Brian Leung’s first book, a collection of short fiction titled World Famous Love Acts, won the Mary McCarthy Award in Short Fiction from Sarabande Books and the Asian American Literary Award for fiction. His novel, Lost Men, was released in June by Crown/Shaye Areheart. He joined the
Favorite book or author when you were about 21
The Color Purple by Alice Walker (novel).
“What I appreciated about it was that even the sexuality between women was about love and not about sex; the purity of that resonated with me.”
Book you plan to read next
The History of Animation by Charles Solomon (history).
“I collect animation art, and this is a very comprehensive book about animation as an art form.”
Great book you know you ought to have read but never have
Catcher in the
“Everybody I knew was reading it and considered it transformative and that kind of turned me off.”
Book that has most guided your personal outlook or belief system
Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard (creative non-fiction).
“She shows us that there’s spirituality that can grow out of the natural world.”
Book you are reading now
White Over Black: American Attitudes Toward the Negro, 1550-1812 by
This comprehensive history, written in 1968, is important because “that binary lens is the lens through which we get so much of our conversation about race.”
Book or writer that really inspired you as a writer.
The Force of Spirit by Scott Russell Sanders (creative non-fiction) and Squandering the Blue by Kate Braverman (short fiction).
Of Sanders: “It’s a book that gives other writers the permission to have ‘quietness’ in their writing; he shows that you don’t have to dangle a lot of pots and pans.”
Of Braverman: “There’s an insistence in the writing that if you’re going to put pen to paper you better be certain you’re not going to waste your reader’s time.”
Book you think ought to be required reading for high school
Drown by Junot Diaz (short fiction).
“I think it is a really wise voice in the contemporary immigrant experience.”
