Anisfield-Wolf Book Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 88 (2023) Winner
Lan Samantha Chang
ラン・サマンサ・チャン
Lan Samantha Chang
Profile
- Gender
- Female
- Born
- 1965-01-01 （Appleton, Wisconsin, U.S.）
- Nationality
- United States
- Languages
- English
- Residence History
- Appleton, Wisconsin, U.S. → New York City, U.S. (briefly) → New Haven, Connecticut, U.S. (Yale) → Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S. (Harvard) → Stanford, California, U.S. (Stegner Fellowship) → Iowa City, Iowa, U.S. (University of Iowa)
Career
- Occupations
- Novelist, Short story writer, Professor, Director, Iowa Writers' Workshop
- Active Years
- 1993-
- Affiliations
- University of Iowa
- Influenced By
- Maxine Hong Kingston (possible influence), Amy Tan (possible influence), Writers of immigrant and Asian American literature
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yale University | — | East Asian Studies | Bachelor of Arts | — | United States |
| Harvard University (John F. Kennedy School of Government) | — | — | Master of Public Administration | — | United States |
| University of Iowa (Iowa Writers' Workshop) | — | Creative Writing (MFA) | MFA | — | United States |
| Stanford University (Stegner Fellowship) | — | — | — | — | United States |
Yale University
East Asian Studies
Degree:
Bachelor of Arts
Country:
United States
Served as an editor at the Yale Daily News
Harvard University (John F. Kennedy School of Government)
Degree:
Master of Public Administration
Country:
United States
Earned an M.P.A. after brief work in publishing
University of Iowa (Iowa Writers' Workshop)
Creative Writing (MFA)
Degree:
MFA
Country:
United States
Graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop
Stanford University (Stegner Fellowship)
Country:
United States
Stegner Fellowship in fiction (1993)
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Anisfield-Wolf Book Award (Fiction) | The Family Chao | Fiction | Anisfield-Wolf | Won |
| 2021 | Berlin Prize | — | — | American Academy in Berlin | Fellow |
| 2005 | PEN Open Book Award | Inheritance | — | PEN America | Won |
| 1998 | Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers' Award | — | — | Rona Jaffe Foundation | Won |
| 2024 | Arts and Letters Award (American Academy of Arts and Letters) | — | — | American Academy of Arts and Letters | Received |
| 2024 | MacDowell Fellowship | — | — | MacDowell | Fellow |
Anisfield-Wolf Book Award (Fiction)
2023
Work:
The Family Chao
Category:
Fiction
Organization:
Anisfield-Wolf
Result:
Won
Berlin Prize
2021
Organization:
American Academy in Berlin
Result:
Fellow
PEN Open Book Award
2005
Work:
Inheritance
Organization:
PEN America
Result:
Won
Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers' Award
1998
Organization:
Rona Jaffe Foundation
Result:
Won
Arts and Letters Award (American Academy of Arts and Letters)
2024
Organization:
American Academy of Arts and Letters
Result:
Received
MacDowell Fellowship
2024
Organization:
MacDowell
Result:
Fellow
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
Hunger
1998 Novella and short story collectionA collection of a novella and short stories set in the U.S. and China exploring home, family, and loss; examines cultural inheritance and identity in immigrant lives.
FamilyLossImmigrant experienceCultural inheritance
Inheritance
2004 Novel (family story with historical sweep)A novel about a family torn apart against the backdrop of the Japanese invasion during World War II, interweaving historical events and personal memory.
MemoryFamily bonds and fracturesImpact of history
All Is Forgotten, Nothing Is Lost
2010 Novel (about poets and artistic life)Follows two poets and their friendship, exploring mentorship, artistic ambition, and the loneliness of creative life.
Cost of making artMentor-student dynamicsLoneliness
The Family Chao
2022 Novel (family drama with elements of black humor)A novel about a Chinese American family dealing with succession, generational conflict, and public scrutiny; dramatizes the gap between how a family wants to be seen and its messy realities.
Family reputation vs. realityGenerational conflictCultural identity
Bibliography
- Hunger (1998)
- Inheritance: A Novel (2004)
- All Is Forgotten, Nothing Is Lost: A Novel (2010)
- The Family Chao (2022)
- Short fiction and novellas (various magazines and anthologies)
- Selected nonfiction (op-eds and essays, e.g., New York Times)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- Delicate, precise proseClose attention to characters' inner livesCareful rendering of cultural detail
- Recurring Motifs
- FamilyMemoryFood and culinary motifsImmigrant identity
Legacy
Lan Samantha Chang has enriched contemporary American literature with nuanced portrayals of Asian American and immigrant family experiences. As the first woman and first Asian American director of the Iowa Writers' Workshop, she has also had a significant influence on literary mentorship and program diversity.
Academic Societies
- American Academy of Arts and Letters (associated via Arts and Letters Award)
Archives
- University of Iowa archives (possible repository of related materials)
In Popular Culture
- Selected for former President Barack Obama's 2022 summer reading list
Quotes
-
"One thing that seemed really clear to me was that if we were to represent American literature then we had to bring in literature from all over the world."
Source: Open Country Mag (interview) (2022)
Trivia
- First woman and first Asian American to direct the Iowa Writers' Workshop.
- The Family Chao won the 2023 Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for Fiction.
- Born to a waishengren family whose parents moved from mainland China to Taiwan and then to the United States.