On this episode, we welcome Thien Pham, the author and illustrator of Family Style: Memories of an American from Vietnam, his graphic memoir recounting his life growing up as a refugee in America, with each chapter centering around a specific food-related memory.

Follow Thien on instagram at @thiendog and check out his graphic memoir, Family Style: Memories of an American from Vietnam, available now on the Books & Boba bookshop!

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On our mid-month check in for July 2023, we review the latest Asian American book and publishing announcements, while catching up on a pretty terrible few weeks for the Asian American literature community (and the literature industry in general).

Upcoming books mentioned in our publishing news:

• White Mulberry by Rosa Kwon Easton
• Suka’s Farm written by Ginger Park and Frances Park; illust by Tiffany Chen
• Kai Po Che: Mini’s Perfect Diamond written by Suhasini Gupta; illust by Devika Oza
• Kill Her Twice by Stacey Lee
• Untitled YA novel by Sahar Jahani
• Cincinnati Lee and the Spear of Destiny by Heidi Heilig
• Hana’s Hajj written by Zainab Khan; illust by Anait Semirdzhyan
• You Are Loved by Sujean Rim
• Tiny Wonders and Nightsong by Sally Soweol Han
• A Place in the World written by Rina Singh; illust by Christopher Pouler
• Infinite Sky: The Story of Tsien Hsue-Shen, the Scientist Who Took Two Countries into Space by Celeste Pewter
• Another Word for Neighbor written by Angela Pham Krans; illustrated by Thai Phuong
• The Demon’s Prince by Remy Lai; illust by Lauren Dimaya
• Adoration by June Hur
• Eliza, from Scratch by Sophia Lee
• The Clock by Pam Fong
• Embroidered by Farida Zaman
• Pickling Time by Marzieh Abbas; illust by Darshika Verma

News stories covered on this episode:

• BTS’s book Beyond the Story becomes instant #1 NYT Bestseller
• Yu & Me Bookstore flooded from fire
• HarperCollins/Harlequin shuts down Inkyard Press
• Smithsonian abruptly cancels 2023 Asian American Literature Festival (AALF)
• AALF co-organizers’ open letter to the Smithsonian

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On this author chat, we welcome Thao Thai to talk about her debut novel Banyan Moon, a story about three generations of Vietnamese women, and the gothic southern mansion that ties them all together. We chat with Thao about her inspirations in writing a southern gothic inspired story about a Vietnamese American family, as well as learn about her journey to becoming an author.

Follow Thao on instagram at @thao_writes and check out her novel, Banyan Moon, available now on the Books & Boba bookshop!

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For this author chat, we sit down with Susie Luo to talk about her debut novel Paper Names, a decades spanning tale of a Chinese immigrant trying to build a new life in America, his Chinese American daughter looking for her place in her parent’s American dream, and a privileged white lawyer trying to rise above his family’s shady past, who are brought together by an unexpected act of violence and heroism in the streets of New York City. We chat with Susie about her inspirations for her novel, as well as her journey to becoming a writer after working in law and finance.

Learn more about Susie at www.susieluo.com and check out her novel, Paper Names, available now on the Books & Boba bookshop!

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On this episode we discuss our June 2023 book club pick, We Have Always Been Here by Lena Nguyen. A Sci-Fi psychological thriller following Dr. Grace Park, a psychologist who hates people, serving on a spaceship that has been dispatched to the planet Eos for a colonization inspection, but as the members of her crew begin to succumb to a mysterious psychological contagion, Dr. Park has to step out of her comfort zone to figure out the dark secrets of the planet in order to get out alive.

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On our mid-month check in for June 2023, we review the latest Asian American book and publishing announcements, while Reera catches Marvin up with the latest tea from Asian book twitter.

Upcoming books mentioned in our publishing news:

• The Night Ends with Fire by K.X. Song
• The Kamogawa Food Detectives by Hisashi Kashiwai
• Momo by Ranran Zhou
• If Lin Can by Richard Ho; illust. by Huỳnh Kim Liên and Phùng Nguyên Quan
• Wish I Was a Baller by Amar Shah; illust. Rashad Doucet
• This Is How You Fall in Love by Anika Hussain
• The Lotus Shoes by Jane Yang
• Last Chance Academy series by Debbi Michiko Florence
• My Olive Tree by Hazar Elbayya
• The Last Dragon of the East by Katrina Kwan
• A Sky for the Birds by Rina Singh; illust. by Barkha Lohia
• The Beasts Beneath the Winds edited by Hanna Alkaf
• Simone by Viet Thanh Nguyen; illust. Minne Phan
• Threads by Ashley Wong
• Sophia Lee Can Fly by Marie Tang; illust. by Lenny Wen

News stories covered on this episode:

• British Museum Removes Writer’s Translations of Chinese Poetry After Being Accused of Copyright Infringement

*Support the podcast by supporting our new Patreon*