I Don’t Write Short Stories But I Have Been
I have an essay in Issue #8 about my time as a self-righteous asshole who happened to go to Sunday School. One thing I’ve been getting into lately is writing short pieces, fiction and non. When I was just starting out, finding my voice and all, short pieces were all I could do. I think I started writing pieces longer than three or four pages when I joined The Asian American Writers’ Workshop, um, 19 years ago. At the time, The AAWW was more like a writing group — 16 people or...
Read MoreNew Year, New York, New Short Story
You can’t have this little book, but you can hear me read it. Shucks, here’s me reading a new short story, “Dave.” The original was in these little books I made and they are long gone. But you can totally listen to me read it in character(s)! Listen now, or download and take me along for your jog! Recorded at...
Read MorePictorial Reading Tour Recap!
Still resting up from this crazy reading tour! Thank you media sponsors, Giant Robot and Hyphen! I totally planned and executed the Portland-to-Portland (Maine to Oregon) reading tour, split up over three weeks. Well, the first reading was an open mike at East Meets West in Boston. I had envisioned it as a low-key kind of thing, to try out my material for the first time in front of other people, but Alvin Lin (no relation) from Hyphen was there and actually blogged about it. And then...
Read MoreWaylaid Redux Readings, Only at Giant Robot
To borrow a title from a Wire bootleg, “A Terrifying Trip to the Past!” In April I will be reading from Waylaid, my first novel, which was published eight years ago. This will be the first time that I have read from this book on the West Coast and also the first time in many years since I have read extensively from it. When this book first came out, I was attacked by many publications that decried my “miserable” (San Francisco Chronicle) young narrator who wallowed in...
Read MoreSnakes Can’t Run, but They Do Tour
Cheeky! Snakes Can’t Run is almost here! It’s right around the corner! (April) I’ve posted some upcoming dates in the calendar, so I think you need to plan accordingly. If you want to see me in your town, give me a shout-out and I’ll see if I can make it happen. Dude, the book recently received a starred review in Publishers Weekly: Snakes Can’t Run Ed Lin. Minotaur, $24.99 (288p) ISBN 978-0-312-56988-4 Set in New York City in 1976, Lin’s accomplished...
Read MoreKids Are Idiots
Recently spotted in a Chinatown elementary school. . . .or maybe kids are merely easily impressionable. In any case, you don’t have an excuse. Get out there and vote Tuesday. No, not for me. And certainly not for “your candidate of choice.” Get out there and vote for Barack Obama.
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Ed Lin is a native New Yorker of Taiwanese and Chinese descent. He is the first author to win three Asian American Literary Awards. By some miracle, he was able to find this widget and edit this text all by himself!