Read more
As a mixed-race, bilingual Chinese American woman, Anne grew up unsure where she belonged. In her twenties, she travels alone to live and teach English in China, her mother's birthplace—a long, winding journey that ultimately teaches her to embrace her many layers of identity, claim her voice, speak her truth, and live in the present.
About the author
Anne Liu Kellor is a multiracial Chinese American writer, teacher, editor, and creativity coach. Her essays have appeared in publications such as
Longreads, Witness, The New England Review, Entropy, Normal School, Vela Magazine, and
Fourth Genre. Her work has received fellowships and awards from Hedgebrook, Seventh Wave, Jack Straw, 4Culture, and Hypatia-in-the-Woods. She lives in Seattle, where she facilitates private workshops for women and teaches writing for the Hugo House.
Summary
As a mixed-race, bilingual Chinese American woman, Anne grew up unsure where she belonged. In her twenties, she travels alone to live and teach English in China, her mother’s birthplace—a long, winding journey that ultimately teaches her to embrace her many layers of identity, claim her voice, speak her truth, and live in the present.
Foreword
AUTHOR’S PUBLICITY EFFORT:
• Utilize blurb by Cheryl Strayed, highlighting it on a revamped website and throughout social media, and asking her to post about it.
• Launch an Instagram campaign releasing key quotes from the book, and photos from that era, for 3-6 months prior to publication.
• Enlist a street team to help with launch, posting reviews, sharing the book, and spreading buzz.
• Create an evocative book trailer.
• Continue to teach classes for multiracial people, Asian Americans, and for women in general, utilizing themes from my writing and creating a strong, intimate fan base, person by person.
• Seek other blurbs by high-profile Asian American writers such as Alexander Chee, T Kira Madden, Ruth Ozeki, and Maxine Hong Kingston, as well as Iranian American writer Porochista Kharpour and New Yorker travel writer Peter Heller, who is currently living in Chengdu, the main location of the book.
• Pitch and run excerpts/reviews in journals where the author has published before or has editor contacts, e.g., Longreads, Catapult, Seventh Wave, International Examiner, Northwest Asian Weekly, South Seattle Emerald, Entropy, etc.
• Schedule several launch parties across the Pacific Northwest (pending pandemic restrictions lifting) as well as zoom events, inviting other writer friends to read or be in conversation with author, especially at the Hugo House, where the author is employed.
• Utilize connections to book review editors such as Sarah Neilson (who has written for The Seattle Times, BOMB, Seventh Wave, etc.)
• Utilize connections to Seattle bookstore event coordinators, i.e. Karen Almaeda at Elliot Bay Bookstore and Dana Gaskin at Third Place Books Ravenna.
• Utilize connections to the many Facebook groups the author is active on that cater to Mixed Race people, Women Writers, and more.
• Create incentives to pre-order
• Create book swag including a Heart Radical T-shirt, mug, journal, and cards/magnets/hand sanitizer to send as thank-yous and along with ARCs.
• Hire someone to: revamp website; make a press release; and connect me to more potential interviews, blog tours, feature article opportunities, etc.FN107
