Coming this April: Gods and Demons at Kearny Street!

I'm teaching a four-session workshop on Mondays in San Francisco with the acclaimed Kearny Street Workshop on speculative literature for emerging Asian American writers!

Our primary focus will be creating Asian American horror, and naturally also touching on science fiction, fantasy, and mythology.

"How can we interrogate our own diaspora through these genres and develop narratives that are true and authentic to our experiences? What new possibilities could it bring us?"

Space IS limited: I'm only taking on 13 students in this workshop series. But I hope to see you there! 

Over the course of the four sessions, the plan is: An overview of Asian and Asian American horror and speculative literature, where there's room to make our mark, and why?

We'll discuss techniques in traditional and modern ghost and monster stories. Where is there room for innovation, what's worth preserving?

We'll address topics in Morality, the Supernatural, the Cultural and the Political, from Kaiju to the Killing Fields. There'll be discussions of the  Macabre, Memories, and the Mythological. I'm hoping to make it about 1 hour lecture, 1 hour workshop and conversation for each of these.

The learning outcomes will include:

1) An appreciation for Asian and Asian American horror and what distinguishes the two from each other.

2) An understanding of professional techniques for structuring a story, understanding how to be transgressive and challenging without throwing your community under the bus or perpetuating AAPI stereotypes.

3) How to incorporate traditional elements of your heritage into a story and how to research the mythic and the historical for accuracy, while also knowing when to make departures.

4) An understanding of how to format and submit works professionally, and how to navigate professional resources available to you.