Gina Chung is an American writer. In 2023, she published her debut novel, Sea Change, with Vintage, and in 2024, Vintage published her short story collection, Green Frog. She graduated from The New School with an MFA in fiction in 2021 and was a 2021 Center for Fiction Emerging Writer Fellow.
Early life
editChung was born in Queens, but her parents, Korean immigrants, moved to New Jersey shortly after. Chung's family lived in a predominantly white part of the area, but they frequently visited the Korean American part of town on weekends and for church. In Electric Literature, Chung recalled the "cultural whiplash" of seeing one community on the weekdays in school versus another community on the weekends.[1]
Career
editChung's writing has been published in BOMB Magazine, One Story, Split Lip, Wigleaf, Catapult, and others.[2][3][4][5][6] Her Wigleaf story, "Mantis", won a Pushcart Prize and was later published in The Pushcart Prize XLVII: Best of the Small Presses 2023 Edition.[7]
Chung attended the MFA program at The New School and graduated in 2021. There, she worked on various short stories—some of which would later be included in her 2024 release, Green Frog—as well as the manuscript for her debut novel, Sea Change, which was her thesis despite not initially intending to write a novel during her studies.[8][9][10][11] In 2021, Chung was awarded a Center for Fiction Emerging Writer Fellowship.[12][13] A year later, in 2022, Chung was hired as a programs manager at Kundiman.[14] Previously, Chung worked at PEN America.[15]
In March 2023, Chung published Sea Change with Vintage.[16] Chung stated that she had finished the first manuscript in a few months in 2020.[8][17] It was longlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize and earned numerous other accolades including becoming a Barnes & Noble Discover Pick and an Asian Pacific American Librarians Association Adult Fiction Honor Book.[18][19][20] In March 2024, Chung released a short story collection, Green Frog, with Vintage, which went on to become a Good Morning America Book Buzz Pick.[21][22] The same year, Chung judged the Masters Review Best Emerging Writers contest.[23]
Bibliography
edit| Type | Title | Year | Publisher | ISBN | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Novel | Sea Change | 2023 | Vintage | ISBN 978-0593469347 | [16] |
| Short story collection | Green Frog: Stories | 2024 | ISBN 978-0593469361 | [21] |
References
edit- ^ Chan, Vanessa (2023-03-28). "Losing My Octopus Best Friend is the Final Straw". Electric Literature. Retrieved 2024-11-11.
- ^ Chung, Gina. "Names for Fireflies". BOMB Magazine. Retrieved 2024-11-11.
- ^ Chung, Gina. "The Arrow". one-story.com. Retrieved 2024-11-11.
- ^ Chung, Gina (2020-08-14). "Green Frog". Split Lip Magazine. Retrieved 2024-11-11.
- ^ Chung, Gina. "Mantis". wigleaf.com. Retrieved 2024-11-11.
- ^ Chung, Gina. "How to Eat Your Own Heart". Catapult. Retrieved 2024-11-11.
- ^ Henderson, Bill, ed. (December 6, 2022). The Pushcart Prize XLVII: Best of the Small Presses 2023 Edition. Pushcart Press. ISBN 978-0960097791.
- ^ a b "An Interview with Gina Chung". The Idaho Review. 2024-03-12. Retrieved 2024-11-11.
- ^ Kesh, Jonathan. "An Interview with MFA '21 Gina Chung and an Excerpt from her Debut Novel 'Sea Change'". litmagazine.org. Retrieved 2024-11-11.
- ^ Cody, Sarah Jane. "Gina Chung Interview". Pigeon Pages. Retrieved 2024-11-11.
- ^ "Gina Chung by Jen Lue". BOMB Magazine. Retrieved 2024-11-11.
- ^ "Meet Our 2021 Emerging Writer Fellows". The Center for Fiction. Retrieved 2024-11-11.
- ^ Truong, Brian (2023-06-28). "The Presence in Absences: A Conversation with Gina Chung". The Rumpus. Retrieved 2024-11-11.
- ^ "Welcome Our New Staff!". Kundiman. 2022-10-05. Retrieved 2024-11-11.
- ^ "The PEN Ten: An Interview with Gina Chung". PEN America. 2023-03-30. Retrieved 2024-11-11.
- ^ a b "SEA CHANGE". Kirkus Reviews.
- ^ Amit, Swetha (2023-08-19). "A Conversation With Gina Chung". Atticus Review. Retrieved 2024-11-11.
- ^ "2023 First Novel Prize". The Center for Fiction. Retrieved 2024-11-11.
- ^ "2023 B&N Discover Picks of the Month". Barnes & Noble. Retrieved 2024-11-11.
- ^ "2024 Asian/Pacific American Awards for Literature Winners". APALA. 2024-01-22. Retrieved 2024-11-11.
- ^ a b "GREEN FROG". Kirkus Reviews.
- ^ "'Green Frog' by Gina Chung is our 'GMA' Buzz Pick". Good Morning America. March 16, 2024. Retrieved 2024-11-11.
- ^ "A Conversation with Gina Chung, Best Emerging Writers Guest Judge". mastersreview.com. 2024-05-10. Retrieved 2024-11-11.