C Pam Zhang
Novelist of How Much of These Hills is Gold and Land of Milk and Honey, and a National Book Foundation 2020 "5 Under 35" Honoree
Jamie Ford
New York Times-bestselling author and book club favorite
Jamie Ford at Thousand Oaks Reads: One City, One Book 2011
International bestselling and award-winning author Jamie Ford is popular with audiences of all ages, and is a favorite for community reads, First Year Experiences, and book club programs.
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About Jamie Ford
Jamie Ford is the award-winning author of the bestselling novel Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, which was awarded the Asian Pacific American Award for Literature and was on the New York Times bestseller list for over two years. Ford’s second novel, Songs of Willow Frost, was also a New York Times best seller, and as with its predecessor, has also been a favorite among community reading programs.
Ford’s latest book The Many Daughters of Afong Moy was a Read with Jenna Today Show Book Club Pick, an instant New York Times bestseller, and recipient of the Pacific Northwest Book Award.
Ford is an alumnus of the Squaw Valley Community of Writers and of Orson Scott Card’s Literary Boot Camp. His works have been translated into over 35 languages. Having grown up near Seattle’s Chinatown, he now lives in Montana with his wife and one-eyed pug.
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Speaking Topics
The History of a Love Story: The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet
From Romeo and Juliet to Titanic, noble romantic tragedies have been a part of our cultural DNA. In this talk, Jamie Ford discusses the power of love stories to cross cultural borders, and how emotional tales that tug at our heartstrings can become a storyteller’s superpower.
Racebending: Adventures in a Bicultural World
In an early example of cultural appropriation, Jamie Ford’s great-grandfather changed his name from Min Chung to William Ford––it’s been an adventure ever since. Jamie discusses the challenges (and comforts) of growing up bi-racial, and writing multi-cultural fiction in a world of Twitter outrage, sensitivity readers, and political correctness.
The Social Responsibility of Historical Fiction
Known for his ability to weave fiction and history into compelling novels, Jamie Ford discusses what draws him to lost history. He also discusses the responsibility, and challenges, of presenting uncomfortable truths to a modern world.
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Video
Jamie Ford speaks during BEA Breakfast for Librarians 2013
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJ92fCann-I
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Praise for Jamie Ford
Jamie is an incredible person and a great addition to any program. Our teachers appreciated his warmth, humor and ability as a speaker. Over 200 teachers purchased the lunch ticket to hear him speak. He was certainly the favorite speaker of the five who spoke last weekend.
— California Association of Teachers of EnglishPraise for Love and Other Consolation Prizes
Heartbreaking, wondrous, triumphant.
— Ken Liu, author of The Paper Menagerie and Other StoriesIrresistibly magnificent . . . How does a novel genius top himself? Jamie Ford’s newest takes an extraordinary moment in history, where vice lives alongside innocence, and transforms it into a dazzling, hold-your-breath story about the families we make and the ones we are thrust into, about who we are and who we dreamed we could be.
— Caroline Leavitt, author of Pictures of You and Cruel Beautiful WorldAll the charm and heartbreak of Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet . . . Based on a true story, Love and Other Consolation Prizes will warm your soul.
— Martha Hall Kelly, author of Lilac GirlsFord is a master at shining light into dark, forgotten corners of history and revealing the most unexpected and relatable human threads. . . . A beautiful and enthralling story of resilience and the many permutations of love.
— Jessica Shattuck, author of The Women in the CastleA gripping story about the unpredictability of life—particularly the life of an immigrant; the poignancy of surviving; and above all, the incredible power of love to heal even the most shameful wounds. Jamie Ford has created a fascinating world, bookended by Seattle’s two World Fairs, and peopled it with colorful, brave characters we care deeply about in this masterful job of storytelling.
— Melanie Benjamin, New York Times bestselling author of The Swans of Fifth AvenuePraise for Songs of Willow Frost
One of those rare books that move right into your heart and stay there. Ford's new - and long-awaited - book is a delight to read, and is destined to become a book-club favorite.
— Anne Fortier, author of JulietHeartbreaking . . . Ford writes of American life in the 1920s and ’30s, bustling with go-getters and burdened with trampled masses.
— KirkusJamie Ford is a first-rate novelist whose first book, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, was a joy to read. He tells a brilliant story with a prose that is both concise and lovely. With his new book he takes a great leap forward and has the uncanny ability to move me to tears.
— Pat Conroy, author of South of Broad and The Death of SantiniI could not turn away from the haunting story or the stunning historical details that bring Depression-era Seattle to cinematic life. Jamie Ford has a laser eye for the small details that define cultures. But it is his boundless compassion for the human spirit, in all its strengths and weaknesses, that makes him one of our most unique and compelling storytellers.
— Helen Simonson, author of Major Pettigrew’s Last StandJamie Ford has done it again, creating characters so full of passion and courage that we cannot help but follow them into the pages of history. Ford is a natural storyteller who eloquently captures the love between mother and child: their hopes, sacrifices, and need for forgiveness. Songs of Willow Frost is both tender and devastating, a tale of longing for love, and final redemption.
— Jean Kwok, author of Girl in Translation -
Books by Jamie Ford
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Media About Jamie Ford
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and Availability
- 212 572-2013
- Jamie Ford travels from Great Falls, MT
Featured Title
Love and Other Consolation Prizes
“An evocative, heartfelt, beautifully crafted story that shines a light on a fascinating, tragic bit of forgotten history.”—Kristin Hannah, author of The Nightingale
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