[REPRINT FRIDAYS] "Your Luminous Heart, Bound in Red"
Full text of my werewolf rope bondage story "Your Luminous Heart, Bound in Red" first published in Asimov's September/October 2021.
[REPRINT FRIDAYS] "From Something Emerging"
Did you know that April 18 is International Day for Monuments and Sites? One of the most fascinating sites I've been to is the underground tunnel system of...
[REPRINT FRIDAYS] "Th Fifth Lttr"
Free anti-authoritarian oulipo flash fiction
[REPRINT FRIDAYS] "Where There Are Cities, These Dissolve Too"
Free short fiction: Badass Asian American sapphics piloting homemade mechas in underground battles.
"Our muqams will endure for millennia"
I came across the video below of Uyghur musicians on Twitter and thought I’d translate the Chinese in the caption to share its powerful message: We are...
Translanguaging poetry as a linguistic exercise
I woke up to the kind of orange sunlight that signals there are wildfires nearby. There’s one raging over the mountains right now. But somehow, the...
There is no permission slip for diversity
I’ve spoken on many panels about craft, identity, and representation. Inevitably, when the moderator opens the discussion up for questions from the audience,...
Diversifying submissions is a long-term commitment
I’ve often been asked how to diversify submissions piles as an editor—in fact, the first time I spoke about the topic to the industry was probably “‘Women...
Translating meter and rhyme: "Yo" by Jorge Luis Borges
Back in March, Premee Mohamed shared a favorite sonnet by Jorge Luis Borges, but lamented that their rhythm and rhyme schemes usually aren’t preserved in...
"The most humble of bones still flows with the Yangtze": Chen Nianxi's speech celebrating THE VERSE OF US
閱讀中文版。阅读中文版。 English translation of speech given at NYU in 2017 follows.Friends:My name is Chen Nianxi. I was born in a small town on the southern side of...
Two takes on Cao Cao's 《觀滄海》
I’m currently contracted to translate a graphic novel adaptation of Liu Cixin’s short story “The Village Schoolteacher” (《乡村教师》). The story opens with a...
Translation as editing and adaptation: An example from “End of the Microcosmos” by Liu Cixin
I recently finished translating one of Liu Cixin’s short stories, 《微观尽头》, or “End of the Microcosmos.” It’s a very short story, only 2,400 words, about what...
Appearances: Dive into Worldbuilding & World Fantasy Convention
Photo: FirmBee / PixabayI spoke with Juliette Wade today on her show Dive into Worldbuilding, where I discussed language, assimilation, and diaspora, and how...
Naming characters
Most of my characters are Chinese-American like me. They usually have a Western name, a Chinese name, and a Chinese surname. I’ve always loved naming...
Translating verse: A couplet from Chiung Yao’s “Princess Pearl”
All translation is both an act of interpretation and an act of judgment. The translator has the power to adapt and edit texts for their target audience, and...
Tarot for Plot and Character
Tarot can be a great tool to get unstuck when writing. Not only do most decks have vivid imagery that can spark the imagination, but the openness of card...