From hula tales to literary scandals: Authors to check out for AAPI Heritage Month
May is a busy month in book publishing; it is also Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month. It’s no mere coincidence that the two authors featured below both have sharp thoughts about how difficult it is to navigate a field that has yet to deliver on its promises of representation. R. F. Kuang discusses her novel “Yellowface,” which mashes up several publishing scandals into a cutting satire on tokenism and appropriation. Jasmin ‘Iolani Hakes walks us through the many years it took her to figure out how to write and publish “Hula,” a Hilo-set family tale that never sacrifices truth for accessibility. And a list of six other top reads for May showcases the vast diversity of cultures, styles and genres encompassed by the umbrella term AAPI.
In ‘Yellowface,’ R. F. Kuang has traded in fantasy fiction for a wild satire on literary scandals over appropriation and plagiarism. How and why she did it.
“Hula,” Jasmin ‘Iolani Hakes’ novel of a girl coming of age in Hilo, Hawaii, was a true labor of love in many ways, for an author who struggled to get her story out.
From family sagas that span decades to memoirs about chasing the American dream, these 6 AAPI must-reads hit bookshop shelves this May.
