Jessamine Chan’s short stories have appeared in Tin House and Epoch. A former reviews editor at Publishers Weekly, she holds an MFA from Columbia University and a BA from Brown University. Her work has received support from the Elizabeth George Foundation, the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, the Wurlitzer Foundation,
Jentel, the Kimmel Harding Nelson Center, the Anderson Center, VCCA, and Ragdale.
She lives in Chicago with her husband and daughter.
Cinema Love (2024) Jiaming Tang "Lush, romantic, daring, and filled with indelible characters, Cinema Love is not just an extraordinary debut, but a future classic. In this story of forbidden queer love and the cost of secrets, Jiaming Tang gives voice, humanity, and dignity to people so often rendered invisible by society. Here, Chinese laborers, factory workers, seamstresses, nail technicians, and cooks take glorious center stage, their lives and deepest yearnings made epic. I absolutely loved this book and couldn't stop reading."
The Stone Home (2024) Crystal Hana Kim "With ferocity as well as tremendous tenderness and psychological insight, Crystal Hana Kimbrilliantlybears witness to shocking state-sanctioned brutality in 1980s South Korea while telling a universally resonant story of lost innocence, resistance, survival, family bonds, and how communities form in even the most desperate circumstances. Haunting and suspenseful, The Stone Home dares its characters, and readers, to hope."
The Garden (2024) Clare Beams "No one writes feminist historical fiction like Clare Beams. With her singular lyricism, elegance, and candor, The Garden powerfully illuminates what is, for many women, a private and isolating grief. Ingeniously using elements of the gothic and weaving in today's most pressing questions about female bodily autonomy, Beams captures the magic, strangeness, terror, and all-consuming pressure of pregnancy, as well as the desperate desire for certainty and the abiding hope. I'm in awe of this book."
The Storm We Made (2024) Vanessa Chan "In Vanessa Chan's spellbinding debut, one woman's desire to change her destiny shapes the future of a colonized nation. Combining cinematic grandeur with nuanced storytelling, The Storm We Made offers the hidden history that only fiction can reveal: the everyday yearnings of people surviving a brutal occupation, children trying to make sense of the unspeakable, and the search for love. I'll never forget this book."
Terrace Story (2023) Hilary Leichter "Prepare to be astonished. Like the magical terrace of its title, Hilary Leichter's spectacular second novel contains the whole world. Told with boundless imagination, wisdom, and effortlessly gorgeous prose, Terrace Story will transform your understanding of time, space, memory, love, longing, and family and make you see your life anew. This book is a wonder."
A Quitter's Paradise (2023) Elysha Chang "A riveting, wise, and singular novel about grief, love, longing, and the mysteries of family, A Quitter's Paradise will linger in your heart and mind."
Chain-Gang All-Stars (2023) Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah "A defiant, awe-inspiring novel that will be read, studied and celebrated for generations, Chain-Gang All-Stars leads with love. Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah writes with stunning compassion and moral clarity as he interrogates every facet of our carceral world and the American spectacle of violence, never losing sight of the human cost of systemic injustice. Readers will be forever changed by this book."
The Great Reclamation (2023) Rachel Heng "Through the story of one remarkable boy, Rachel Heng's breathtaking epic of 20th century Singapore shows us the human and environmental costs of a nation's quest for freedom, prosperity, and order. Told with great tenderness and moral clarity, and alive to the beauty and mystery of the natural world as well as the human heart, The Great Reclamation is timeless, timely, and unforgettable."
Our Share of Night (2022) Mariana Enríquez "A singular, soul-rattling novel with urgent moral questions about greed, injustice, and inheritance at its core . . . I've never read anything like it, and I'll never forget my time in Enriquez's mesmerizing world."
The Women Could Fly (2022) Megan Giddings "Profound, daring, wondrous, and utterly original. A feminist dystopian epic about a world where women's life choices are policed and female power and autonomy are the most dangerous forces of all, Megan Giddings' The Women Could Fly offers a hypnotic blend of enchantment and outrage. I could not love this novel more."
More Than You'll Ever Know (2022) Katie Gutierrez "What happens when a mother wants more? A seductive, urgent tale about desire, family, the pursuit of truth, and the art of storytelling, More Than You'll Ever Know will astonish readers with its vastness, romance, tragedy, and abundant heart. I became obsessed with Katie Gutierrez's restless, secret-keeping heroines and didn't want this book to ever end."
Fruiting Bodies (2022) Kathryn Harlan "A debut of astonishing range and beauty, nimble and magical and profound. In stunning prose, Kathryn Harlan's wildly imaginative and daring stories reveal the anguish of growing up in a dying world. Her characters' quest for knowledge-about themselves, their families, their bodies, and their yearnings-will thrill and haunt you."
Little Rabbit (2022) Alyssa Songsiridej "Little Rabbit is a glorious debut-riveting, soulful, cerebral, and the sexiest novel I've ever read. In this story about ambition, power, art-making, and the pursuit of beauty, perfect for fans of Luster and Bad Behavior, Alyssa Songsiridej thrillingly interrogates the conflict between reason and desire, between our public and private selves. My life is richer for having read this book. Yours will be too."
Post-Traumatic (2022) Chantal V Johnson "With searing intelligence, wicked humor, and an utterly captivating heroine, this brilliant debut shows us what it means to live with, and beyond, trauma. I felt such kinship with Vivian that I sometimes felt like Johnson was reading my mind."
Tell Me an Ending (2022) Jo Harkin "Suspenseful, richly imagined, and brimming with compassion, Jo Harkin's Tell Me an Ending poses tantalizing questions about technology, ethics, capitalism, memory, trauma, and fate. How far would we go to live a happier life? Who are we without the memories that have shaped us? A feat of ingenious, intricate world-building. I finished the last page desperate to discuss this brilliant novel with everyone I know."
