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Author Talk with Vanessa Hua

Forbidden City

Washington Post Best Books of 2022 Longlisted for the Joyce Carol Oates Prize

About the Book 

A teenage girl living in 1960s China becomes Mao Zedong's protégée and lover--and a poster child for the Cultural Revolution--in this provocative, poignant novel from the bestselling author of A River of Stars. On the eve of China's Cultural Revolution and her sixteenth birthday, Mei dreams of becoming a model revolutionary. When the Communist Party recruits girls for a mysterious duty in the capital, she seizes the opportunity to escape her impoverished village. It is only when Mei arrives at the Chairman's opulent residence--a forbidden city unto itself--that she learns that the girls' job is to dance with the Party elites.

About the Author 

Vanessa Hua is an award-winning, best-selling author. Her novel, A River of Stars, was named to the Washington Post and NPR’s Best Books of 2018 lists, and has been called a "marvel" by O, The Oprah Magazine, and "delightful" by The Economist. Her short story collection, Deceit and Other Possibilities,  a New York Times Editors' Choice, received an Asian/Pacific American Award in Literature and was a finalist for a California Book Award, and a New American Voices Award. Her novel, Forbidden City—called “magnificent” by Publisher’s Weekly, a “new classic” by the San Francisco Chronicle, and “masterful” by the Washington Post— is a national bestseller. Previously, she was a longtime columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle. For more than two decades, she has been writing about Asia and the diaspora, filing stories from China, Burma, Panama, South Korea, and Ecuador. She began her career at the Los Angeles Times before heading east to the Hartford Courant. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, San Francisco Magazine, Washington Post, The Atlantic, and Newsweek, among other publications. She is a Visiting Writer at Saint Mary's College of California

Borrow a copy from the Library or Purchase your copy now! 

For this event we have partnered with Old Town Books, a general interest local bookshop in Old Town Alexandria. They are passionate about building a bookish community through in-person and virtual book clubs and author events. Learn more at oldtownbooks.com. 

Pre-orders can be placed online or in-store. The book will be available for in-store pick-up or shipment  beginning April 18. You can find them at 130 South Royal Street in Alexandria, open seven days a week 10AM-7PM. 

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