Subtle Asian Book Club is proud to present our second annual virtual conference, ✨ Subtle Asian Book Con! ✨ Mark your calendars and get excited.

The conference is completely ~free~, but we are hosting an auction fundraiser for the Asian Mental Health Collective (AMHC), a Section 501(c)(3) non-profit dedicated to making mental health easily available, approachable, and accessible to Asian communities worldwide. Check out what's for auction on our Instagram! Special thank you to all the sponsors and authors for kindly donating items to auction.

When? Saturday, June 3rd, 2023

  

Where? Our YouTube Channel!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgjVmPbo3c4&ab_channel=subtleasianbookclub


SCHEDULE OF EVENTS


PANEL 1: How to Heal Your Inner Reader

Rediscover the Power of Books and Embrace Your Inner Reader's Journey to Find Healing, Inspiration, and Delight!

8:10 AM - 9:00 AM PT / 11:10 AM - 12:00 PM ET

Moderated by: Alexandra @twirlingpages

Alexandra (she/her) is a Chinese-American digital creator (@twirlingpages) and film student based in NYC. She's the co-founder of Subtle Asian Book Club and heads the creative direction. While she originally started as a bookstagrammer and blogger, her content has evolved to center self-improvement and stories. When she isn’t working after work or picking up a new hobby, she can be found exploring the city, online shopping, or eating bread.

Breanna @breannaquan

Breanna (she/her) is a digital creator (@breannaquan.xo) and pharmacy student based in ON, Canada. She creates productivity and wellness videos and is a resource for students and young adults looking for inspiration on how to succeed both academically and personally. Breanna can be found listening to Taylor Swift, cooking for friends, and romanticizing life's little moments as she navigates her 20s.

Elle @ellereadsomebooks

Elle (she/her) is a 23 year old Korean bookstagrammer from California. After majoring in English Literature, she created a bookstagram to continue her love for reading. She also loves writing, making Spotify playlists for every occasion, painting, baking, and overpriced tea. Her favorite genres include: literary fiction, memoirs, history, and the occasional good romance. She currently lives in Hong Kong with her family.

Zoe
@zoenotzoey

Zoe (she/her) is a Chinese-American creative based in NYC. Her content focuses on sharing the ever-evolving journey of navigating her 20s. When she’s not reading, she can be found wandering the city with a matcha in hand, or at a local dog park. You can find her on YouTube at @zoenotzoey.


PANEL 2: Shattering Stigmas

How does storytelling effectively capture the mental health of Asian communities? Let’s explore the impact and importance of books that aim to shatter the stigma by representing Asian mental health and all of its intersectionalities.

9:00 AM - 9:55 AM PT / 12:00 PM - 12:55 PM ET

Moderated by: Alyxandria @alyxandriaang

Alyxandria Ang (she/her) is a Taiwanese and Chinese-American content creator and mental health advocate based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. She graduated from Macalester College with a dual degree in Environmental Studies and Creative Writing. She is passionate about mental health advocacy at the intersection of storytelling and literature. She now works as a NAMI Next Gen Youth Advisor and is the host of the mental health podcast, a is for anxious.

Adib Khorram

Adib Khorram (he/him) is the author of Darius the Great Is Not Okay, which earned the William C. Morris Debut Award, the Asian/Pacific American Award for Young Adult Literature, and a Boston Globe–Horn Book Honor, as well as a multitude of other honors and accolades. He is also the author of Darius the Great Deserves Better, which received three starred reviews, was an Indie Bestseller, and received a Stonewall Honor, Seven Special Somethings: A Nowruz Story, and Kiss & Tell. When he isn’t writing, you can find him learning to do a Lutz jump, practicing his handstands, or steeping a cup of oolong. He lives in Kansas City, Missouri, where people don’t usually talk about themselves in the third person.

Deb JJ Lee

Deb JJ Lee (they/them) is a Korean American illustrator and graphic novelist based in Brooklyn, NY who began their dive into independent illustration in 2020 after leaving Silicon Valley as a full-time product designer/illustrator. They have appeared in the New YorkerWashington PostNPRGoogleRadiolabPBS, and more. Books they have illustrated include The Invisible Boy by Alyssa Hollingsworth (Roaring Brook Press, 2020) and The Other Side of Tomorrow by Tina Cho (HarperCollins, 2024). They enjoy reality tv, sparkling water, and pretending to be an extrovert.

Lio Min

Lio Min (they/them) writes about music, magic, and sadness at the nexus of queer youth culture and metamorphic Asia America. Their culture reporting and fiction have appeared in The FADER, the Asian American Writers’ Workshop, Nylon, and many other outlets. Their debut novel, Beating Baby Heart, is out now. They live in California.

Alexandra Chang

Alexandra Chang (she/her) is the author of Days of Distraction and the forthcoming Tomb Sweeping. She is a National Book Foundation 5 under 35 honoree. Her writing has appeared in Zoetrope: All-Story, The New York Times, Harper’s Bazaar, Guernica, and elsewhere. She currently lives in Ventura County, California with her husband, and their dog and cats.


📖 5 minute break! 📖


PANEL 3: South Asian Celebrations

journey through the beauty of south asian narratives and explore the importance of its representation in literature

10:00 AM - 10:55 AM PT / 1:00 PM - 1:55 PM ET

Moderated by: Azanta @azantareads

Azanta (she/her) is a 24-year-old from Florida, now living in Boston, Massachusetts. She loves reading and shares her reviews and recommendations on Instagram and TikTok under @azantareads. She also co-runs Barakah Book Club, a book club that highlights books by Muslim authors. She works as a project manager for a climate nonprofit and is also pursuing her master’s in public health. In her free time, she loves cooking and traveling.

S.J. Sindu

SJ Sindu (she/them) is a Tamil diaspora author of two literary novels (Marriage of a Thousand Lies, which won the Publishing Triangle Edmund White Award; and Blue-Skinned Gods, which was an Indie Next Pick and a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award), two hybrid chapbooks (I Once Met You But You Were Dead, which won the Split Lip Turnbuckle Chapbook Contest; and Dominant Genes, which won the Black Lawrence Press Black River Chapbook Contest), two forthcoming graphic novels (Shakti and Tall Water), and one forthcoming collection of short stories (The Goth House Experiment). Sindu holds a PhD in Creative Writing from Florida State University and teaches at Virginia Commonwealth University and Vermont College of Fine Arts.

Sabina Khan

Sabina Khan (she/her) is the acclaimed author of What A Desi Girl WantsMeet Me in MumbaiZara Hossain Is Here and The Love and Lies Of Rukhsana Ali. She has lived in Germany, Bangladesh, Macao, Illinois and Texas before finally settling down in Vancouver, BC. When she’s not writing, you can find her playing with her adorable puppy, picking new songs for Karaoke or sitting in a coffee shop dreaming up new stories and characters.
Her books have received starred trade reviews; were a Junior Library Guild Selection, a Teen Indie Next Pick, were on the “Best Of” lists of Oprah Magazine and Seventeen, were featured on NBC News and the BBC, the NYT, Teen Vogue, as well as short-listed for the Sheila A. Egoff Children’s Literature Prize and the Ontario Library Association’s White Pine Awards.

Rati Mehotra

Born and raised in India, Rati Mehrotra (she/her) now lives and writes in Toronto, Canada. She is the author of the science fantasy novels Markswoman (2018) and Mahimata (2019) published by Harper Voyager. Her YA fantasy debut novel Night of the Raven, Dawn of the Dove was published in October 2022 by Wednesday Books. Flower and Thorn will be out in October 2023. Her short fiction has been shortlisted for The Sunburst Award, nominated for The Aurora Award, and has appeared in multiple venues including The Magazine of Fantasy & Science FictionLightspeed MagazineUncanny Magazine, Apex MagazinePodcastleCast of Wonders, and AE – The Canadian Science Fiction Review.

Adiba Jaigirdar

Adiba Jaigirdar (she/her) is the award-winning, critically-acclaimed and bestselling author of The Henna Wars, Hani & Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating, A Million to One, and The Dos and Donuts of Love. A Bangladeshi/Irish writer and former teacher, she has an MA in Postcolonial Studies from the University of Kent, England and a BA in English and History from UCD, Ireland. She is the winner of the YA book prize 2022, the KPMG Children’s Books Ireland Awards 2021, and was a finalist for the 2022 Lambda Literary awards. All of her writing is aided by tea, and a healthy dose of Janelle Monáe and Hayley Kiyoko. When not writing, she is probably ranting about the ills of colonialism, playing video games, or expanding her overflowing lipstick collection.


📖 5 minute break! 📖


PANEL 4: Beyond the Bookshelf

Let's travel past the literary pages. Hear from pillars of the publishing industry on the behind the scenes of the book world!

11:00 AM - 11:55 AM PT / 2:00 PM - 2:55 PM ET

Moderated by: Tiffany @readbytiffany

Tiffany (she/her) is a Taiwanese-American bookstagrammer and book blogger. She had the idea of creating Subtle Asian Book Club in December of 2019 and dragged encouraged Alexandra to join in launching the project. She manages the logistical side of the club. When she isn't traveling for work or making spreadsheets for fun, she can be found annotating her favorite books, marathoning webcomics, staying up late reading manga, and brainstorming new ideas.

James Akinaka

James Akinaka (he/him) works as a Digital Marketing Coordinator at Penguin Young Readers, where he works on influencer marketing and social media campaigns for Penguin Young Reader’s Young Adult publishing list, including authors like Sabaa Tahir, Renée Ahdieh, and John Green. During his time at Haverford College, he majored in English, minored in computer science, and wrote a creative writing senior thesis. One of his first internships after graduating was at a literary agency, where he learned that while he loved reading novels

Daphne Tonge

Daphne Tonge (she/her) is the founder and owner of Illumicrate, the UK’s first YA and crossover book subscription box since 2015, and a wonderful community of avid book lovers. She’s also Marketing Director for inclusive children’s publisher Knights Of, an event chair, and a 2020 Kitchies judge. Previously, she was an award-winning book blogger from 2011-2018 and a judge for the YA Book Prize and The Gollancz and Rivers of London BAME award. She lives in London, but is a Chinese-Filipino born and raised in Manila. She can usually be found fangirling over first editions & fictional princes, and recommending books on social media.

Ellen Oh

Ellen Oh (she/her) used to be a lawyer and an adjunct college instructor before realizing that it was all very boring and she enjoyed writing books much more. She is the author of the middle grade novels Finding Junie Kim, The Dragon Egg Princess, and The Spirit Hunters trilogy, and the YA fantasy trilogy The Prophecy Series. She is the editor of the middle grade anthology Flying Lessons and Other Stories, and the YA anthology A Thousand Beginnings and Endings. Ellen is also a founding member of We Need Diverse Books (WNDB), a non-profit organization dedicated to increasing diversity in children’s literature.


📖 5 minute break! 📖


PANEL 5: Heartstrings & Happily Ever After

It’s a love story…baby just say yes! Hear from your favorite romance writers on how they craft the perfect happy endings.

12:00 PM - 12:55 PM PT / 3:00 PM - 3:55 PM ET

Moderated by: Lacey @laceybooklovers

Lacey (she/her) is a lover of all things romance, though she’s especially a sucker for a good second-chance romance. You can find her on Instagram and YouTube as @LaceyBooklovers chatting about everything from contemporaries to dark romances, historicals to paranormal romances, and everything in between. When she’s not reading or filming videos, she’s busy finding new restaurants to try and looking forward to her next travel plans.

Cathy Yardley

Cathy Yardley (she/her) is an award-winning author of romance, chick lit, and urban fantasy, who has sold over 1.2 million copies of books for publishers like St. Martin's, Avon, and Harlequin. She writes fun, geeky, and diverse characters who believe that underdogs can make good and sometimes being a little wrong is just right. She likes writing about quirky, crazy adventures, because she's had plenty of her own: she had her own army in the Society of Creative Anachronism; she's spent a New Year's on a 3-day solitary vision quest in the Mojave Desert; she had VIP access to the Viper Room in Los Angeles. Now, she spends her time writing in the wilds of East Seattle, trying to prevent her son from learning the truth of any of said adventures, and riding herd on her two dogs (and one husband.) 

Grace Callaway

USA Today & International Bestselling Author Grace Callaway (she/her) writes hot and heart-melting historical romance filled with mystery and adventure. Her debut novel was a Romance Writers of America Golden Heart® Finalist and a #1 National Regency Bestseller, and her subsequent novels have topped national and international bestselling lists. She has won the Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery and Suspense, the Maggie Award for Excellence, the Golden Leaf, and the Passionate Plume Award, and her books have been shortlisted for numerous other honors. She holds a doctorate in clinical psychology from the University of Michigan and lives with her family in a valley by the ocean. When she's not writing, she enjoys dancing, dining in hole-in-the-wall restaurants, and going on adapted adventures with her special son.

Jayci Lee

Jayci Lee (she/her) writes poignant, sexy, and laugh-out-loud romance every free second she can scavenge. She lives in sunny California with her tall-dark-and-handsome husband, two amazing boys with boundless energy, and a fluffy rescue whose cuteness is a major distraction. At times, she cannot accommodate real life because her brain is full of drool worthy heroes and badass heroines clamoring to come to life. Because of all the books demanding to be written, Jayci writes full-time now, and is semi-retired from her fifteen-year career as a defense litigator. She loves food, wine, and travelling, and incidentally so do her characters. Books have always helped her grow, dream, and heal, and she hopes her books will do the same for you.

Nisha Sharma

Nisha Sharma (she/her) is the critically acclaimed author of YA and adult contemporary romances including My So-Called Bollywood Life, Radha and Jai’s Recipe for Romance, The Singh Family Trilogy and the If Shakespeare was an Auntie series. Her books have been listed in best of lists by The New York Times, The Washington Post, Cosmopolitan, Entertainment Weekly and more. She lives in Pennsylvania with her Alaskan husband, her cat Lizzie Bennett and her dog Nancey Drew. You can find her online at Nisha-sharma.com or on TikTok and Instagram @nishawrites.



📖 5 minute break! 📖


PANEL 6: From Newbie to Novel

Enter the storyteller's workshop and learn about the author journey to debut!

1:00 PM - 1:55 PM PT / 4:00 PM - 4:55 PM ET

Moderated by: Trinity Nguyen

Trinity Nguyen (she/her) is a Vietnamese American author and a recent graduate of Franklin & Marshall College. She writes messy diaspora kids and queer girls with big smiles and big hearts, and currently lives in Southern California with her cats. Her YA debut, A BANH MI FOR TWO, is forthcoming from Macmillan/Henry Holt BFYR fall 2024.

Ann Zhao

Ann Zhao (she/her) is a student at Wellesley College, where she studies linguistics with a minor in women’s and gender studies. At various points in college, she participated in the student-run newspaper and the student-run radio station, processed interlibrary loans for the college library, and assisted in research for two linguistics labs, including one that wasn’t even at Wellesley. Doing all this was not good for her writing schedule.
When not at school, Ann lives with her family in Illinois. She enjoys cooking, baking, and knitting, but she does not enjoy cleaning up after herself when she’s done with these activities. She collects cassette tapes of her favorite artists’ albums because vinyls feel like too much of a commitment. She is a big proponent of getting a good night’s sleep and an even bigger proponent of diverse representation in media.

Carolyn Huynh

Carolyn Huynh (she/her) grew up in Orange County, California, not appreciating the weather enough. She has a BA in journalism from Seattle University and an MS in human centered design from the University of Washington. The youngest daughter of Vietnamese refugees, her writing focuses on her mother’s tall tales, superstitions, the diaspora, and memory (both real and imaginary). She especially loves stories about messy Asian women who never learn from their mistakes. After living up and down the West Coast, she currently resides in Los Angeles with her rabbit and dog. She still doesn’t appreciate the weather enough. When she’s not writing, Carolyn daydreams about having iced coffee on a rooftop in Saigon. Follow her on Twitter @CarolynKHuynh. 


E.L. Shen

E. L. Shen (she/her) is a writer and editor living in New York City. Her debut middle grade novel, The Comeback (Farrar Straus Giroux Books for Young Readers) is a Junior Library Guild Selection, received two starred reviews, and was praised for its “fast-paced prose, big emotions, and authentic dialogue” in The New York Times. Her forthcoming young adult novel, The Queens of New York (Quill Tree Books) was won in a six-figure preempt and is scheduled to publish in Summer 2023.

Trang Than Tran

Trang Thanh Tran (they/she) is a Vietnamese American writer telling all stories scary, otherworldly, and emotional. Trang grew up in a big family in Philadelphia but now calls the South home. They’re an alum of the Writing Barn’s Rainbow Weekend and Tin House’s YA Fiction Workshop. When not writing, they’re busy trying new food and watching too many zombie movies. Their Gothic horror debut SHE IS A HAUNTING is an instant New York Times and Indie bestseller. You can find them on Twitter under @nvtran.


📖 5 minute break! 📖


PANEL 7: Annotate Between the Lines

Grab a cup of tea, your current read, and some cozy reading essentials! Learn how to annotate without fear from your favorite bookstagrammers.

2:00 PM - 2:55 PM PT / 5:00 PM - 5:55 PM ET

Moderated by: Tina @bookedtildawn

Tina (she/her) is a bookstagram coach based out of California, where she loves inspiring people to read and help bookstagrammers and authors grow their Instagram platforms. Her favorite genres and fantasy and romance. She loves annotating, hand lettering, and hanging out with her family.

Sammira @blissfulreveries

Sammira (she/her)has been an avid reader all her life and finds joy in sharing her love of books and media through her bookstagram. Her favorite genres are fantasy and romance and she loves annotating because it allows her to incorporate bits of herself in her favorite stories.

Jasmine
@xojazzle

Jasmine (she/her) loves anything romance! Whether it’s books, manga, or movies, an epic love story will have her hooked in. She shares her thoughts, reactions, and reviews on whatever she’s reading or watching on social media to connect with a community of people who enjoy the same things.

Jessica @jessabibliophile

Jessica (she/her) is a lover of books and she loves sharing her reading journey through bookstagram in hopes to inspire others to read. Her favorite genres are fantasy and romance. She loves annotating because it allows her to connect with books even more. In her spare time, she loves to workout, go to Disneyland, and spend time with her family.


PANEL 8: Young Readers, Big Stories

Adventure is out there! embark on a journey with the middle grade authors who dedicate stories to our younger selves

3:00 PM - 3:55 PM PT / 6:00 PM - 6:55 PM ET

Moderated by: Breana @milkyboos

Breana is a Vietnamese-American content creator with a deep love of adventure stories and any book that will make her ugly cry. When she's not reading another soul-crushing novel, you can find her binge watching the latest episode of her favorite shounen anime, listening to TWICE's greatest hits, or playing with her demon puppy Tofu.

Shanthi Sekaran

Shanthi Sekaran is the author of The Samosa Rebellion. Her most recent adult novel, Lucky Boy, was named an IndieNext Great Read and an NPR Best Book of 2017. Her writing has also appeared in The New York Times, Salon.com, LA Review of Books and Huffington Post. When she's not writing books, she writes for television, on the staff of the NBC medical drama, New Amsterdam. Shanthi lives in Berkeley with her family and a cat named Frog.

Christina Li

Christina Li (she/her) is the author of Clues to the Universe and Ruby Lost and Found, and is a recent graduate of Stanford University. At any given time she is probably daydreaming about characters and drinking too much jasmine green tea. She grew up in the Midwest and California but now calls New York home.

Saadia Faruqi

Saadia Faruqi is a Pakistani American author and interfaith activist. She writes the popular children’s early reader series “Yasmin” and other children books. Her middle grade novels include “A Place At The Table”, “A Thousand Questions”, and “Yusuf Azeem Is Not A Hero”. Saadia is editor-in-chief of Blue Minaret, a magazine for Muslim art, poetry and prose, and was featured in Oprah Magazine in 2017 as a woman making a difference in her community. She lives in Houston, TX with her husband and children. 


CLOSING

3:55 PM - 4:00 PM PT / 6:55 PM - 7:10 PM ET


We hope to see you there! 🤍

Team Subtle Asian Book Club