Kirstin Chen

Kirstin Chen is the author of the novels BURY WHAT WE CANNOT TAKE, forthcoming from Little A in 2018, and Soy Sauce for Beginners, a Kindle First selection, an O, The Oprah Magazine “book to pick up now” and a Glamour book club pick. She has received awards from the Steinbeck Fellows Program, Sewanee, Hedgebrook and the Napa Valley Writers’ Conference. She was the fall 2017 NTU-NAC National Writer in Residence in Singapore and currently resides in San Francisco. Visit her at kirstinchen.com.

March Fiction: Excerpt from BURY WHAT WE CANNOT TAKE by Kirstin Chen

The first chapter from Kirstin Chen's new novel

For March, we are pleased to provide you a sneak peek of Kirstin Chen's new novel, BURY WHAT WE CANNOT TAKE, out later this month. In the wake of the Communist takeover, a rash action by San San's grandmother and a choice made by her teenage older brother set in motion her family's plan to flee to Hong Kong. There's only one problem: they can only take one of the children with them. This excerpt features the first chapter of the novel, as the children discover what their grandmother has done.

— Karissa Chen, Senior Literature Editor

February Lit: SOY SAUCE FOR BEGINNERS by Kirstin Chen

For February, we are pleased to present an excerpt from Kirstin Chen's debut novel, Soy Sauce for Beginners, which was released by Amazon Publishing/New Harvest in January.

The novel centers around Gretchen Lin, who escapes her troubled marriage in San Francisco by returning to her childhood home in Singapore, where she must confront the expectations and turmoils of her family.