studio\, he submitted sketches to children’s book publisher Ursula Nordstrom\, who hired him to illustrate The Mean Mouse and Other Mean Stories (1962)\, launching a career that would span over 100 books. \nHis most memorable projects were deeply personal. Ed Young’s Bright Worlds guides viewers through key moments of his life and oeuvre with original artwork from The House Baba Built (2011)\, about his childhood in Japan-occupied Shanghai; Voices of the Heart (1997)\, exploring Chinese culture through the relationship between writing\, image and his lifelong tai chi practice; My Mei Mei (2006)\, on adopting his daughters; and Bright World (2024)\, a book published posthumously in China\, meditating on the cyclical nature of life. \n“So many of us grew up on Ed Young’s art and storytelling\,” said Herb Tam\, MOCA’s Chief Curator. “This exhibition will reveal what went into crafting masterworks of the children’s book form. Visitors will be enchanted by his fluent handling of media—from pastel and cut paper to pen\, ink\, and collage—and inspired by his story as a resourceful immigrant striving to make his mark in a creative field.” \n“As a father of three\, I’ve seen firsthand how children’s books shape the way we see the world\,” said Michael Lee\, MOCA’s President. “The imagery and storytelling stay with us—they become part of our family conversations\, our imaginations\, and even the way we share stories later in life. It’s a special honor to explore the life and mind of Ed Young\, whose work has inspired generations. Through this exhibition\, we not only celebrate his extraordinary achievements but also revisit how deeply his art was shaped by his journey as a Chinese American—reflecting his early life in China and the graceful balance he found as a lifelong practitioner of tai chi.” \nEd Young’s Bright Worlds is part of MOCA’s Luminaries for America250\, a yearlong celebration of Chinese American historymakers at the Semiquincentennial. For more about the Luminaries project\, visit https://www.mocanyc.org/2026/01/02/moca-luminaries-for-america250/ \nPhoto of Ed Young by Sean Kernan
URL:https://potluckasianamerica.org/event/exhibition-ed-youngs-bright-worlds/
LOCATION:Museum of Chinese in America\, 215 Centre Street\, New York\, NY\, 10013
CATEGORIES:Art,Book,Grades K–5
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260820T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260820T200000
DTSTAMP:20260817T041229Z
CREATED:20260817T041229Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260817T041229Z
UID:10003097-1787252400-1787256000@potluckasianamerica.org
SUMMARY:Book Talk | Nice Places by Vincent Chu
DESCRIPTION:Pre-purchase your copy of the featured title to guarantee your signed copy! This helps ensure that everyone who wants a book goes home with one\, in case we sell out at the event.\n\nABOUT THE BOOK \nPhilosophical\, tender\, and hilariously observed\, NICE PLACES subverts the “go find yourself” travel story\, unpacking our shared desire for meaning\, connection\, and a true place in the world. \nWhen Georgie quits his job at Oats Technologies to travel the world for one year\, he hopes to escape the daily existential discomfort of corporate life. But after a meditation guru robs him on his way to the airport\, he awakens in a guest house in the rundown yet vibrant Panhandle neighborhood of his own city. \nAlone with his phone and a desperate urge to assure his friends and family all is well\, Georgie shares a photo of “authentic” boat noodles. To his surprise\, everyone loves the post and believes he is overseas. Ant\, a mixed media artist from Berlin\, proposes a collaboration. With her vision and the help of a charming cast of guests and locals\, Georgie’s unlikely adventures unravel in ways he never imagined. \nABOUT THE AUTHOR \nVincent Chu is author of the debut novel Nice Places (Forest Avenue Press\, 2026) and story collection Like a Champion (7.13 Books\, 2018). His fiction has appeared in Muumuu House\, STILL Magazine\, Pithead Chapel\, PANK Magazine and elsewhere. Vincent is a Hambidge Fellow\, former Headlands Center for the Arts Affiliate Artist\, and Pushcart Prize nominee. He earned his Bachelor of Arts from UCLA. Vincent lives in Oakland\, California. \nIN CONVERSATION WITH \nEd Lin\, a native New Yorker of Taiwanese and Chinese descent\, is the first author to win three Asian American Literary Awards. His new book\, The Dead Can’t Make a Living\, is the latest in the Taipei Night Market mystery series published by Soho Crime. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife\, actress Cindy Cheung\, and son.
URL:https://potluckasianamerica.org/event/book-talk-nice-places-by-vincent-chu/
LOCATION:Yu and Me Books\, 44 Mulberry St.\, New York\, NY\, 10013\, United States
CATEGORIES:Book,Discussion
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260827T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260827T190000
DTSTAMP:20260817T041927Z
CREATED:20260817T041927Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260817T041927Z
UID:10003098-1787853600-1787857200@potluckasianamerica.org
SUMMARY:Book Talk | Eating the Whole Fish by Zoe Lee and Annie Chen
DESCRIPTION:Pre-purchase your copy of the featured title to guarantee your signed copy! This helps ensure that everyone who wants a book goes home with one\, in case we sell out at the event.\n\nABOUT THE BOOK \nA seafood anthology on coastal culture\, ocean health\, and whole fish cooking. \nFrom BEAM Studio\, in collaboration with nonprofit Eating with the Ecosystem\, EATING THE WHOLE FISH is a 200-page exploration of sustainable seafood systems through recipes\, interviews\, photography\, essays\, and cultural stories. It began with the simple idea that eating local species requires (predominantly white) New England communities to learn to eat the fish whole. This idea grew into a project exploring care\, cross-cultural dialogue\, food culture\, and the people working to build better relationships with our oceans. \nABOUT THE AUTHORS \nBEAM is a next-generation studio shaping the public life of emerging science. \nFounded by Annie Chen and Zoe Lee\, BEAM partners with climate tech innovators\, scientists\, policymakers\, and local communities to shape how new ideas move beyond the lab and into the world. Through research\, design\, systems thinking\, and new media storytelling\, BEAM builds worlds people can step into—where new technologies can be encountered\, understood\, and stewarded forward at scale. \nDrawing from their backgrounds in biology\, behavioral decision sciences\, and design\, the duo brings interdisciplinary fluency and sociotechnical expertise to collaborations that span ocean restoration\, biotechnology\, astrobiology\, and climate governance. Their ultimate mission: to align scientific possibility with collective life. \nTheir work has been supported by NASA\, NOAA\, MIT Media Lab\, EY Intelligent Realities Lab\, Science History Institute\, MacDowell\, NYFA\, Interlace Fund\, and more. They are Research Affiliates at the MIT Media Lab’s Community Biotechnology Initiative and in the Year 12 Creative Science track of NEW INC.
URL:https://potluckasianamerica.org/event/book-talk-eating-the-whole-fish-by-zoe-lee-and-annie-chen/
LOCATION:Yu and Me Books\, 44 Mulberry St.\, New York\, NY\, 10013\, United States
CATEGORIES:Book,Discussion
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260903T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260903T200000
DTSTAMP:20260817T042656Z
CREATED:20260817T042656Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260817T042656Z
UID:10003100-1788462000-1788465600@potluckasianamerica.org
SUMMARY:Book Launch | All Our Evenings by Ruthvika Rao
DESCRIPTION:Pre-purchase your copy of the featured title to guarantee your signed copy! This helps ensure that everyone who wants a book goes home with one\, in case we sell out at the event.\n\nABOUT THE BOOK \n\n\n\n\n\nFrom the author of the acclaimed novel The Fertile Earth comes a powerful tale of desire\, friendship\, and rivalry between three inseparable friends over the course of an unforgettable summer. \n\nIn 1990s Hyderabad\, three teenagers—Arjun\, Ruhee\, and Ganesh—forge an unexpected bond. Over the course of a single sun-drenched summer\, they discover love\, friendship\, and solace from their troubled families. They also discover the Red House\, an abandoned house in their neighborhood\, which becomes the site of their intimate friendship. But one night at the Red House\, an unexpected act of violence shatters their lives forever. \nA decade later\, Ruhee returns to Hyderabad\, and Arjun\, who has never forgotten his first love\, is given a chance to tell the truth\, both to himself and to those around him. But the tangled threads of fate\, class\, and desire remain\, as does a lacerating secret. \nBy turns tender and unsettling\, Ruthvika Rao’s All Our Evenings is a deeply affecting novel about youthful passion\, redemption\, and the people we can never let go.\n\n\n\n\n\nABOUT THE AUTHOR \nRuthvika Rao is from Hyderabad\, India. Her debut novel\, The Fertile Earth\, was a finalist for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize\, the Chautauqua Prize\, the Crossword Book Award\, and longlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize. She has taught creative writing at the University of Iowa and the University of Toronto. She is a graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and lives in Michigan. \nIN CONVERSATION WITH \nAube Rey Lescure is a French-Chinese-American author and Editor-in-Chief of the literary magazine Off Assignment. Her debut novel\, River East\, River West\, was shortlisted for the 2024 Women’s Prize for Fiction\, the Carol Shields Prize\, the Massachusetts Book Award\, and the Maya Angelou Book Award\, among others. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times\, Granta\, Guernica\, LitHub\, Electric Literature\, and more. Her essay “At the Bend of the Road” was selected for Best American Essays 2022.
URL:https://potluckasianamerica.org/event/book-launch-all-our-evenings-by-ruthvika-rao/
LOCATION:Yu and Me Books\, 44 Mulberry St.\, New York\, NY\, 10013\, United States
CATEGORIES:Book,Discussion
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260908T173000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260908T190000
DTSTAMP:20260805T153647Z
CREATED:20260805T153647Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260805T153647Z
UID:10003009-1788888600-1788894000@potluckasianamerica.org
SUMMARY:Book Club: Eileen Chang’s Time Tunnel
DESCRIPTION:Join the China Books Review book club this September to discuss Time Tunnel: Stories and Essays by Eileen Chang\, tr. Karen S. Kingsbury (New York Review Books\, October 2025)\, a collection of previously untranslated stories from Eileen Chang’s literary career. \nThirty years after her death\, Time Tunnel reaffirms Eileen Chang’s place as one of the 20th century’s finest writers. Spanning the entirety of her career\, from 1940s Japanese-occupied Shanghai to Hong Kong under British colonial rule\, then her final decades in America\, these stories showcase Chang’s enduring ability to illuminate the inner lives of people dislocated by vast historic and cultural shifts. The intricacies of lifelong friendships\, the clipped hopes of lovers and the subtle contortions of gender politics unravel with the same virtuosic skill and nuance that catapulted her to fame with novellas such as Lust\, Caution and Love in a Fallen City. We owe a debt of thanks to Karen S. Kingsbury and Jie Zhang\, not only for translating these remarkable stories into English\, but for proving that with Eileen Chang\, there are no marginal texts\, only hidden gems. \nRegister your spot by RSVPing at the link to the top right of this page. The book club is free\, but seats are limited so secure yours now! We ask that all book club members purchase and read your own copy of the book in advance if you’re joining. \nThe China Books Review book club is a bimonthly series of spirited literary discussions with like-minded readers\, hosted by our editors and featuring introductory context before freewheeling debate. We meet five times a year (Jan\, Mar\, May\, Sep\, Nov) to discuss the latest literature and nonfiction from or on the Sinophone world. If you’d like to be added to our invite list to be notified of future book club sessions\, just email us at info@chinabooksreview.com.
URL:https://potluckasianamerica.org/event/book-club-eileen-changs-time-tunnel/
LOCATION:Asia Society\, 725 Park Avenue\, New York\, NY\, 10021
CATEGORIES:Book
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260908T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260908T190000
DTSTAMP:20260817T043012Z
CREATED:20260817T043012Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260817T043012Z
UID:10003101-1788890400-1788894000@potluckasianamerica.org
SUMMARY:Book Launch | The Chinese Lady by Bo Wang
DESCRIPTION:Pre-purchase your copy of the featured title to guarantee your signed copy! This helps ensure that everyone who wants a book goes home with one\, in case we sell out at the event.\n\nABOUT THE BOOK \n\n\n\n\n\nBo Wang’s gorgeous and immersive debut historical novel immortalizes the life of the first Chinese woman to be brought to the United States in the 1800s. \nLittle Sparrow\, Julia\, Afong Moy\, Madame Moy\, The Chinese Lady\, were her many names . . . but her true name has been lost to time. \nIn 1834 Afong Moy was brought to New York by two merchants as a live exhibit. Rising to fame as the first Chinese female in the United States\, she became an oddity among curios as Americans marveled at the opportunity to observe her astonishing little feet\, broken and bound to resemble lotuses. \nAs the story moves from 1820s Canton to P.T. Barnum’s American Museum\, to Gold Rush San Francisco\, three women introduce us to her many names. Her mother calls her Little Sparrow and sells her to a captain who sails her to New York. The captain’s wife names her Julia and “graciously” treats her as her own. And when she is shunted off to P.T Barnum\, her fellow human exhibitions call her China. Eventually arriving in San Francisco’s Chinatown\, she will at long last claim her name and her own story. \nCombining archival research and brilliantly imaginative storytelling\, Bo Wang masterfully fills in history’s gaps to weave a powerful narrative of survival in the face of hardship\, tragedy\, and betrayal. Told through the eyes of those around her; mirroring her life as an object on display\, until we finally see the world through her own eyes. \n\n\n\n\n\n ABOUT THE AUTHOR \nBo Wang was born in Cincinnati to Taiwanese American parents. Her childhood was peppered with stories of the Monkey King alongside those of Frog and Toad. A graduate of Sycamore Public Schools\, Bo holds an A.B. in history and literature from Harvard College. She now lives in Boston with her family. The Chinese Lady is her debut novel. \nIN CONVERSATION WITH \nAlice Evelyn Yang is a Chinese American writer from Norfolk\, Virginia. Her debut novel\, A Beast Slinks Towards Beijing\, was selected by booksellers as an Indie Next and Indies Introduce pick and longlisted for the Women’s Prize. She is the recipient of the 2023 Jesmyn Ward Prize from Michigan Quarterly Review\, and her work has been published in MQR\, The Rumpus\, and the Asian American Writers Workshop’s The Margins\, among others. She earned her MFA from Columbia University. She currently lives in Brooklyn.
URL:https://potluckasianamerica.org/event/book-launch-the-chinese-lady-by-bo-wang/
LOCATION:Yu and Me Books\, 44 Mulberry St.\, New York\, NY\, 10013\, United States
CATEGORIES:Book,Discussion
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260909T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260909T210000
DTSTAMP:20260813T051214Z
CREATED:20260813T051214Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260813T051214Z
UID:10003080-1788980400-1788987600@potluckasianamerica.org
SUMMARY:Book Launch: BAD THINGS HAPPENED HERE by Moniza Hossain
DESCRIPTION:This supernatural horror follows twelve-year-old Sam to his unsettling family home in Singapore. Perfect for fans of R.L. Stine! \n\n\n\n\nWe’re honored to welcome Moniza Hossain to The Twisted Spine on September 9 to celebrate the release of Bad Things Happened Here! Moniza will be joined in conversation by Clay McLeod Chapman (DEVIL INSIDE). \nAbout BAD THINGS HAPPENED HERE: \nLonely twelve-year-old Sam Wells has never known his mother. So when his maternal grandmother calls with a plane ticket to Singapore\, he hopes the trip will give him the answers he’s been looking for. But his imposing family home isn’t what he expected. His grandmother is a stranger. Spiders crawl over impassible mounds of hoarded mementos. The house is such a labyrinth that Sam can barely make his way through the boxes\, let alone find out anything about his mom. \nUntil he meets her ghost\, frozen in time at age twelve. \nSomething terrible happened when Priya Malhotra was just a schoolgirl in Singapore. Something twisted enough to keep her trapped. Something that might be happening again. Children are going missing as they did decades before in Sam’s eerily unsettling neighborhood . . . and the closer Sam gets to the terrifying truth that lurks within the haunted\, abandoned factory where the original crimes occurred\, the more it seems that Sam will be the next to disappear. \nTo save himself\, he’ll have to untangle the mystery. But if he does\, will he lose his mom forever? \nAbout the speakers: \nMoniza Hossain is a Singaporean author of Bengali descent who writes children’s books inspired by her South Asian heritage. She has a Bachelor of Arts with Honours from the National University of Singapore\, and a Masters in English Literature from King’s College London. Her works include her debut picture book\, Street Puppy Masjid Cat\, and her sophomore picture book\, Ritu In The Sun. She also writes books for middle grade readers. She has a short story in the award winning anthology Being Ace\, and another in an anthology entitled The Beasts Beneath the Winds. She lives in Manchester with her husband. \nClay McLeod Chapman is the author of Wake Up and Open Your Eyes\, Kill Your Darling\, Stay on the Line\, What Kind of Mother\, Ghost Eaters\, Whisper Down the Lane\, The Remaking\, and miss corpus\, story collections nothing untoward\, commencement and rest area\, as well as The Tribe middlegrade series: Homeroom Headhunters\, Camp Cannibal and Academic Assassins. \nEvent guidelines: \nEach ticket includes either a hardcover copy BAD THINGS HAPPENED HERE or a $15 Twisted Spine gift card. \nLimited additional copies of the books will be available for purchase at the event. \nA signing will follow the discussion.
URL:https://potluckasianamerica.org/event/book-launch-bad-things-happened-here-by-moniza-hossain/
LOCATION:The Twisted Spine\, 306 Grand Street\, Brooklyn\, NY\, 11211\, United States
CATEGORIES:Book
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260914T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260914T203000
DTSTAMP:20260804T013306Z
CREATED:20260804T000124Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260804T013306Z
UID:10002987-1789412400-1789417800@potluckasianamerica.org
SUMMARY:Book Launch for Ke Huy Quan's Memoir: Never Say Die
DESCRIPTION:Join us for a release event with Oscar-winning actor Ke Huy Quan\, discussing his new memoir NEVER SAY DIE. \n\nThis event will be hosted on the 6th Floor of The Strand Building located at 826 Broadway on 12th Street. \nCan’t make the event? Purchase a signed copy of Never Say Die here. \n——————————————————————— \nIn this stunning and compulsively readable memoir\, the Oscar-winning star of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom\, The Goonies\, and Everything Everywhere All at Once\, Ke Huy Quan\, tells the story of his journey from Vietnamese refugee to 80s child star to the most inspiring comeback in Hollywood history. \n“A monumental work of self-discovery and the power and grace of communal survival. Quan’s voice is crystalline and luminous\, and his Odyssean journey to the screen is\, in itself\, a triumph of storytelling.” –Ocean Vuong \nKe Huy Quan’s Hollywood adventure began when he was twelve years old\, a mere five years after his family escaped Communist Northern Vietnam and settled down to a relatively peaceful life in L.A.’s Chinatown. After attending an open call audition on a whim\, he was unexpectedly swept up in the wild world of filmmaking: learning to swim from Harrison Ford on the set of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom\, receiving trucks full of toys from Steven Spielberg and George Lucas for his birthday\, meeting Princess Leia and Luke Skywalker\, and making lifelong friends on the set of The Goonies. \nA star of two of the most beloved movies of the ‘80s\, there appeared to be no limit to Ke’s rise. But just a few years later\, the roles had dried up and it seemed like Hollywood no longer had a place for him. He eventually left acting to work odd jobs behind the scenes for directors like Wong Kar Wai. His confidence was badly shaken\, but his love of performing never abated. It wasn’t until decades later\, when he was 49 years old\, that he stepped back in front of the camera to star in a strange little indie film called Everything Everywhere All at Once\, which surprised everyone with its incredible box-office and awards season success. To call Ke’s Oscar-winning performance a triumphant return would be an understatement. \nIn this moving\, inspirational memoir\, Ke paints a vivid self-portrait\, telling both heart-wrenching and funny stories of his early rise\, slow fall from the spotlight\, the resilience that kept him going through his darkest times\, and his eventual resurrection on one of the biggest stages in Hollywood. Never Say Die is the story of Ke’s extraordinary life\, a love letter to the movies and people that shaped him\, and a powerful testament to never giving up on your dreams.
URL:https://potluckasianamerica.org/event/meet-ke-huy-quan/
LOCATION:The Strand Bookstore\, 828 Broadway\, New York\, 10003\, United States
CATEGORIES:Book,Discussion
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260916T183000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260916T193000
DTSTAMP:20260806T011954Z
CREATED:20260806T011954Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260806T011954Z
UID:10003011-1789583400-1789587000@potluckasianamerica.org
SUMMARY:Technology and Storytelling: Ken Liu and The Passing of the Dragon
DESCRIPTION:Join us for a thought provoking evening with multi-award-winning speculative fiction author Ken Liu\, for the release of his new collection\, The Passing of the Dragon and Other Stories — which includes the provocative title story on why misinterpretations are impossible to avoid in art. \nRenowned for his genre-defining “silkpunk” epics and deeply moving short fiction like The Paper Menagerie\, Liu returns with thirteen new tales exploring what it means to be human in a world shaped by rapidly shifting technology. \nTickets: $20 Members\, $30 Nonmembers. Students and Seniors: Use coupon SENSTU at check out. \n\nThe Passing of the Dragon and Other Stories will be available for sale during the event. \n\nSpeakers\nKen Liu is an award-winning American author of speculative fiction. His collection\, The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories\, has been published in more than a dozen languages. Liu’s other works include The Grace of Kings\, The Wall of Storms\, The Veiled Throne\, a second collection The Hidden Girl and Other Stories\, and the forthcoming Julia Z series. He has been involved in multiple media adaptations of his work\, including the short story “Good Hunting\,” adapted as an episode in Netflix’s animated series Love\, Death + Robots; and AMC’s Pantheon\, adapted from an interconnected series of short stories. “The Hidden Girl\,” “The Message\,” and “The Oracle” have also been optioned for development. Liu previously worked as a software engineer\, corporate lawyer\, and litigation consultant. He frequently speaks at conferences and universities on topics including futurism\, machine-augmented creativity\, the history of technology\, and the value of storytelling. Liu lives with his family near Boston\, Massachusetts. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAlex Shvartsman (moderator) is the author of The Best of All Possible Planets (2026)\, Kakistocracy (2023)\, The Middling Affliction (2022)\, and Eridani’s Crown (2019). Over 150 of his stories and his translations from Russian have appeared in Analog\, Asimov’s Clarkesworld\, F&SF\, Nature\, Reactor\, Strange Horizons\, and several Year’s Best volumes. He won the WSFA Small Press Award for Short Fiction\, and was a three-time finalist for each the Canopus Award for Excellence in Interstellar Fiction and the BSFA Award. For a brief\, glorious moment one of his stories was in development as a live action TV series. He has edited nearly twenty anthologies\, including the long-running Unidentified Funny Objects series\, as well as The Digital Aesthete\, The Cackle of Cthulhu\, Humanity 2.0 and many more.. He has worked on many games and is presently the Narrative Director for Card Advantage Games\, working on the Reclusion video game.
URL:https://potluckasianamerica.org/event/technology-and-storytelling-ken-liu-and-the-passing-of-the-dragon/
LOCATION:Asia Society\, 725 Park Avenue\, New York\, NY\, 10021
CATEGORIES:Author Interview,Book,Discussion
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260917T053000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260917T193000
DTSTAMP:20260812T064902Z
CREATED:20260812T064902Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260812T064902Z
UID:10003073-1789623000-1789673400@potluckasianamerica.org
SUMMARY:Book Talk with Yue-Sai Kan: The Most Famous Woman in China and How She Did It
DESCRIPTION:Join China Institute for an inspiring evening with Emmy Award-winning television host\, entrepreneur\, philanthropist\, and bestselling author Yue-Sai Kan (靳羽西) as she discusses her memoir\, The Most Famous Woman in China and How She Did It. In conversation with Susan Yuqing Feng\, Director of Programs at China Institute\, Yue-Sai will reflect on her extraordinary career bridging the United States and China through media\, business\, and cultural exchange\, sharing the experiences and lessons behind a life of innovation\, leadership\, and cross-cultural impact. \nThe conversation will be followed by an audience Q&A and book signing. \nSchedule\n5:30–6:00 PM | Check-in\n6:00–6:45 PM | Conversation with Yue-Sai Kan\, moderated by Susan Yuqing Feng\n6:45–7:00 PM | Audience Q&A\n7:00–7:30 PM | Book Signing \nYue-Sai Kan:   Emmy-Winning TV Host\, Entrepreneur\, Fashion Icon\, Bestselling Author\, and Nobel Peace Prize Nominee\n\nYue-Sai Kan is a journalist\, television host\, author\, and entrepreneur widely regarded as one of the most influential cultural figures in modern China\, the woman TIME magazine called “the Queen of the Middle Kingdom.” She has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by six distinguished leaders in academia and foreign policy in recognition of her lifetime of building understanding between China and the West.
URL:https://potluckasianamerica.org/event/book-talk-with-yue-sai-kan-the-most-famous-woman-in-china-and-how-she-did-it/
LOCATION:China Institute In America\, 40 Rector Street\, 2nd Floor\, New York\, NY\, 10006
CATEGORIES:Book,In Person
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260922T183000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260922T193000
DTSTAMP:20260810T004133Z
CREATED:20260810T004107Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260810T004133Z
UID:10003051-1790101800-1790105400@potluckasianamerica.org
SUMMARY:MOCA TALKS with Daniel Tam-Claiborne – Transplants
DESCRIPTION:The Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA) invites you to an engaging conversation with writer Daniel Tam-Claiborne on his debut novel Transplants\, a lyrical and piercing exploration of migration\, belonging\, race\, love\, and the parts of ourselves that can get lost in translation. \nSet across China and the United States during a single extraordinary year\, Transplantsfollows Lin and Liz\, an unlikely pair brought together on a university campus in rural Qixian. Lin\, a Chinese student who feels closer to her animals than to her peers\, and Liz\, a Chinese American English teacher grieving the sudden death of her mother\, each navigate hostility\, isolation\, and the uneasy boundaries of identity. After a betrayal leads to Lin’s expulsion\, their paths diverge and unexpectedly intertwine. Lin pursues a degree near Liz’s Ohio hometown\, while Liz searches for answers about her parents’ decision to leave China before she was born. As a global catastrophe heightens tensions between China and an increasingly fractured United States\, both women must confront the familiar and strange within themselves\, and within each other. \nThe conversation will explore the novel’s themes of displacement\, intimacy\, power\, and freedom\, as well as the possibilities that emerge when we open ourselves to lives and histories beyond our own. \nAbout Daniel Tam-Claiborne \nDaniel Tam-Claiborne is a multiracial writer\, multimedia producer\, and nonprofit director. His debut novel\, Transplants (Simon & Schuster\, 2025)\, was the winner of the Chinese American Librarians Association Best Book Award and a finalist for the PEN/Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction. He is the author of the short story collection What Never Leaves\, and his writing has appeared in Michigan Quarterly Review\, HuffPost\, Catapult\, Literary Hub\, Off Assignment\, The Rumpus\, and elsewhere. A 2022 National Endowment for the Arts Literature Fellow\, he has also received awards and fellowships from the U.S. Fulbright Program\, Poets & Writers\, Bread Loaf\, Sewanee Writers’ Conference\, Seattle Office of Arts & Culture\, and others. Daniel holds degrees from Oberlin College\, Yale University\, and the MFA Program for Writers at Warren Wilson College. \nAbout Transplants \nA harrowing and poignant novel following two young women in pursuit of kinship and self-discovery who yearn to survive in a world that doesn’t know where either of them belong. \nOn a university campus in rural Qixian\, Lin and Liz make an improbable pair: Lin\, a Chinese student closer to her menagerie of pets than to her peers\, and Liz\, a Chinese American teacher grieving her mother’s sudden death. They’re each met with hostility—Lin by her classmates\, who mock her for dating a white foreigner; Liz by her fellow English teachers\, who exploit their privilege—and forge an unlikely friendship. \nAfter a startling betrayal that results in Lin’s expulsion\, they swap places. Lin becomes convinced to pursue her degree at a community college near Liz’s Ohio hometown\, while Liz searches for answers as to what drove her parents to leave China before she was born. But when a global catastrophe deepens the fissures between modern-day China and an increasingly fractured United States\, Lin and Liz—far from home and estranged from themselves—are forced to confront both the familiar and the strange in each other. \nUnspooling over the course of a single extraordinary year in our not-yet-distant past and in small towns from Dandong to Deadwood\, Transplants is a piercing story of migration\, belonging\, and the parts of ourselves that get lost in translation. Alternating between Liz and Lin’s perspectives\, it is a lyrical and moving exploration of race\, love\, power\, and freedom that illuminates the limits and possibilities of what can happen when we open ourselves to the unknown and reveals how even our fiercest differences may bring us closer than we might ever imagine.
URL:https://potluckasianamerica.org/event/moca-talks-with-daniel-tam-claiborne-transplants/
LOCATION:Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA)\, 215 Centre Street\, New York\, NY\, 10013\, United States
CATEGORIES:Book,Discussion
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260924T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260924T210000
DTSTAMP:20260812T040305Z
CREATED:20260812T040305Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260812T040305Z
UID:10003072-1790276400-1790283600@potluckasianamerica.org
SUMMARY:Author Event: Mackenzie Reed and Katie Jung
DESCRIPTION:To celebrate I Hope This Email Finds You in Hell and You’re the One That I Haunt\, we’re hosting a BK event with Mackenzie Reed and Katie Jung. \nThere will be a book signing to follow. This is a ticketed event that includes a paperback copy of either Mackenzie’s I Hope This Email Finds You in Hell or Katie’s You’re the One That I Haunt. \nCan’t attend the event? Signed books from Mackenzie and Katie will be available for Brooklyn pick-up and shipping here. Must order by September 17. \nAbout I Hope This Email Finds You in Hell: \nWhen staying late at the office leads to witnessing an exorcism\, Brie Benson’s mundane life takes a hellish turn…literally. \nAfter her parents’ death\, twenty-seven-year-old Brie has mastered the art of compartmentalization to survive her mind-numbing routine as a receptionist at a life insurance company. But when she accidentally catches her hot\, uptight boss\, Luke\, performing an exorcism on Debra from accounting\, her carefully ordered world implodes. \nSwearing Brie to secrecy\, Luke reveals he’s from a line of demon hunters and that demonic activity is spiking. But when her emotional support coworker vanishes\, Brie is determined to find her. With nothing left to lose\, she convinces Luke to let her join his rescue mission. \nThe problem? Their destination is hell. And the entrance is in Times Square. \nNow Brie and Luke must navigate a corporate underworld of monsters and bureaucratic nightmares while racing to save their colleague and repair a tearing veil between worlds. All before their growing feelings become irrelevant and hell claims them forever. \nAbout Mackenzie Reed: \nMackenzie Reed is the author of two young adult novels\, The Rosewood Hunt and The Wilde Trials. She cultivated her love of storytelling at Nazareth College\, where she graduated with a BA in communication and media. A native of upstate New York\, she can usually be found spending time with her family\, trying to outwalk her plot holes\, and living out her authorly dream of writing in local cafes. I Hope This Email Finds You in Hellis her first adult novel. \nAbout You’re the One That I Haunt: \nTo save her best friend and lifelong crush from his family’s deadly curse\, Libby must team up with (and try not to catch feelings for) a handsome ghost only she can see \nLibby Lakoski has two major problems. First\, she’s secretly in love with her best friend\, Carter Coldwell\, and second\, he’s marrying someone else. Carter’s the only person who has ever made Libby feel chosen\, and sure\, his fiancee is a British diamond heiress\, but Carter and Libby have years of shared history and longing looks between them. Not to mention\, Libby is the only person Carter trusted enough to tell about the dark magic that plagues his family. \nBut then a third and related problem presents itself—or\, himself. Trip Coldwell is Carter’s handsome\, smart\, flirtatious cousin who also happens to be… a ghost. Trip’s “unfinished business” is to break the Coldwell curse\, but the solution hinges on Libby encouraging Carter to allow his wedding to proceed. Unfortunately\, Libby is the only person who can see Trip\, and her objective is the exact opposite. Can Libby put aside her pining for Carter and work with his hot and not-quite-living cousin to save both men? \nAs they follow a trail of clues across New York City\, Libby finds herself questioning just how much Carter reciprocated her friendship\, feeling perplexed by a growing attraction to Trip\, and fantasizing about actually touching him. With the countdown to the wedding in full swing\, Libby must choose between saving the Coldwells and holding tight to her own happily ever after. \nAbout Katie Jung: \nKatie Jung writes romance about the messy parts of being human\, and what it means to define our own happily-ever-afters. She lives in upstate New York with her husband and three children. You’re the One That I Haunt is her debut novel.
URL:https://potluckasianamerica.org/event/author-event-mackenzie-reed-and-katie-jung/
LOCATION:The Ripped Bodice\, 218 5th Avenue\, Brooklyn\, NY\, 11215\, United States
CATEGORIES:Book,In Person
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260928T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260928T203000
DTSTAMP:20260809T202656Z
CREATED:20260809T202632Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260809T202656Z
UID:10003043-1790622000-1790627400@potluckasianamerica.org
SUMMARY:B&N celebrates Min Jin Lee's AMERICAN HAGWON
DESCRIPTION:B&N Union Square welcomes Min Jin Lee to celebrate AMERICAN HAGWON at Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church on Monday\, September 28th at 7PM. \n\n\n\n\nBarnes & Noble – Union Square welcomes Min Jin Lee on Monday\, September 28th at 7pm at Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church for a discussion of AMERICAN HAGWON\, a moving and powerful epic of a modern family struggling to educate their children and survive in a fast-changing world circumscribed by global economic shocks. \nShe will be joined in conversation by Miwa Messer for a live-taping of the Poured Over Podcast. \nPLEASE NOTE: The event will be held at Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church\, with entrance at 708 Fifth Avenue\, New York\, NY 10019. \nPhoto credit: Art Schreiber
URL:https://potluckasianamerica.org/event/bn-celebrates-min-jin-lees-american-hagwon/
LOCATION:Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church\, 708 Fifth Avenue\, New York\, NY\, 10019\, United States
CATEGORIES:Book
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261006T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261006T200000
DTSTAMP:20260817T043712Z
CREATED:20260817T043447Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260817T043712Z
UID:10003102-1791313200-1791316800@potluckasianamerica.org
SUMMARY:Book Launch | Bad Words by Ríoghnach Robinson
DESCRIPTION:Where: New Design H.S.\, 350 Grand St.\, New York (Enter on Ludlow St.)\n\nDoors Open: 6:30PM \nEvent Starts: 7:00PM  \n  \nABOUT THE BOOK \nA sharp and deeply felt debut about art\, ambition\, and the connections that both inspire and undo us. \nParker Navarro’s debut novel was meant to define his career – until critic Selina Chan’s blistering review made it the flop of the decade. Four years later\, his new book is his shot at redemption; for Selina\, reviewing him again is a professional risk she can’t refuse. When her second takedown ignites a viral feud\, both their fortunes shift overnight. But as the literary world feeds on their public sparring\, a quieter dialogue begins – one that challenges everything they thought they knew about success\, sincerity\, and each other. \nBoth incisive and tender\, Bad Words lays bare the costs of creation – the pull between ambition and integrity\, the vulnerability of being seen\, and the unexpected closeness that can grow in the space between critique and care. \nWhen words can make or break us\, how do you stay true to what matters most? \n“The rare kind of book I can’t believe doesn’t already exist . . . [a] clear\, clever voice and incisive social commentary elevate the book’s irresistible will-they-won’t-they romance to a once-in-a-lifetime read about truth\, art\, vulnerability\, and all the sticky places they intersect. BAD WORDS LEFT ME BUZZING.” – EMILY HENRY\, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Great Big Beautiful Life \n“A genre-redefining romance that sets a thrilling new standard… Easily one of my favourites of the year\, if not the decade.” – Carley Fortune\, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Our Perfect Storm \n“Full of blistering barbs\, incisive takedowns and searing gazes\, Bad Words is smart and propulsive.” – Mary H.K. Choi\, New York Times bestselling author of Pool House \n“Full of wit\, warmth\, and deliciously sharp observations on books and the people who love them… I didn’t want it to end.” – Stacey Yu\, author of Kitten \nABOUT THE AUTHOR \nRíoghnach (pronounced ree-uh-nock) Robinson grew up in North Carolina\, studied economics at Kenyon College\, and now lives in New York City. Her books for young readers\, including Lambda Award finalist Come Home to My Heart\, are published under the pen name Riley Redgate. She has also written for WEBTOON and The Onion\, America’s Finest News Source. You can find her on Instagram at @rioghnachrobinson. \nIN CONVERSATION WITH \nAnna Maria Volkova lives and works in New York City. Personal family histories from within the former Soviet Union and the Middle East inform her writing\, as do her professional experiences. Raised in the Pacific Northwest\, she studied history and political science. Games is her debut novel.
URL:https://potluckasianamerica.org/event/book-launch-bad-words-by-rioghnach-robinson/
LOCATION:New Design High School\, 350 Grand Street\, 6th Floor\, New York\, NY\, 10002\, United States
CATEGORIES:Book,Discussion
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261007T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261007T200000
DTSTAMP:20260817T044248Z
CREATED:20260817T044248Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260817T044248Z
UID:10003103-1791399600-1791403200@potluckasianamerica.org
SUMMARY:Book Launch | The Girl Who Became King by Melissa King
DESCRIPTION:Pre-purchase your copy of the featured title to guarantee your signed copy! This helps ensure that everyone who wants a book goes home with one\, in case we sell out at the event.\n\nABOUT THE BOOK \nFrom award-winning chef\, author\, television personality\, and activist Melissa King comes an intimate\, captivating memoir about family\, food\, and finding her voice as a queer Chinese American chef \nEmbracing my love of food has empowered me to embrace every layer of who I am: my Chinese heritage\, my American upbringing\, and all the parts of me that felt too much and not enough. When I chose myself\, I set her free. Just me. The girl who became king. \nAs a kid\, Melissa King lived for the moment she would come from elementary school\, grab her prized Chinese meat cleaver\, and prepare dinner for her family. She already knew cooking was her future\, but she didn’t know how hard she’d have to fight to make that dream a reality. \nGrowing up\, King felt like she was stuck in a box that was only getting smaller. Her Shanghainese and Cantonese immigrant parents had certain expectations—none of which included going to culinary school or falling in love with women. American culture also dictated that kitchens were a man’s world. But trying to live by these rules felt like no life at all. \nDetermined to forge her own path\, she fought her way into the demanding world of Michelin-starred kitchens\, while discovering a home in the queer community. When she entered Top Chef as a reluctant contestant\, inspired by her grandmother’s advice to follow her heart\, she began embracing the flavors\, culture\, and parts of herself she had once forgotten. This journey of self-discovery through food leads her back to her parents\, where love creates room for their strengths and imperfections. \nIn this heartfelt memoir\, Melissa King shows that empowerment comes from embracing all the different ingredients that make up who you are\, and models the hard-won courage it takes to believe in yourself against the odds. \nABOUT THE AUTHOR \nMelissa King is a James Beard Award-winning chef\, author\, and television personality. She is the author of the cookbook Cook Like a King: Recipes from My California Chinese Kitchen\, which won the 2026 James Beard Award. She is the winner and fan favorite of Bravo’s Top Chef: All Stars L.A. and holds the record for the most challenge wins in the show’s history. Known for her modern California Chinese cuisine\, she is a leading voice shaping conversations through food\, cultural storytelling\, and advocacy.  A queer Shanghainese Cantonese American\, she grew up in Los Angeles’s San Gabriel Valley. Her work has since taken her beyond the kitchen into television\, fashion\, and culture\, including hosting Tasting Wild for National Geographic\, curating the 2022 Met Gala menu\, and being featured in global campaigns for Levi’s and GAP. She lives in San Francisco.
URL:https://potluckasianamerica.org/event/book-launch-the-girl-who-became-king-by-melissa-king/
LOCATION:New Design High School\, 350 Grand Street\, 6th Floor\, New York\, NY\, 10002\, United States
CATEGORIES:Book,Discussion
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261028T183000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261028T200000
DTSTAMP:20260814T045236Z
CREATED:20260814T045236Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260814T045236Z
UID:10003086-1793212200-1793217600@potluckasianamerica.org
SUMMARY:Emily Feng: Uyghurs in Syria
DESCRIPTION:Join us for a timely conversation with NPR journalist Emily Feng on her groundbreaking new book Our Hearts Burned for Home: Uyghur Militants in Syria’s Civil War (Columbia Global Reports\, October 2026)\, an extraordinary work of reportage tracing one of the most surprising and consequential stories to emerge from the global war on terror. \nDrawing on years of reporting across China\, Central Asia\, Turkey and the Middle East\, Feng uncovers the little-known journey of Uyghur families and militants who fled China’s intensifying surveillance state and mass repression in Xinjiang\, seeking refuge abroad. For many\, escape did not bring safety. Instead\, exile led them into the chaos of the Syrian Civil War\, where some Uyghur militants became an unexpected and influential force in the conflict that helped reshape the region and contributed to the eventual collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s regime. Through intimate storytelling and sharp geopolitical analysis\, Feng reveals how displacement\, statelessness and repression can reverberate far beyond national borders. \nAt once deeply human and urgently political\, Our Hearts Burned for Home challenges conventional narratives about extremism\, migration and resistance. It asks difficult questions about belonging\, radicalization and the global consequences of authoritarian rule\, while centering the voices of people whose stories have too often been ignored. \nCopies of Our Hearts Burned for Home will be on sale\, with the author available to sign them. \nFeng will be joined in conversation by New York Times journalist Michael Forsythe\, and the event is presented by China Books Review\, a digital magazine of reviews\, essays\, profiles and more — follow their newsletter for event postings and discounts. \nEmily Feng is an award-winning correspondent for NPR covering China\, Taiwan and beyond\, reporting on everything from semiconductors to drones\, environmental wastelands to girl bands. Formerly based in Beijing and Taipei\, she now lives in Washington D.C. Feng is the author of Our Hearts Burned for Home (2026) and Let Only Red Flowers Bloom (2025). \nMichael Forsythe is an American journalist. He is an investigative reporter for The New York Times\, and was formerly Beijing correspondent for Bloomberg News in the 2010s. Forsythe is the coauthor with Henry Sanderson of China’s Superbank (2013).
URL:https://potluckasianamerica.org/event/emily-feng-uyghurs-in-syria/
LOCATION:Asia Society\, 725 Park Avenue\, New York\, NY\, 10021
CATEGORIES:Book,Discussion
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://potluckasianamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/2026.10.28-Emily-Feng-copy.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261030T183000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261030T200000
DTSTAMP:20260814T045637Z
CREATED:20260814T045637Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260814T045637Z
UID:10003087-1793385000-1793390400@potluckasianamerica.org
SUMMARY:Adrift in the South: China's Migrant Literature
DESCRIPTION:Join us for a lively conversation on the rise of China’s migrant worker literature\, bringing the voices and lived experiences of the country’s vast internal migrant population into the literary mainstream. \nWe will be joined by Xiao Hai\, author of Adrift in the South (Granta\, April 2026)\, a gripping autobiographical account of his 23 years as a migrant laborer\, as well as its translator Tony Hao. In the book\, Xiao recounts working 17 different jobs across seven cities in China\, moving through factories\, construction sites and service-sector work in search of survival and dignity. His story captures not only the physical exhaustion and precarity of migrant labor\, but also the resilience\, solidarity and hard-won moments of humanity that emerge amid relentless economic pressures. \nAs migrant worker writing gains increasing recognition both within China and internationally\, Adrift in the South offers a vital lens into questions of class\, mobility\, inequality and belonging in contemporary Chinese society. Together with other recently translated works\, such as Hu Anyan’s Delivering Parcels in Beijing\, this genre offers an unflinching portrait of the people who have powered China’s economic transformation while often remaining socially and culturally marginalized. The discussion will explore the emergence of worker literature as both a literary movement and a form of social testimony\, examining how personal narrative can illuminate broader structural realities. \nCopies of Adrift in the South will be on sale\, with the author available to sign them. \nThe event is presented by China Books Review\, a digital magazine of reviews\, essays\, profiles and more — follow their newsletter for event postings and discounts. \nXiao Hai is a Chinese poet and writer. Having worked as a migrant laborer for many years\, he was also a long-standing member of the Picun Writers’ Collective in Beijing. He is the author of Adrift in the South (2026)\, translated by Tony Hao. He lives in Beijing. \nTony Hao is a Chinese-to-English literary translator and writer. He is the translator of Adrift in the South (2026) by Xiao Hai\, as well as Tong Wei-Ger\, Ban Yu\, and others. His short-form translations have appeared in Granta\, The Wall Street Journal and elsewhere. Hao is based in New Haven.
URL:https://potluckasianamerica.org/event/adrift-in-the-south-chinas-migrant-literature/
LOCATION:Asia Society\, 725 Park Avenue\, New York\, NY\, 10021
CATEGORIES:Book,Discussion
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://potluckasianamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/2026.10.30-Xiaohai-copy.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261117T140000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261117T151500
DTSTAMP:20260626T175150Z
CREATED:20260626T173942Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260626T175150Z
UID:10002799-1794924000-1794928500@potluckasianamerica.org
SUMMARY:Reading America: Viet Thanh Nguyen on Maxine Hong Kingston: Acclaimed Authors on Great Writing That Resonates Today
DESCRIPTION:An eight-part series of online classes with Annette Gordon-Reed\, Joshua Cohen\, Colm Tóibín\, Viet Thanh Nguyen\, and more\n\n\nStarting this June\, Library of America presents an eight-part series of online classes featuring leading contemporary authors on the LOA writers that resonate deeply with them and have something vital to tell us at this moment. \n\n\nYou can purchase access to the entire series and save on the per-session cost\, or pick and choose individual sessions to attend. See below for more information on registration. \n\n\n  \nREGISTRATON INFO \n\nNov. 17: Viet Thanh Nguyen on Maxine Hong Kingston\nBeginning with her stunning 1976 memoir The Woman Warrior\, Maxine Hong Kingston has forged a profound\, richly imagined\, and genre-defying narrative of the American experience from her vantage as the daughter of Chinese immigrants. In this session\, we explore Kingston’s most influential books\, The Woman Warrior and China Men\, as she intended—back-to-back\, as one longer epic about Chinese Americans. These hybrid books move between fiction and nonfiction\, imagination and history\, realism and fantasy\, as they weave Chinese immigrants and their descendants into the fabric of the United States\, where they have belonged since the middle of the nineteenth century.\n\nEight Sessions (scroll down for full descriptions) \n\nJune 1: Annette Gordon-Reed on the Declaration of Independence and Lemuel Haynes’s “Liberty Further Extended”\nJuly 9: Joanne B. Freeman on Alexander Hamilton and Alexis de Tocqueville\nJuly 28: Nell Painter on Ralph Waldo Emerson and Sojourner Truth\nAug. 18: Joshua Cohen on Isaac Bashevis Singer\nSept. 24: Parul Sehgal on Arthur Miller\nOct. 29: Colm Tóibín on Elizabeth Bishop\nNov. 17: Viet Thanh Nguyen on Maxine Hong Kingston\nDec. 3: Namwali Serpell on William Faulkner and Toni Morrison\n\n\n\nSessions will take place on Zoom and last 75 minutes. Attendees are encouraged to share questions in advance and during the class. Each session will be recorded and shared with registrants to watch anytime. Space is limited and registration will be on a first-come\, first-served basis. \n\n\n  \nPRICING \nSeries pass: $350 (includes access to all sessions and 25% off all titles on the LOA Web Store) \nLOA Members get the special members’ rate of $300 ($50 off). Learn more about the perks of becoming an LOA Member. \nIndividual session: $50 ($40 for LOA Members) \n\n\n  \nSCHOLARSHIPS \nLOA is committed to making our programming accessible to as many people as possible. \nIf the cost to attend this series presents a hardship\, or you are a teacher interested in attending for professional development\, we are pleased to offer a number of scholarship places at a reduced rate. For more information and to request a tuition waiver\, please e-mail support@loa.org. \nIf you would like to support Library of America’s online programming and help sponsor a reduced-rate scholarship for a deserving student or teacher\, please consider making a $50 donation at checkout on Eventbrite or reach out to support@loa.org. \n\n\n  \nSESSION DESCRIPTIONS \nAll sessions meet at 2 pm ET. \nAnnette Gordon-Reed on the Declaration of Independence and Lemuel Haynes’s “Liberty Further Extended”\nMonday\, June 1\n“The American story\, from the very beginning\, has been multifaceted\, multicultured\, and multiracial\,” writes Pulitzer Prize–winning historian Annette Gordon-Reed. “People of color\, even in the most dire situations\, have always found ways to make their thoughts and feelings known.” Lemuel Haynes (1753–1833) was a Revolutionary War veteran\, the first ordained Black minister in the United States\, and the first African American to receive an advanced degree. In the opening session of Reading America\, we will discuss the Declaration of Independence and Haynes’s response to it\, a 1776 essay entitled “Liberty Further Extended: Or Free Thoughts on the Illegality of Slave-Keeping.” \nJoanne B. Freeman on Alexander Hamilton and Alexis de Tocqueville\nThursday\, July 9\nThroughout our nation’s history\, its citizens\, residents\, and foreign observers have wrestled with the meaning of American democracy. In this session\, we look at two writers with much to say on the topic: Alexander Hamilton and Alexis de Tocqueville. Hamilton had lifelong doubts about democracy\, even as he worked to create and uphold America’s new democratic republic. Tocqueville\, a French visitor to the United States in 1831–32\, was a witness par excellence\, describing and judging American democracy as only an outsider could. Putting these men in conversation reveals democracy in all its complexity\, and exposes the beating heart of America. \nNell Painter on Ralph Waldo Emerson and Sojourner Truth\nTuesday\, July 28\nRalph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)\, giant of American letters\, and Sojourner Truth (ca. 1797-1883)\, feminist abolitionist stalwart\, were near contemporaries\, living ninety-five miles apart in Massachusetts in the 1840s. Emerson’s classic books\, Essays and Self-Reliance\, were published in the 1840s\, while Truth’s self-published Narrative of Sojourner Truth appeared in 1850. Both promoted and sold their books in person on the lecture circuit\, but they never met. In this session\, we stage a meeting of Emerson and Truth’s minds through a closer look at their lives and works. \nJoshua Cohen on Isaac Bashevis Singer\nTuesday\, August 18\nWhat makes a writer an American writer? Is it the accident of his birth\, or perhaps the circumstances of his exile? His language? His themes? His audience? The works of Isaac Bashevis Singer\, the seventh American citizen to be awarded the Nobel Prize for literature\, raise these questions in fascinating ways. This session discusses three short classics by America’s great Yiddish writer: “Gimpel the Fool\,” “The Destruction of Kreshev\,” and “The Cafeteria.” Together\, they bring the reader from Galician Poland to Manhattan’s East Side\, and illuminate starkly different jewels—sweet\, bitter\, humorous\, sexual—in the crown of this impish giant. \nParul Sehgal on Arthur Miller\nThursday\, September 24\nArthur Miller’s plays of the 1940s and 1950s—All My Sons\, Death of a Salesman\, The Crucible\, A View from the Bridge—electrified theatergoers and established him as one of the indispensable voices of the postwar era in America. With a particular focus on All My Sons\, this session explores some of the characteristic conflicts of Miller’s work—between fathers and sons\, desire and obligation\, self and community—while paying close attention to the effect his mastery of dramatic devices such as motive\, psychology\, and resolution has on readers and audience members. \nColm Tóibín on Elizabeth Bishop\nThursday\, October 28\nThe poems of Elizabeth Bishop are “more wryly radiant\, more touching\, more unaffectedly intelligent than any written in our lifetime\,” wrote James Merrill. She is “our greatest national treasure.” Bishop’s work is notable for its use of narrative\, its precision and reliance on exact detail\, its reticence and power. This session will explore\, via poems and letters\, her ideas of loss and exile\, plus the tone she takes: melancholy\, precise\, hushed\, attentive\, and careful to say nothing more than what each occasion demands. \nViet Thanh Nguyen on Maxine Hong Kingston\nTuesday\, November 17\nBeginning with her stunning 1976 memoir The Woman Warrior\, Maxine Hong Kingston has forged a profound\, richly imagined\, and genre-defying narrative of the American experience from her vantage as the daughter of Chinese immigrants. In this session\, we explore Kingston’s most influential books\, The Woman Warrior and China Men\, as she intended—back-to-back\, as one longer epic about Chinese Americans. These hybrid books move between fiction and nonfiction\, imagination and history\, realism and fantasy\, as they weave Chinese immigrants and their descendants into the fabric of the United States\, where they have belonged since the middle of the nineteenth century. \nNamwali Serpell on William Faulkner and Toni Morrison\nThursday\, December 3\nWhile delivering the keynote address at a 1985 Faulkner conference in Oxford\, Mississippi\, Toni Morrison remarked that “in a very personal way\, as a reader\, he had an enormous effect” on her. Morrison’s engagement with Faulkner was a lifelong project\, from her examination of The Sound and the Fury in her master’s thesis to ongoing reflections on his work in university lectures. This session delves into novels by Faulkner and Morrison—Absalom\, Absalom! and A Mercy\, respectively—to explore their treatment of Native Americans\, their interest in co-created stories and invented language\, Sutpen’s Hundred in relation to Jacob Vaark’s unfinished house\, and the overlapping themes of possessive love and stopped time. \n\n\nCourse curator: Bernard Schwartz \n\n\nLibrary of America\, a nonprofit organization\, champions our nation’s cultural heritage by publishing America’s greatest writing in authoritative new editions and providing resources for readers to explore this rich\, living legacy.
URL:https://potluckasianamerica.org/event/reading-america-acclaimed-authors-on-great-writing-that-resonates-today/
LOCATION:Virtual
CATEGORIES:Book,Virtual,Writing
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261209T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261209T210000
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LAST-MODIFIED:20260817T045206Z
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SUMMARY:An Evening with Min Jin Lee | Fundraiser for New Life Community Development
DESCRIPTION:Pre-purchase your copy of the featured title to guarantee your signed copy! This helps ensure that everyone who wants a book goes home with one\, in case we sell out at the event. \nThis event is benefiting New Life Community Development Corporation\, a 501c3 nonprofit serving low income individuals in Elmhurst and Corona. \nDoors open at 6:30! \nJoin Min Jin Lee in conversation with Lucy Yu in the bestselling author’s very own hometown of Elmhurst\, NY\, to celebrate the arrival of her latest novel American Hagwon\, and to fundraise for an Elmhurst-based non-profit. \nTicket price will include a signed copy and a donation to New Life Community Development Corporation\, a 501c3 organization serving low income individuals in Elmhurst and Corona with a food pantry\, health center\, financial literacy\, and social emotional wellness programming. \n10% of each purchased copy of American Hagwon will also be donated towards New Life Community Development Corporation. \nABOUT THE BOOK \nThe National Book Award finalist and New York Times bestselling author of Pachinko returns with a breathtaking contemporary epic: a masterpiece by turns sweeping and intimate\, that reckons with ambition and moderation\, lust and loyalty\, personal dreams and familial duty. \nMin Jin Lee brings grand ambition\, fierce heart\, and the tenderest hope to a novel I didn’t want to end.” —Roxane Gay\, bestselling author of Bad Feminist and Hunger \nIn schools and churches\, hotel rooms and nail salons\, law firms and fried-fish shops; in cramped\, dingy apartments and luxury\, gated communities\, the men\, women\, and children in American Hagwon struggle to find satisfaction and meaning in a world that seems to grow less forgiving with each passing year. Once comfortably middle class in Korea\, John and Helen Koh and their three children—Bo\, DH\, and Mido—find their lives upended\, first by a shocking betrayal by John’s oldest friend\, then by the 1997 Asian financial crisis. \nDesperately striving to regain their footing\, they leave Seoul for Sydney and eventually settle in Southern California—where new vistas of opportunity open up for the children as their parents\, strangers in a strange land\, must adjust to a new life in which their experience and education mean little\, and they set their sights on whatever it takes to provide for their children’s futures. The Kohs\, their friends\, relatives\, and even their foes move in and out of each other’s lives as they navigate new courses across the years\, always nursing the almost all-consuming faith that education will lead the next generation to success and security. \nIn American Hagwon\, Min Jin Lee has crafted an unforgettable\, panoramic novel where the smallest of gestures can have enormous repercussions\, where the bonds of family and of memory twist and fray but rarely break\, and where willful self-sacrifice—for the benefit of loved ones and even strangers—is a kind of prayer. \nABOUT THE AUTHOR \nMin Jin Lee was born in Seoul\, South Korea and immigrated to Queens\, New York with her family when she was seven years old. She is a writer whose award-winning fiction explores the intersection of race\, ethnicity\, immigration\, class\, religion\, gender\, and identity of a diasporic people. \nLee’s debut novel Free Food for Millionaires (2007) was a Top 10 Books of the Year for The Times of London\, NPR’s Fresh Air\, USA Today\, and a national bestseller. Pachinko\, her second novel\, is an epic story which follows a Korean family who migrates to Japan; it is the first novel written for an adult\, English-speaking audience about the Korean-Japanese people. Pachinko was a finalist for the National Book Award for Fiction\, runner-up for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize\, winner of the Medici Book Club Prize\, a New York Times 10 Best Books of 2017\, and is one of Kirkus Review’s Best Books of the 21st Century (So Far). A New York Times Bestseller\, Pachinko was also a Top 10 Books of the Year for the BBC\, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation\, and the New York Public Library. Pachinko was a selection for “Now Read This\,” the joint book club of PBS NewsHour and The New York Times. It was on over 75 best books of the year lists\, including NPR\, PBS\, and CNN. Pachinko has been translated into over 35 languages and is an international bestseller. President Barack Obama selected Pachinko for his recommended reading list\, calling it\, “a powerful story about resilience and compassion.” In 2024 Pachinko (#15) was named one of the New York Times Book Review’s 100 Best Books of the 21st Century. \nIN CONVERSATION WITH \nLucy Yu is a writer and multi-disciplinary artist living in Brooklyn\, New York. She is also the owner of Yu & Me Books in Manhattan’s Chinatown\, the first queer Asian American bookstore in New York City. Yu & Me Books specializes in immigrant stories\, writers of color\, and historically marginalized experiences. \nAbout the New Life Community Development Corporation \nFounded in 1994 by members of New Life Fellowship Church\, New Life Community Development Corporation seeks to serve the poor and marginalized in Elmhurst and Corona\, NY. New Life CDC envisions a neighborhood where every neighbor has the financial\, emotional\, and social resources to thrive\, and every neighbor is valued and recognized as worthy\, capable\, and deserving of investment and support. Annually\, New Life CDC serves over 1\,400 children\, youth\, adults\, and senior neighbors through culturally and linguistically accessible programs and services. New Life CDC’s programs provide relief\, cultivate restoration\, deepen relationships and model reinvestment with neighbors across the spectrum of poverty\, including those experiencing food or housing insecurity\, uninsured community members\, undocumented day laborers living on the streets\, survivors of domestic violence\, and working class families. Its core programs include a food and clothing pantry\, health center\, financial empowerment programs\, and social emotional wellness programs for low-income families at local schools and shelters.
URL:https://potluckasianamerica.org/event/an-evening-with-min-jin-lee-fundraiser-for-new-life-community-development/
LOCATION:New Life Community Development Corporation\, 82-10 Queens Boulevard\, Elmhurst\, NY\, 11373\, United States
CATEGORIES:Book,Discussion,Fundraiser
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261212T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261212T203000
DTSTAMP:20260710T190059Z
CREATED:20260710T190059Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260710T190059Z
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SUMMARY:American Hagwon: A Conversation with Min Jin Lee
DESCRIPTION:Join internationally acclaimed author Min Jin Lee for a special evening celebrating the release of her highly anticipated new novel\, American Hagwon. \nFrom the bestselling author of Pachinko comes an epic\, deeply moving saga that follows a Korean family across Seoul\, Sydney\, and California’s Orange County from 1992 to 2007. Through the lives of the Koh family and those around them\, Lee explores the pursuit of opportunity\, the pressures of academic achievement\, the impact of economic upheaval\, and the enduring bonds between parents and children. \nAt the heart of the novel is the world of the hagwon—Korea’s private education system and a powerful symbol of ambition\, sacrifice\, and social mobility. As fortunes rise and fall against the backdrop of the Asian financial crisis and the Korean diaspora experience\, American Hagwon asks timeless questions about identity\, success\, family\, and what ultimately makes a good life. In this special live conversation\, Min Jin Lee will discuss the inspiration behind her sweeping new novel\, her creative process\, and the themes that have made her one of the most important literary voices of our time. A book signing will follow the program. \nDon’t miss this rare opportunity to hear from the celebrated author of Pachinko as she introduces her most ambitious work yet. \nTickets: $15 + fees (Event Ticket Only); $45 + fees (Event Ticket + Copy of American Hagwon\, Pick-Up at Kew & Willow Books in Kew Gardens); $51 + fees (Event Ticket + Copy of American Hagwon\, U.S. Shipping Included). \nBook pick-up and shipping will begin on September 29\, 2026\, the official publication date of American Hagwon. Limited signed editions by Min Jin Lee available—don’t wait\, order now! \nPlease note that discounts on tickets are only available for Queens College students. With a valid QC student ID\, Queens College students receive 50% off the Event Ticket. The student discount is available for in-person purchases at the KCA Box Office only. Students may also purchase the Event Ticket + Book Pick-Up option; though the 50% discount applies to the Event Ticket portion only. Instead of picking up the book at Kew & Willow Books\, Queens College students will receive their book at Colden Auditorium on the day of the event. \nFor any additional questions\, please contact our Box Office at (718) 793-8080.
URL:https://potluckasianamerica.org/event/american-hagwon-a-conversation-with-min-jin-lee/
LOCATION:Queens College – Colden Auditorium\, 153-49 Reeves Avenue\, Flushing\, NY\, 11367
CATEGORIES:Book,Discussion
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