Vanessa Hua is an award-winning journalist and writer, and a columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle. For nearly two decades, she has been writing about Asia and the diaspora, filing stories from China, Burma, Panama, South Korea, Abu Dhabi, and Ecuador. Her fiction has appeared in The Atlantic, ZYZZYVA, Guernica, and elsewhere.
Tailbone (2026) Che Yeun "Gritty and unflinching, Che Yeun's Tailbone is a mesmerizing portrayal of the precarity and peril of modern Seoul. The narrator, a teenage runaway, forges a friendship with the fiery Juju, who teaches her how to survive amid economic and social tumult. Yet escape remains elusive. A haunting debut."
Everybody Says It's Everything (2025) Xhenet Aliu "Everybody Says It's Everything is a gut-punch of a novel, by turns tender and fierce, heartbreaking and hilarious. Albanian adoptees Drita and Pete hunger for belonging and purpose. Adrift, will they find themselves and their way back to each other? Against the backdrop of the Kosovo War, and set in Waterbury and in the Bronx, Xhenet Aliu deftly examines class, diaspora, loyalty, and family chosen and received. Powerful and deeply moving."
Shanghailanders (2024) Juli Min "Lyrical and haunting, Shanghailanders explores the enduring mysteries of family. With its inventive structure - the years spooling in reverse, told through rotating perspectives - Juli Min movingly portrays the Yangs and their many seasons of love and loss in a metropolis that perpetually rises, falls, and emerges from the ashes. An extraordinary debut."
The Turtle House (2024) Amanda Churchill "Sweeping yet intimate, Amanda Churchill's Turtle House spans cultures and continents. Minnie and her granddaughter Lia are unforgettable protagonists, whose grit and grace will inspire you. Together, they find a way through in this gripping debut."
River East, River West (2024) Aube Rey Lescure "Aube Rey Lescure's portrayal of the glitter and grit of China's tumultuous economic rise is by turns luminous and searing. A haunting debut."
The Woman Back from Moscow (2023) Ha Jin "The Woman Back from Moscow is an enthralling tale of courage, conviction, and resilience. Ha Jin's evocative portrayal of Sun 'Yomei' Weishi - an idealistic actress turned stage director - reflects his meticulous research and powerful imagination. During the Cultural Revolution, Sun gets caught in the cross hairs of Jiang Ching, Mao Zedong's vengeful wife. Deeply compelling."
Excavations (2023) Hannah Michell "Hannah Michell's Excavations is an enthralling page-turner. In Sae's search for the truth about her missing husband, she uncovers secrets intimate and sweeping, tracing the student protest movement and exposing corruption among the elite in South Korea. A gripping debut."
Deep as the Sky, Red as the Sea (2023) Rita Chang-Eppig "Epic yet intimate, Deep as the Sky, Red as the Sea brings to life the pirate queen Shek Yeung. Rita Chang-Eppig charts the journey of a brilliant and brave heroine who fights for the survival of her fleet-and her family's-against a fascinating historical backdrop. A stunning debut."
In the Time of Our History (2023) Susanne Pari "An enthralling, polyphonic novel of the Iranian diaspora. In the aftermath of tragedy, as secrets unfold, the Jahanis struggle and strive. By turns witty and poignant, this novel lingers in your thoughts long after the last page."
A Down Home Meal for These Difficult Times (2022) Meron Hadero "Meron Hadero's dazzling short stories span the diaspora, poignantly portraying characters in search of opportunity and belonging. Rich with insight, compassion, and wit, A Down Home Meal for These Difficult Times is an unforgettable debut."
Complicit (2022) Winnie M Li "A propulsive page-turner, Winnie M Li's COMPLICIT is a glittering story of ambition, regret, corruption and ultimately hope. Sarah Lai is an unforgettable protagonist."
Spell Heaven (2022) Toni Mirosevich "Deeply evocative, Toni Mirosevich's Spell Heaven is a compelling collection whose narrator ponders memory, time, and lost worlds. With lyrical insight, she explores the mystery and the margins, the people and places, of the hardscrabble seaside town where she and her wife have made home. A gem."
Radiant Fugitives (2021) Nawaaz Ahmed "Lyrical and deeply moving, Nawaaz Ahmed's Radiant Fugitives is about the search for love, acceptance, and family, both chosen and received. The novel is big-hearted and clear-eyed, a stellar debut."
The Last Story of Mina Lee (2020) Nancy Jooyoun Kim "In her stunning debut, Nancy Jooyoun Kim weaves together two poignant story lines: Mina Lee, an immigrant flees tragedy in Korea for a new start in Southern California. When she mysteriously dies, her American-born daughter, Margot, seeks out the truth of what happened. Gripping and gritty, The Last Story of Mina Lee is a story of their yearning, their struggle, and the enduring mystery of family. Unforgettable."
Unmarriageable (2019) Soniah Kamal "Charming and insightful, Unmarriageable connects the concerns of women across time and cultures in this delightful debut."
