Jen Sookfong Lee
What I’m looking for . . .
I’m looking for fiction or non-fiction that explores the complicated identities, intersections, and interests of our contemporary world, whether that’s a historical novel with a subversive twist, or a memoir that reveals a story we haven’t yet seen in literature, or a collection of short stories with a varied cast of characters who collide in unexpected ways. I believe strongly in the fluidity of genre and style, and I welcome submissions from authors whose communities have been under-represented in publishing, and who enjoy writing stories that capture hybridity and multiplicity. I believe that literature exists in all spaces, and everyone has a story worth telling. I have edited and published literary fiction, horror, crime, memoir, cultural criticism, and short fiction, and I am open to all forms of prose.
What’s on my bookshelves at home . . .
I have a lot of shelves and a lot of books! Recently, the books that have really changed the way I read and write are In The Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado, How Much of These Hills is Gold by C. Pam Zhang, Sharks in the Time of Saviours by Kawai Strong Washburn, Birdie by Tracey Lindberg, This Body is Yours by Michael V. Smith, and Little Fish by Casey Plett.
What I do outside of work . . .
Mostly, I write my own books, spend too much time in the dog park with my rescue mutt, Rosie, hang out with my son (who is an emerging writer himself, of course), and cook wildly elaborate meals that sometimes fail. I also have a very intense pop culture habit and am often reading about what Harry Styles is doing.
