Award-Winning AANHPI Authors
“Fill your mind with knowledge—it’s the only kind of power no one can take away from you.” – Min Jin Lee, Pachinko
By Emily Sayre
May is Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month, and the timing has two important reasons: May 7th, 1843 was when the first Japanese immigrants came to the United States and May 10th is the anniversary of when the first transcontinental railroad was completed, and primarily built, by Chinese immigrants and workers in 1869. Knowing that this month was created as a time to recognize those of AANHPI descent who made such a lasting impact, it only makes sense to look at those who are currently making history as activists, translators, educators, and authors.
Viet Thanh Nguyen
Viet Thanh Nguyen is a South Vietnamese-born American professor and novelist. He is the Aerol Arnold Chair of English and a Professor of English, American Studies, and Ethnicity at the University of Southern California. Viet is an op-ed columnist for The New York Times, covering immigration, refugees, politics, culture, and Southeast Asia. He was also elected as the first Asian American member of the Pulitzer Prize Board in 2020, the first in its 103-year history.
The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen
Viet Thanh Nguyen’s debut novel, The Sympathizer (2015), is the recipient of many prestigious awards: Pulitzer Prize for Fiction (2016), Edgar Award for Best First Novel (2016), and Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction (2016) to name a few. This story follows a communist double agent who emigrated to America after the Fall of Saigon. While building a new life with other Vietnamese refugees in Los Angeles, he secretly reports back to his communist superiors in Vietnam.
The Sympathizer is a gripping espionage novel that explores themes of love, friendship, and the Americanization of the Vietnam War in international literature. HBO’s limited series adaptation of this book was released in 2024.
Helen Zia
Helen Zia is an award-winning Chinese American author and an Asian American and LGBTQIA+ rights activist. She helped found the American Citizens for Justice, a civil rights advocacy organization that aims to protect the civil and human rights of all individuals, with particular interest in regards to Asian Americans. She received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from the University of San Francisco and an honorary Doctor of Laws from the City University of New York Law School for bringing important matters of law and civil rights into public view. You can read more about Helen on the Museum of Chinese in America website.
Last Boat Out of Shanghai: The Epic Story of the Chinese Who Fled Mao’s Revolution by Helen Zia
Helen Zia’s book, Last Boat Out of Shanghai: The Epic Story of the Chinese Who Fled Mao's Revolution (2019), was on the shortlist for the PEN/Jacqueline Bograd Weld Award for Biography in 2020 and named one of the best books of the year by NPR in 2019. This book follows four people who experienced the terror and hardship of the 1937 Japanese invasion and occupation of China, and offers a firsthand account of what it was like to live through Communist China.
In preparation for writing this book, Helen interviewed hundreds of exiles about their journey, one of which was her mother.
Ken Liu
Ken Liu is a Chinese American author of speculative fiction. He is the winner of the Nebula, Hugo, and World Fantasy awards for his fiction. His breakthrough contribution to the science fiction genre was his English translation of The Three-Body Problem (2008) by Liu Cixin, which went on to win the 2015 Hugo Award, being the first novel in translation to win this prestigious prize. It opened the gates for new translations of Chinese science-fiction literature, a genre that is dominated by American and British authors. Liu scouts Chinese books to translate through internet forum searches and referrals from friends.
The Grace of Kings by Ken Liu
Ken Liu’s book, The Grace of Kings (2015), won the Locus Award for Best First Novel (2016), and was also nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Novel (2015) and the Seiun Award for Best Translated Novel (2017). This debut epic fantasy series, in which engineers play the role of wizards, follows two men who rebel together against tyranny, and then become rivals themselves.
The series is described as silkpunk, a term coined by Liu himself, to describe its technological aesthetic based on a science fictional elaboration of traditions of engineering in East Asia’s classical antiquity.
Geena Rocero
Geena Rocero is a Filipino-born American writer, director, model, and transgender advocate. She is the founder of Gender Proud, a media production company that tells stories of transgender communities worldwide to elevate justice and equality. Rocero has spoken about transgender rights at the United Nations Headquarters, the World Economic Forum, and the White House. In her 2014 TED Talk, Rocero publicly came out as transgender for the first time, using her platform as a model and activist to raise awareness and visibility for transgender individuals.
Horse Barbie by Geena Rocero
Geena Rocero’s book, Horse Barbie (2023), is a heartfelt memoir of her life as a transgender pageant queen from the Philippines who went back into the closet to model in New York City, until she realized that living her truth was the only way to step into her full power. This is a celebratory and universal story of survival, love, and pure joy.
Min Jee Lee
is a Korean American author and journalist who mainly writes about the Korean diaspora and has MANY awards under her belt. She won the Fitzgerald Prize for Literary Excellence in 2024 for continuing the legacy of American storytelling while also exemplifying her craft, wit, and social insight. For her writing and leadership, Lee was inducted into the Hall of Fame for the New York Foundation for the Arts and New York State Writers and honored by the Columbia University Weatherhead East Asian Institute, the Asian American Journalists Association, the Korean American Community Foundation, and the Council of Korean Americans.
[IMAGE: Pachinko]
Pachinko by Min Jee Lee
Min Jee Lee’s book, Pachinko (2017), won the Reading Women Award for Fiction (2017), was a finalist for the National Book Award for Fiction (2017), and was a nominee for the Goodreads Choice Award for Historical Fiction (2017) and the Audie Award for Literary Fiction & Classics (2025). This epic historical fiction novel follows a Korean family who immigrated to Japan during the 20th century, detailing the good parts (love, sacrifice, ambition, loyalty) and bad parts (racism, discrimination, stereotyping) of the 20th-century Korean experience of Japan.
And More!
These five authors are not the only award-winning AANHPI authors, they are just a drop in the ocean. Between authors and activists, translators and teachers, everyone can find their new favorite author by reading more Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander books!