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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260928T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260928T203000
DTSTAMP:20260809T202656Z
CREATED:20260809T202632Z
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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
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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
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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
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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
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261030T183000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261030T200000
DTSTAMP:20260814T045637Z
CREATED:20260814T045637Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260814T045637Z
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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
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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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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261209T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261209T210000
DTSTAMP:20260817T045206Z
CREATED:20260817T045206Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260817T045206Z
UID:10003104-1796842800-1796850000@potluckasianamerica.org
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
UID:10002829-1797102000-1797107400@potluckasianamerica.org
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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