Sophie Chen Keller

Sophie Chen Keller was born in Beijing, China, and was raised in Ohio and California. Her fiction has won several awards and has appeared in publications such as Glimmer Train (where her first short story was published when she was just fifteen) and Pedestal. After graduating from Harvard, she lived in Boston and New York City, working in the fashion industry and in brand consulting before leaving to pursue her dream of writing. She currently resides in New York City with her husband and a not-so-secret cabinet of sweets.

September Fiction: Excerpt from THE LUSTER OF LOST THINGS by Sophie Chen Keller

For September, we bring you the first chapter of Sophie Chen Keller's enchanting debut novel, The Luster of Lost Things, which was published last month. The story is told from the point of view of 13-year-old Walter Lavender Jr., a boy with a communication disorder but a knack for finding lost things. This first chapter tells us of Walter's father's disappearance and about the magic book that allows the desserts in his mother's desserterie to come alive.

—Karissa Chen, Senior Literature Editor