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May-lee Chai

メイ＝リー・チャイ

May-lee Chai

Profile

Gender
Female
Nationality
United States
Languages
English

Career

Occupations
author, professor
Active Years
1997-
Affiliations
San Francisco State University, Department of Creative Writing

Education

Grinnell College
B.A. (French and Chinese Studies) / French and Chinese Studies
Degree: B.A.
Year of Graduation: 1989
Country: United States
Yale University
M.A. in East Asian Studies / East Asian Studies
Degree: M.A.
Year of Graduation: 1992
Country: United States
University of Colorado Boulder
M.A. in English—Creative Writing / English—Creative Writing
Degree: M.A.
Year of Graduation: 1994
Country: United States
San Francisco State University
M.F.A. in Creative Writing / Creative Writing
Degree: M.F.A.
Year of Graduation: 2013
Country: United States
Later joined the faculty at the same university

Awards

American Book Award
2019
Work: Useful Phrases for Immigrants
Organization: Before Columbus Foundation
Result: 受賞
Bakwin Award for Writing by a Woman
2018
Work: Useful Phrases for Immigrants
Organization: Blair (independent press)
Result: 受賞（選考：Tayari Jones）
Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature (Best Young Novel)
2014
Work: Tiger Girl
Category: Best Young Novel
Organization: Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association (APALA)
Result: 受賞
Kiriyama Prize (Notable Book)
2008
Work: Hapa Girl
Organization: Kiriyama Prize
Result: Notable Book（選出）
Gustavus Myers Center Honorable Mention
2008
Work: Hapa Girl
Organization: Gustavus Myers Center for the Study of Bigotry and Human Rights
Result: 名誉賞（Honorable Mention）
Jack Dyer Fiction Prize
2018
Work: Fish Boy (short story)
Organization: Crab Orchard Review
Result: 受賞
Virginia Faulkner Award for Excellence in Writing
2018
Work: Lilacs (essay)
Organization: Prairie Schooner
Result: 受賞
Literature Fellowship (NEA)
2006
Organization: National Endowment for the Arts
Result: フェローシップ受領
Sonora Review Essay Prize
2018
Work: The Imagined Homeland (essay)
Organization: Sonora Review
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

My Lucky Face

1997 Novel

A novel about a Chinese woman in Nanjing balancing work, family, and a challenging job assignment caring for a foreign teacher.

familyworkplacecross-cultural interaction

Dragon Chica

2010 Novel

About Cambodian survivors of the Khmer Rouge starting over in Texas and Nebraska; followed by the sequel Tiger Girl.

immigrationtrauma and recoveryfamily

Tiger Girl

2013 Young adult novel

A sequel to Dragon Chica that focuses on youth, coming-of-age, and identity issues.

coming of ageidentityfamily

Training Days

2017 Novella

A short novella written for adult literacy and ESL learners as part of the Gemma Media Open Door Series, with a readability level between Flesch–Kincaid scores 2–4.

literacyeducationpersonal growth

Useful Phrases for Immigrants

2018 Short story collection

A collection of eight stories about immigrant experiences; critically acclaimed and recipient of several awards.

immigrant experienceidentitycultural conflict

Tomorrow in Shanghai and Other Stories

2022 Short story collection

A collection of short stories set in Shanghai and immigrant communities; selected as a New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice.

globalizationimmigrationmemory

The Girl from Purple Mountain

2002 Family memoir / Nonfiction

Co-written with her father Winberg Chai; an intergenerational memoir exploring family history, memory, and her grandmother's decisions about burial after escape to America.

family historymemorywar and migration

Hapa Girl

2007 Memoir / Nonfiction

A memoir exploring violent reactions and identity conflicts experienced by her mixed-race family in a small Midwestern American town in the 1980s.

racebigotryidentity

Bibliography

  • My Lucky Face (1997)
  • The Girl from Purple Mountain (2002) — co-authored
  • Glamorous Asians (2004)
  • Hapa Girl (2007)
  • Translation of Ba Jin's 1934 Autobiography (2008)
  • Dragon Chica (2010)
  • Tiger Girl (2013)
  • China A to Z (2014) — co-authored
  • Training Days (2017)
  • Useful Phrases for Immigrants (2018)
  • Tomorrow in Shanghai and Other Stories (2022)

Translations by Author

  • Translation of Ba Jin's 1934 Autobiography (2008)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
clear, distinct narrative voicemetaliterary elements exploring competing memories within familiesconcise and observational style in short fiction and memoir
Recurring Motifs
food and memoryimmigrant experience and identityintergenerational dialogue and rupture

Legacy

Known for works on immigration, family, and memory, Chai has received critical acclaim and multiple awards for both fiction and nonfiction. As a creative writing professor, she is regarded as an important voice in contemporary Asian American literature.

Quotes

  • “The eight stories in this collection contain multitudes. May-lee Chai interrogates heavy subjects with a light touch.”
    Source: Tayari Jones (judging comment for the Bakwin Award) (2018)

Trivia

  • Co-authored the memoir The Girl from Purple Mountain with her father, Winberg Chai.
  • Serves as a professor of creative writing at San Francisco State University.
  • Short story "Fish Boy" won the Jack Dyer Fiction Prize from Crab Orchard Review.