Jessamine Chan on Writing the Weird Book She Wanted to Write
In Conversation with Alex Higley and Lindsay Hunter on I'm a Writer But
Welcome to I’m a Writer But, where two writers-and talk to other writers-and about their work, their lives, their other work, the stuff that takes up any free time they have, all the stuff they’re not able to get to, and the ways in which any of us get anything done. Plus: book recommendations, bad jokes, okay jokes, despair, joy, and anything else we’ve got going on that week. Hosted by Lindsay Hunter and Alex Higley.
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In this episode, Alex and Lindsay talk with Jessamine Chan (The School for Good Mothers) about writing and rewriting her novel, her love of experimental fiction, Lydia Kiesling as our fave parent influencer, the silent scream inside gentle parenting, being an instant bestseller, and more!
From the episode:
Jessamine Chan: I think the thing that’s really exciting, now that there’s been a little more time to process it, is I wrote the weird book that I wanted to write. It’s not been super easy to say what it’s about or to explain its marketability, and the fact that a pretty weird, dark book found an audience is a pretty lucky thing. I hope that over time it makes it possible for other writers of color, especially Asian writers, to write their weird books, too.
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Jessamine Chan’s short stories have appeared in Tin House and Epoch. A former reviews editor at Publishers Weekly, she holds an MFA from Columbia University and a BA from Brown University. Her work has received support from the Elizabeth George Foundation, the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, the Wurlitzer Foundation, Jentel, the Kimmel Harding Nelson Center, the Anderson Center, VCCA, and Ragdale. She lives in Chicago with her husband and daughter.
