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Steph Cha

ステフ・チャ

Steph Cha

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1986 （Van Nuys, California, U.S.）
Nationality
American
Languages
English
Residence History
Van Nuys, California (birth) → Encino, California (grew up)

Career

Occupations
Writer, Novelist
Active Years
2013-
Influenced By
Jonathan Gold (influence)

Education

Stanford University
School of Humanities and Sciences / English and East Asian Studies
Country: United States
Studied English and East Asian Studies
Yale Law School
Law School / Law
Degree: Juris Doctor
Country: United States
Earned a Juris Doctor (J.D.)

Awards

Los Angeles Times Book Prize (Mystery/Thriller)
2019
Work: Your House Will Pay
Category: ミステリー／スリラー
Organization: Los Angeles Times
Result: Won
Anthony Awards (Anthony–Novel)
2020
Work: Your House Will Pay
Category: アンソニー–ノベル
Organization: Anthony Awards
Result: Nominated
Barry Award (Barry–Novel)
2020
Work: Your House Will Pay
Category: Barry–Novel
Organization: Barry Awards
Result: Nominated
New Blood Dagger (long/nominee)
2020
Work: Your House Will Pay
Category: New Blood Dagger
Organization: Gold Dagger
Result: Nominated
Lefty Award (Lefty–Novel)
2020
Work: Your House Will Pay
Category: Lefty–Novel
Organization: Left Coast Crime
Result: Nominated
Macavity Award (Macavity–Novel)
2020
Work: Your House Will Pay
Category: Macavity–Novel
Organization: Macavity Awards
Result: Nominated
Young Lions Fiction Award
2020
Work: Your House Will Pay
Organization: The New York Public Library
Result: Nominated
Aspen Words Literary Prize (Longlist)
2020
Work: Your House Will Pay
Category: ロングリスト
Organization: Aspen Words
Result: Longlist

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Follow Her Home

2013 Crime fiction 288 pages

The first Juniper Song mystery. Set in Los Angeles, the private investigator pursues a missing young woman and confronts injustices within immigrant communities.

immigrant experienceLos Angelescrimesocial injustice

Beware Beware

2014 Crime fiction 304 pages

A sequel in the Juniper Song series. As past crimes cast a shadow on the present, the novel explores complex relationships and violence in the city's underbelly.

traumacommunityviolence

Dead Soon Enough

2015 Crime fiction 292 pages

The third in the series. Set in Los Angeles immigrant communities, the investigation of a murder reveals deep backgrounds of victims and perpetrators.

justiceimmigrant communitiesidentity

Your House Will Pay

2019 Stand-alone crime fiction / social novel 304 pages

Set against the accidental killing of a Black teen by a white teen in Los Angeles, the novel examines revenge, atonement, and America's racial history, exploring individual choices and structural injustice.

racerevenge and atonementhistorical legacy

Bibliography

  • Follow Her Home (2013)
  • Beware Beware (2014)
  • Dead Soon Enough (2015)
  • Your House Will Pay (2019)
  • "Treasures in Heaven" (short story, Los Angeles Review of Books, 2013)

Adaptations

  • TV series "Butterfly" (co-created and co-written)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
tight, precise proseblend of noir elements with social commentaryattentive depictions of Los Angeles geography and food culture
Recurring Motifs
Los Angeles settingsimmigration and familyfood/restaurant cultureviolence and its aftermath

Legacy

Steph Cha has established a reputation for crime fiction grounded in immigrant experiences and Los Angeles' multicultural landscape; her 2019 novel "Your House Will Pay" won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize (Mystery/Thriller), marking her as an important contemporary American voice.

Archives

  • Yale LUX (items related to Steph Cha in Yale collections)

In Popular Culture

  • Involved in screen media as co-creator of the Amazon Prime Video series "Butterfly"

Trivia

  • Has contributed food writing and book reviews to the Los Angeles Times.
  • Has posted more than 2,400 reviews on Yelp and has held the Yelp Elite reviewer designation for years.