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Episode 61.5: Loveboat, Taipei with Abigail Hing Wen

Released Wednesday, 29th July 2020

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Episode 61.5: Loveboat, Taipei with Abigail Hing Wen

Wednesday, 29th July 2020

Good episode? Give it some love!

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Jessica Nguyen sits down with Abigail Hing Wen, the author of Asian-American young adult novel “Loveboat, Taipei,” to learn about her journey in becoming a published author. Working in artificial intelligence in Silicon Valley, Abigail had no idea she would ever become a writer. Although she grew up reading books all the time, the idea for a book never came until she graduated from law school in 2007. Her journey started with the novel FOXSTONE and has continued over the course of 12 years where she continued to work on her craft, even getting an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts. 5 books later, she came out with “Loveboat, Taipei,” a story based on her own experiences attending a summer camp in Taiwan where she was able to revel in Asian culture and build amazing relationships. For Abigail, this coming-of-age story was written with the intent for 1) the Asian community to feel that they too can be protagonists of a novel and 2) showcase the diversity and humanity that exists within the community. Tune in to the episode to learn when the sequel is scheduled to be released!

When pitching her work to publishing companies, some challenges she faced included not being able to get through marketing due to gatekeepers not being able to relate with the characters–an issue that writers of color often face in the white-dominant publishing space. Despite these challenges, she has found strength in being able to work with agents who share the same vision for her work. We end the podcast with Abigail telling aspiring novelists to continuously write and find people they can resonate with. Despite all the obstacles and barriers that exist in this journey, she encourages people to never give up since “a writer’s life is mostly rejection.”