World Literary Awards

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Tom Lin

トム・リン

Tom Lin

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
Beijing, China
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Residence History
Beijing (birth) → Flushing, Queens, New York City → Davis, California (study/residence)

Career

Occupations
Novelist
Active Years
2021-

Education

Pomona College
Country: United States
Attendance reported; specific degree and graduation year not specified
University of California, Davis
English (doctoral program) / Department of English
Degree: 博士課程在学
Country: United States
Reported as pursuing a doctorate as of 2021

Awards

Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction
2022
Work: The Thousand Crimes of Ming Tsu
Category: フィクション
Organization: Andrew Carnegie Medal selection committee
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Thousand Crimes of Ming Tsu

2021 Western (Weird West / supernatural elements)

A revenge-driven Western set in the 1860s about Ming Tsu, a Chinese American assassin who seeks vengeance after railroad barons kidnap his lover and force him into labor on the transcontinental railroad. The novel subverts the traditionally white-centered Western and explores themes of identity and race, with elements of the supernatural.

revengeidentityrace and exclusionfrontier/railroad

Bibliography

  • The Thousand Crimes of Ming Tsu (Little, Brown and Company, 2021)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
energetic, compact narrative voicereworking historical genre conventions (Western)
Recurring Motifs
journey of revengerailroad and land developmentborders/transgressionsearch for identity

Legacy

His debut novel received strong acclaim for reexamining the Western through a racialized perspective. Winning the 2022 Andrew Carnegie Medal increased his recognition as an emerging writer.

Quotes

  • "With a Chinese American gunslinger, he's challenging the whiteness of Westerns."
    Source: The New York Times (article) (2021)

Trivia

  • Won the 2022 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction for his debut novel.
  • Reported as the youngest winner of the Carnegie medal at the time of the award.