On our mid-month check in for September 2023, we review the latest Asian American book and publishing announcements, as well as catch up on some news from the ongoing literary awards season.

Upcoming books mentioned in our publishing news:

• Toward Eternity by Anton Hur
• Everything We Never Had by Randy Ribay
• Kareem Between by Shifa Saltagi Safadi
• Ahimsa is Everywhere by Suma Subramaniam; illust by Aparna Varma
• My Name is Ai Lin by Maria Wen Adcock; illust by Yu Ting
• Eid Tale by Aaliya Jaleel
• Celebrating Dong Zhi by Michelle Jing Chan
• This Book Won’t Burn by Samira Ahmed
• The Romance Rivalry by Susan Lee
• Gamers by E.C. Meyers
• The Mithai Box is Not Empty by Namrata Agarwal; illust by Parvati Pillai

News stories covered on this episode:

• Asian nominees for the 2023 National Book Award longlist
• The Pulitzer Prize Board has expanded their eligibility to non-US Citizens

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On this episode, we chat with author Andrew Yang (not the candidate) about his debut novel, I’m Not Here to Make Friends, a coming of age story about two girls who join the cast of a “Terrace House” like reality TV series that gathers six Asian Americans from across the country to live together for the cameras. Andrew shares with us his author’s journey, as well as geek out a little with Reera about their favorite Terrace House moments.

Follow Andrew on twitter at @ayang_writes and check out his novel, I’m Not Here to Make Friends, available now on the Books & Boba bookshop!

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On this episode we discuss our August 2023 book club pick Bitter Medicine by Mia Tsai. A contemporary fantasy romance about Elle, a skilled healer and Chinese immortal laying low to hide from her murderous little brother, and Luc, a French half-elf with a certain set of skills who does secretive work for the king of Faeries. Together they try to figure out how to make their nascent relationship work while balancing their obligations to their magical families and careers.

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On this episode, we’re excited to finally get to chat with author (and one of the founding members of #WeNeedDiverseBooks) Aisha Saeed about her latest novel, Forty Words for Love, a story of childhood friends on the verge of adulthood who find themselves at a crossroads as Moonlight Bay, the small magical town they grew up in, faces an economic crisis when the magical pink waters it’s known for fades away. Caught between chasing their dreams and their obligations to their families, this is a magical contemporary stories that addresses real life issues such as how economic tensions manifest in anti-immigrant sentiment.

Follow Aisha on instagram at @aishacs and check out her novel, Forty Words for Love, 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:

• Piper Chen Sings by Phillipa Soo & Maris Pasquale Doran; illust by Qin Leng
• Mabel and the Museum by Dana Wulfekotte
• A Roof! by Stephanie Ellen Sy; illust by Daniel Tingcungco
• A Pair of Little Red Mittens by Kirin Hayashi, illust by Chiaki Okada; translated by Avery Fischer Udagawa
• The Beat of the Dragon Boat by Christina Matula; illust by Nicole Wong
• The Door Is Open edited by Hena Khan
• The Little Cloud by Pam Fong
• Grace Lee Boggs’s Gardens of Hope by Songju Ma Daemicke; illust by Li Lin
• The Lost Souls of Benzaiten by Kelly Murashige
• Ritu in the Sun by Moniza Hossain
• Unbreakable: A Japanese American Family in an American Incarceration Camp by Jolene Gutiérrez & Minoru Tonai; illust by Chris Sasaki

News stories covered on this episode:

• @BooksForMaui auction for disaster relief
• Love in Taipei, the film adaptation of Loveboat, Taipei, premieres on Paramount+
• The cancelled Asian American Literature Festival revives as Ghosted World: An Uncalled Asian American Literature Festival
• Prosecraft shuts down after authors protest

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