Asian American Literary Awards
1 appearances
-
Edition 7 (2004) Winner
Monique T. D. Truong
モニーク・ティー・ディー・チュオン
Monique T. D. Truong
Profile
- Gender
- Female
- Born
- 1968-05-13 （Saigon (South Vietnam)）
- Nationality
- United States
- Languages
- English
- Residence History
- Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City), Vietnam → Boiling Springs, North Carolina (childhood) → Brooklyn, New York, USA
Career
- Occupations
- Writer, Essayist
- Active Years
- 1990-
- Affiliations
- Hedgebrook (Creative Advisory Council), Authors Registry (Board of Directors), Authors Guild (Council advisor)
- Memberships
- Authors Registry (Board of Directors), Authors Guild (Council advisor / former Vice President)
- Influenced By
- Gertrude Stein (referenced in The Book of Salt), Alice B. Toklas (referenced in The Book of Salt)
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yale University | College of Arts and Sciences | Literature | B.A. | — | United States |
| Columbia Law School | — | Law | J.D. | — | United States |
Yale University
College of Arts and Sciences
/ Literature
Degree:
B.A.
Year of Graduation:
1990
Country:
United States
Received B.A. in literature
Columbia Law School
Law
Degree:
J.D.
Country:
United States
Specialized in intellectual property law
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | New York Public Library Young Lions Fiction Award | The Book of Salt | — | New York Public Library | Winner |
| 2004 | Bard Fiction Prize | The Book of Salt | — | Bard College | Winner |
| 2004 | Stonewall Book Award—Barbara Gittings Literature Award | The Book of Salt | — | American Library Association (ALA) | Winner |
| 2004 | PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize | The Book of Salt | — | PEN America | Winner |
| 2010 | Guggenheim Fellowship | — | — | John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation | Fellow |
| 2011 | American Academy of Arts and Letters Rosenthal Family Foundation Award | Bitter in the Mouth | — | American Academy of Arts and Letters | Winner |
| 2020 | John Gardner Fiction Book Award | The Sweetest Fruits | — | Binghamton University (John Gardner Award) | Winner |
| 2021 | Dos Passos Prize | — | — | Longwood University / Dos Passos Prize | Winner |
| 2004 | PEN Oakland/Josephine Miles Award | The Book of Salt | — | PEN Oakland | Winner |
New York Public Library Young Lions Fiction Award
2004
Work:
The Book of Salt
Organization:
New York Public Library
Result:
Winner
Bard Fiction Prize
2004
Work:
The Book of Salt
Organization:
Bard College
Result:
Winner
Stonewall Book Award—Barbara Gittings Literature Award
2004
Work:
The Book of Salt
Organization:
American Library Association (ALA)
Result:
Winner
PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize
2004
Work:
The Book of Salt
Organization:
PEN America
Result:
Winner
Guggenheim Fellowship
2010
Organization:
John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
Result:
Fellow
American Academy of Arts and Letters Rosenthal Family Foundation Award
2011
Work:
Bitter in the Mouth
Organization:
American Academy of Arts and Letters
Result:
Winner
John Gardner Fiction Book Award
2020
Work:
The Sweetest Fruits
Organization:
Binghamton University (John Gardner Award)
Result:
Winner
Dos Passos Prize
2021
Organization:
Longwood University / Dos Passos Prize
Result:
Winner
PEN Oakland/Josephine Miles Award
2004
Work:
The Book of Salt
Organization:
PEN Oakland
Result:
Winner
Awards & Nominations
PEN Oakland/Josephine Miles Literary Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 14 (2004) Winner
Stonewall Book Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 31 (2004) Winner
John Dos Passos Prize
1 appearances
-
Edition 40 (2021) Winner
Works
Major Works
Watermark: Vietnamese American Poetry & Prose (editor)
1998 AnthologyAn anthology of Vietnamese American poetry and prose, co-edited to highlight community voices.
immigrant experienceidentitycommunity
The Book of Salt
2003 Historical fiction / Literary novelSet in post–World War I Paris, the novel follows Binh, a Vietnamese cook, exploring otherness, sexuality, race, and diaspora.
outsider identityimmigration and identityfood culture
Bitter in the Mouth
2010 Contemporary fiction / LiteraryTells the story of a Vietnamese-American woman growing up in the American South, addressing synesthesia, alienation, and race.
alienationtraumasynesthesia
Vom Lasterleben am Kai (editor)
2017 Edited volumeAn edited volume produced for German-language readership (editorial contribution).
The Sweetest Fruits
2019 Historical fiction / LiteraryA fictionalized recreation of the life of Lafcadio Hearn told through the voices of three women in his life.
reimagined historymultiple voicescultural intersection
Bibliography
- Watermark: Vietnamese American Poetry & Prose (co-ed., 1998)
- The Book of Salt (2003)
- Bitter in the Mouth (2010)
- Vom Lasterleben am Kai (editor, 2017)
- The Sweetest Fruits (2019)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- multivocal narrativedetailed culinary descriptioninterweaving history and personal narrative
- Recurring Motifs
- immigration and diasporaoutsider perspectivefood and memory
Legacy
Recognized for exploring identity through immigrant experience and food; winner of multiple major awards and translated into many languages.
Academic Societies
- American Academy of Arts and Letters (award recipient)
Quotes
-
I learned English from Sesame Street.
Source: Interview / Wikipedia (citation needed) -
Monique Truong’s pen lays bare the outsider's plight with precise, affecting language.
Source: Review (quoted from The Los Angeles Times) (2010)
Trivia
- Arrived in the United States as a refugee from Vietnam with her mother in 1975.
- Has credited learning English to watching Sesame Street as a child.
- Her novels have been translated into at least 14 languages (as of 2020).