Asian American Literary Awards
Encyclopedia
The Asian American Literary Awards are a set of annual awards that have been presented by The Asian American Writers' Workshop
since 1998. The awards include a set of honors for excellence in fiction, poetry and nonfiction, chosen by a panel of literary and academic judges; a Members' Choice Award, voted on by the Workshop's members from the list of that year's entries; and a Lifetime Achievement Award. To be eligible, a book must be written by someone of Asian descent living in the United States and published first in English; entries are actively solicited by the Workshop.
2010
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Asian American Writers' Workshop
The Asian American Writers' Workshop is a nonprofit literary arts organization founded in 1991 to support of writers, literature and community. The Workshop also offers the annual Asian American Literary Awards and sponsors Page Turner: The Asian American Literary Festival.-External links:* *...
since 1998. The awards include a set of honors for excellence in fiction, poetry and nonfiction, chosen by a panel of literary and academic judges; a Members' Choice Award, voted on by the Workshop's members from the list of that year's entries; and a Lifetime Achievement Award. To be eligible, a book must be written by someone of Asian descent living in the United States and published first in English; entries are actively solicited by the Workshop.
List of Winners
* = Member's Choice Award2010
- Paul YoonPaul YoonPaul Yoon is an American short story writer.He attended Phillips Exeter Academy, and Wesleyan University.He lives in Boston....
Once the Shore - Minal HajratwalaMinal HajratwalaMinal Hajratwala is a writer, performer, poet, and queer activist of South Asian descent. She was born in and is currently based in San Francisco, California, US, and was raised in New Zealand and suburban Michigan...
Leaving India: My Family's Journey From Five Villages to Five Continents - Ronaldo V. Wilson Poems of the Black Object
- Jason Koo* Man on Extremely Small Island
2009
- Jhumpa LahiriJhumpa LahiriJhumpa Lahiri is a Bengali American author. Lahiri's debut short story collection, Interpreter of Maladies , won the 2000 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, and her first novel, The Namesake , was adapted into the popular film of the same name. She was born Nilanjana Sudeshna, which she says are both...
Unaccustomed EarthUnaccustomed EarthUnaccustomed Earth is the latest book from Pulitzer Prize winning author Jhumpa Lahiri. After Interpreter of Maladies, the Pulitzer Prize winning book, this is her second collection of short stories. Just like her other books, Unaccustomed Earth is also a reflection of life with two separate... - Sesshu FosterSesshu FosterSesshu Foster is an American poet.He has taught composition and literature in East LA since 1985, and has also taught at the University of Iowa, the California Institute of the Arts, the University of California, Santa Cruz and the Jack Kerouac School's Summer Writing Program.He was in residence...
World Ball Notebook - Leslie T. ChangLeslie T. ChangLeslie T. Chang is a Chinese-American journalist and the author of Factory Girls: From Village to City in a Changing China . A former China correspondent for the Wall Street Journal, she has been described as "an insightful interpreter of a society in flux."-Factory Girls:In response to the...
Factory Girls: From Village to City in a Changing China
2008
- Mohsin HamidMohsin HamidMohsin Hamid is a Pakistani author best known for his novels Moth Smoke and The Reluctant Fundamentalist .- Biography :...
The Reluctant Fundamentalist - Vijay PrashadVijay PrashadVijay Prashad is the George and Martha Kellner Chair in South Asian History and Professor of International Studies at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, USA. He is the author of eleven books, most recently The Darker Nations: A People's History of the Third World...
The Darker Nations - Sun Yung ShinSun Yung ShinSun Yung Shin is a Korean American writer, educator and community activist living in Minneapolis, Minnesota.She is the author of Skirt Full of Black , the children's book Cooper's Lesson by Children's Book Press and she was an editor for Outsiders Within , the first anthology on the politics of...
Skirt Full of Black - Ed Lin* This Is a Bust
2007
- Linh DinhLinh DinhLinh Dinh is a Vietnamese-American poet, fiction writer, translator, and photographer. He was a 1993 Pew Fellow.-Biography:...
Borderless Bodies - Amitav GhoshAmitav GhoshAmitav Ghosh , is a Bengali Indian author best known for his work in the English language.-Life:Ghosh was born in Calcutta on July 11, 1956, to Lieutenant Colonel Shailendra Chandra Ghosh, a retired officer of the pre-independence Indian Army, and was educated at The Doon School; St...
Incendiary Circumstances: A Chronicle of the Turmoil of Our Times - Samrat UpadhyaySamrat UpadhyaySamrat Upadhyay is a Nepalese writer who writes in English. Upadhyay is a professor of creative writing as well as Director of Graduate Studies at Indiana University. He is the first Nepali-born fiction writer writing in English to be published in the West. He was born and raised in Kathmandu,...
The Royal Ghosts - Gene Luen Yang* American Born ChineseAmerican Born ChineseAmerican Born Chinese is a graphic novel by Gene Luen Yang. Released in 2006 by First Second Books, it was a finalist for the 2006 National Book Awards in the category of Young People's Literature. It won the 2007 Michael L. Printz Award and the 2007 Eisner Award for Best Graphic Album: New. It...
2006
- Jeff ChangJeff ChangJeff Chang is a Taiwanese male singer, who performs sentimental Mandarin pop ballads.Chang was born in Yunlin, Taiwan. He started off his showbiz career by winning a singing competition while in college...
Can't Stop Won't Stop: A History of the Hip Hop Generation - Rattawut Lapcharoensap Sightseeing
- Shanxing WangShanxing WangShanxing Wang is a contemporary American poet, scientist and political activist. Wang’s first full-length book, Mad Science in Imperial City, was published in 2005 by Futurepoem Books and was awarded the 2006 Asian American Literary Award for poetry...
Mad Science in Imperial City - Ed Bok LeeEd Bok LeeEd Bok Lee is the author of Real Karaoke People, a national best-seller in poetry and winner of a PEN/Open Book Award, an Asian American Literary Award , and a Many Voices Prize. Lee's second book is entitled Whorled .Lee was born in Fargo, North Dakota and raised in South Korea, North Dakota, and...
* Real Karaoke People
2005
- Brian LeungBrian LeungBrian Leung Siu Fai is a radio DJ/presenter in Hong Kong. He hosts "We Are Family" and "Go West" on RTHK Radio 2.He has been working in broadcasting for two decades and has worked for radio stations like MetroRadio's 104 FM Select and CRHK.He is fluent in Cantonese, English and Mandarin.-RTHK...
World Famous Love Acts - Suketu MehtaSuketu MehtaSuketu Mehta is a writer based in New York City. He was born in Kolkata, India, and raised in Bombay where he lived until his family moved to the New York area in 1977. He has attended New York University and the University of Iowa Writers' Workshop.His autobiographical account of his experiences...
Maximum City: Bombay Lost and Found - Srikanth Reddy Facts for Visitors
- Ishle Yi Park* The Temperature of this Water
2004
- Mei-mei BerssenbruggeMei-mei BerssenbruggeMei-mei Berssenbrugge is a contemporary poet. Winner of two American Book Awards, her work is often associated with the Language School, the poetry of the New York School, phenomenology, and visual art...
Nest - Monique TruongMonique TruongMonique T.D. Truong is a Vietnamese American writer living in Brooklyn, New York. Truong left Vietnam for the United States in 1975 and graduated from high school in Houston, Texas...
The Book of SaltThe Book of SaltThe Book of Salt by Monique Truong presents a narrative through the eyes of Binh, a Vietnamese cook. It tells his story predominantly in Paris and his hometown in Vietnam... - Vijay VaitheeswaranVijay VaitheeswaranVijay V. Vaitheeswaran is an award winning Correspondent for The Economist, covering energy and healthcare.Vaitheeswaran was born in Madras, India and grew up in Cheshire, Connecticut. He graduated from MIT with a degree in mechanical engineering. He started working at The Economist as an intern...
Power to the People - Patrick Rosal* Uprock, Headspin, Scramble and Dive
2003
- Walter Lew Treadwinds: Poems and Intermedia Texts
- Meera Nair Video: Stories
- Julie Otsuka When the Emperor Was Divine
- Ed Lin* Waylaid
2002
- Alexander CheeAlexander CheeAlexander Chee is an American fiction writer, poet, journalist and reviewer.Born in Rhode Island, he spent his childhood in South Korea, Kauai, Truk, Guam and Maine...
Edinburgh - Luis H. Francia Eye of the Fish: A Personal Archipelago
- Christina Chiu Troublemaker and Other Saints
- Don LeeDon Lee (author)Don Lee is an American novelist who spent his childhood in Tokyo and Seoul as the son of a State Department officer. He received his B.A. in English Literature from University of California, Los Angeles and his M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Emerson College. He has also served as the primary...
* Yellow
2001
- Ha JinHa JinJīn Xuěfēi is a contemporary Chinese-American writer and novelist using the pen name Ha Jin . Ha comes from his favorite city, Harbin.-Early life:...
The Bridegroom and Other StoriesThe Bridegroom (short story collection)The Bridegroom is a collection of twelve short stories by Chinese-American author Ha Jin. The stories are set in Muji City in contemporary China, the same provincial city that served as the setting for his 1999 novel, Waiting. Three of the stories have been included in The Best American Short... - Eugene GloriaEugene Gloria-Life:Eugene Gloria was born in Manila, Philippines, in 1957 and was raised in San Francisco. He was educated at San Francisco State University, Miami University, and the University of Oregon...
Drivers at the Short Time Motel: Poems - Akhil SharmaAkhil SharmaAkhil Sharma is an Indian-American author.Born in Delhi, India, he immigrated to the United States when he was eight, and grew up in Edison, New Jersey. Sharma studied at Princeton University, where he earned his B.A. in public policy at the Woodrow Wilson School...
An Obedient Father - Nick Carbo* Secret Asian Man
2000
- Eric GamalindaEric GamalindaEric Gamalinda is an established Filipino American author. He was an editor, journalist, short-story writer, children’s literature author, poet, and novelist. He published three novels...
Zero Gravity - Chang-rae LeeChang-Rae LeeChang-rae Lee is a Korean American novelist and a professor of creative writing at Princeton University, where he has served as the director of Princeton's Program in Creative Writing.-Early life:...
A Gesture LifeA Gesture LifeA Gesture Life is a novel written by Chang-Rae Lee, a South Korean author who has been living in the United States since 1965, which takes the form of a narrative of an elderly physician named Doc Hata, who deals with everyday life in a small town in the United States called Bedley Run and who... - Bino RealuyoBino RealuyoBino A. Realuyo is a Filipino-American novelist, poet, community organizer and adult educator. He was born and raised in Manila, Philippines but spent most of his adult life in New York City. His acclaimed novel, The Umbrella Country published in 1999 by Ballantine Reader's Circle, Random House was...
* Umbrella Country
1999
- Susan ChoiSusan ChoiSusan Choi is an American novelist. Choi was born in South Bend, Indiana to a Korean father and the American daughter of Russian Jewish immigrants. When she was nine years old, her parents divorced. She and her mother moved to Houston, Texas. Choi earned a B.A. in Literature from Yale University ...
The Foreign Student - Arthur SzeArthur SzeArthur Sze is a second-generation Chinese American poet.-Background:Sze was educated at the University of California, Berkeley, and is the author of eight books of poetry...
The Redshifting Web: Poems 1970-98
1998
- Mei-mei BerssenbruggeMei-mei BerssenbruggeMei-mei Berssenbrugge is a contemporary poet. Winner of two American Book Awards, her work is often associated with the Language School, the poetry of the New York School, phenomenology, and visual art...
Endocrinology - Lois-Ann YamanakaLois-Ann YamanakaLois-Ann Yamanaka is a Japanese-American poet and novelist from Hawaii. Many of her critically acclaimed literary works are written in Hawaiian Pidgin, and some of her writing has dealt with controversial ethnic issues...
Blu's HangingBlu's HangingBlu's Hanging is a 1997 coming of age novel by Lois-Ann Yamanaka. It follows the Ogata family after the death of their mother, as each family member struggles to come to terms with their grief...
Lifetime Achievement Award Winners
- 2009: Sonny MehtaSonny MehtaAjai Singh "Sonny" Mehta is a publisher and editor-in-chief of Alfred A Knopf.He was educated at Lawrence School, Sanawar. He is referenced in the musical The Last Five Years and is well known for moving in with Douglas Adams in order to make sure he finished his book So Long, and Thanks for All...
- 2008: David Henry HwangDavid Henry HwangDavid Henry Hwang is an American playwright who has risen to prominence as the preeminent Asian American dramatist in the U.S.He was born in Los Angeles, California and was educated at the Yale School of Drama and Stanford University...
- 2006: Maxine Hong KingstonMaxine Hong KingstonMaxine Hong Kingston is a Chinese American author and Professor Emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley, where she graduated with a BA in English in 1962. Kingston has written three novels and several works of non-fiction about the experiences of Chinese immigrants living in the United...
See also
- Asian American literatureAsian American literatureAlthough immigrants from Asia and Americans of Asian descent have been writing in the United States since the 19th century, Asian American literature as a category of writing only came into existence in the early 1970s...
- Chinese American literatureChinese American literatureChinese American literature is the body of literature produced in the United States by writers of Chinese descent. The genre began in the 19th century and flowered in the 20th with such authors as Sui Sin Far, Frank Chin, Maxine Hong Kingston, and Amy Tan....
- List of Asian American writers
- List of American writers of Korean descent
- Asian/Pacific American Awards for LiteratureAsian/Pacific American Awards for LiteratureThe Asian/Pacific American Awards for Literature are a set of literary awards presented annually by the Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association...