Parenting Archives - Talking Taiwan Podcast

Cathy Erway on The Food of Taiwan Ep 310

Felicia Lin — Wed, 16 Apr 2025 09:24:01 +0000

Cathy Erway talks about her cookbook The Food of Taiwan.

Last year I came across an article in the Gothamist titled, A Taiwanese food crawl in the East Village with NYC writer Cathy Erway. I have of course heard of Cathy Erway and her cookbook and thought to myself, Why haven’t I had her on Talking Taiwan as a guest yet? For those of you who aren’t familiar with Cathy’s work, she is a James Beard Award-winning food writer and author based in New York City. Her cookbooks include The Food of Taiwan: Recipes From the Beautiful Island and Win Son Presents: A Taiwanese American Cookbook.

Her cookbook, The Food of Taiwan which was published in 2015 is the first cookbook from a major U.S. publisher to explore the food culture of Taiwan from home-style dishes to authentic street food. We talked about how publishers rejected the cookbook at first and how it eventually got published.

She also has a Facebook page called The Food of Taiwan, and if you’re a Taiwanese food lover, I highly recommend liking and following it. On the page, Cathy shares news about Taiwanese food like where to get the best Taiwanese food in and out of Taiwan, and new Taiwanese restaurant openings.

Cathy Erway’s journalism has appeared in The New York Times, Food & Wine, Eater, Grub Street, T: The New York Times Style Magazine and more. She is a columnist at TASTE, and received the James Beard Award for Home Cooking journalism in 2019. In 2021, she received the IACP Culinary Award for her column.

This episode is part of the trailblazing Taiwanese women’s series sponsored by NATWA the North America Taiwanese Women’s Association, which was founded in 1988. To learn more about NATWA visit their website, www.natwa.com.

Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:

How Cathy started off writing a blog called Not Eating Out in New York, which led to her first book, The Art of Eating In
Cathy’s cookbook The Food of Taiwan
The article in the Gothamist about Taiwanese restaurants in the East Village
Cathy’s Facebook page The Food of Taiwan
How Cathy has had a Google alert set on the term Taiwanese food for 20 years
How things have changed in the 10 years since The Food of Taiwan was published
How the owners of Taiwanese restaurants in New York City (Win Son, 886, and Ho Foods) are all friends
How Yun Hai Taiwanese Pantry has contributed to the interest in Taiwanese cuisine
How Cathy learned to cook and her parents’ cooking styles
How Cathy’s family is foodies
Cathy’s connection to Taiwan
What went into creating The Food of Taiwan
How the photography of The Food of Taiwan was an important part of the cookbook
How The Food of Taiwan got rejected by several publishers
How The Food of Taiwan is a snapshot of all the foods in Taiwan including home-style foods and street food, up to 2015, the year it was published
How The Food of Taiwan includes foods that are unique to Taiwan
How the recipes in The Food of Taiwan suggests substitutions for certain ingredients that might be hard to find
How Cathy met Josh Ku and Trigg Brown of Win Son
How Cathy collaborated with Josh Ku and Trigg Brown of Win Son on Win Son Presents a Taiwanese American Cookbook
How hard it was to convince the editor to publish The Food of Taiwan
Other Taiwanese cookbooks that have been written by Clarissa Wei, Frankie Gaw, Tiffy Chen, and George Lee
How Cathy is working on an article about the frozen dumpling business for Taste
Topics that Cathy writes about like how tamari is a different product in Japan vs. the U.S.
Té Company tea house in the West Village, Yumpling restaurant in Long Island City, Ho Food restaurant in the East Village
Cathy’s favorite Taiwanese dish is sān bēi jī (three cup chicken)
How Taiwanese breakfast foods are now available at Win Son Bakery and Ho Foods

A Conversation on “The Translator’s Daughter” A Debut Memoir by Author Grace Loh Prasad Ep 304

Felicia Lin — Sat, 08 Feb 2025 13:50:44 +0000

Grace Loh Prasad’s debut memoir, is The Translator’s Daughter. I spoke with her about how she started off writing it and how it evolved over the two decades it took to write it.

A lot can happen in two decades. One by one Grace started losing her family members- her brother, mother and father. Her memoir is very much about loss, not just the loss that Grace experienced of her family members, but also her lost connection to Taiwan. When Grace was just two years old her family left Taiwan and moved to the U.S. and then Hong Kong. Her parents didn’t return to Taiwan until Grace was in college in California.

I found the book moving and appreciated how Grace was able to take her grief and personal experiences and put them into this beautifully written book. If you’d like to hear Grace reading an excerpt from The Translator’s Daughter, check out the episode right before this one, episode 303.

Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:

What motivated Grace to start writing her memoir
How the memoir evolved and changed over the twenty years it took to write and complete it
What changed in her life during those two decades
How Grace lost her brother to cancer, her mother to Alzheimer’s and father to Parkinson’s
The challenge of maintaining a connection with Taiwan and relatives there due to language barriers
The unconventional style of the book which is a mix of narrative chapters and essays
Grace’s writing process and how she put the book together
What Grace learned in the process of writing the book
How her family’s migrations due to her father’s work affected Grace and her brother Ted
How to find belonging in a place that you don’t intend to stay
How Grace feels about being a third culture kid
How much of the writing in the book comes from Grace’s diary entries
What Grace left out of the book
People who have reached out to Grace about her book because they knew her father and his work translating the Bible
Grace reflects on her father’s education and career compared to her own
How Grace’s family’s story doesn’t fit the typical immigrant or model minority story
The op ed Grace wrote about Taiwan’s 2000 presidential election
How important Taiwanese Americans have been in highlighting issues in Taiwan
How Taiwan is excluded from international organizations and events like the UN, WHO, Olympics
The authors and books that have influenced Grace
How her book touches on mythology, film, music, and art
Her family’s connection to the Thornberries and Milo Thornberry who wrote Fireproof Moth: A Missionary in Taiwan’s White Terror
Grace’s advice for someone struggling with writing their first book
Feedback and reactions that Grace has gotten to the book
How it’s worthwhile to make the effort to pass on specific things from one’s culture or family to children or the next generation

Michelle Krusiec: Acclaimed Actor, Writer, and Director Talks About Dealing with Institutional Racism and her Sources of Inspiration Ep 279

Felicia Lin — Thu, 21 Mar 2024 17:35:55 +0000

Last September I had the pleasure of interviewing actor, writer and director Michelle Krusiec. Her IMDB page displays an impressive list of acting roles dating back to 1992.

We talked about the different phases of her career starting with her one-woman show, Made in Taiwan, which earned her much critical acclaim. She wrote, directed and acted in it in her 20s. Then there was her first main character role in a feature film, Saving Face, a film that put her on my radar and so many others’ in 2004. In 2020 she portrayed the legendary Anna May Wong in the Netflix series Hollywood. Stepping into that role helped her to rethink the institutionalized racism that she’s experienced as an actor. Michelle also talked about her directorial projects, and expressed her thoughts on the SAG-AFTRA strike, and so much more.

March is Women’s History Month and so we thought this would be the perfect time to release the first episode of the Trailblazing Taiwanese Women’s series sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women’s Association, which was founded in 1988. To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com

Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:

How she got on the path of acting
The stereotypical Asian roles she took on early in her career
The struggles she’s faced in her acting career
How playing the role of Anna May Wong helped her to rethink the institutional racism that she’s faced as an actor
Her first leading role in a feature film (Saving Face)
How she grew up she didn’t see many people who looked like her on television and longed to change that
How Michelle prepared for her role in Saving Face by going to Taiwan to learn Mandarin
How Michelle prepared for her role as Anna May Wong in the Netflix series Hollywood
Michelle’s directing projects
Michelle’s one woman show Made in Taiwan and how it opened doors for her and got her a deal with ABC TV
How anti-Asian hate became more prevalent during the pandemic but was around long before
Her upbringing and how it impacted her early career
Michelle’s Washington Post op ed piece
How a fortune teller impacted Michelle’s adoption
The connection between Made in Taiwan and Michelle’s short film, Bite
Michelle’s short film Nian
Michelle’s thoughts on motherhood and parenthood
The writing/directing projects that Michelle is working on
Michelle’s thoughts on the SAG-AFTRA strike
Michelle’s support for SB 805, a bill that supported funding for nonprofit theaters
How Michelle was affected by the BLM (Black Lives Matter) demonstrations that arose during the pandemic
Michelle’s advice to others who want to pursue acting or directing
Michelle’s connection to Taiwan

Abigail Hing Wen: NY Times Best-Selling Author Launches her New YA Book “Loveboat Forever” Ep 261

Felicia Lin — Tue, 21 Nov 2023 16:16:53 +0000

Abigail Hing Wen was recently in New York for the launch of her latest YA book Loveboat Forever, the third book in her Loveboat trilogy. We caught up with her at her book launch and she stopped by our podcast studio for a quick visit.

If you’re a long-time listener of Talking Taiwan you may remember when we interviewed Abigail (who’d just become a New York Times bestselling author) about her first YA novel of this series, Loveboat Taipei in episode 67.

Here’s the video of our recent interview with Abigail, when she stopped by our Talking Taiwan studio in NYC.

We’ll be having Abigail back on Talking Taiwan at a later date for a more in-depth interview.

Taliyah Huang: Young Inventor of Bobaway, Online Translator that Converts English to Taiwanese Ep 253

Felicia Lin — Wed, 06 Sep 2023 09:49:35 +0000

Taliyah Huang is the creator of Bobaway, an online translator that converts English text into a Taiwanese audio clip. She is a sophomore studying biomedical engineering at Johns Hopkins University. After months away at college Taliyah felt her Taiwanese was out of practice so she created Bobaway to get better at Taiwanese and converse fluently with her grandparents. In June she posted a YouTube video about how she created it. A lot has happened since then. She’s been interviewed by TaiwaneseAmerican.org and listed on the Taiwanese American Archives. Many generous donors have allowed her to continue running Bobaway and she’s purchased a domain for it so now you can use Bobaway at Bobaway.org.

She’s continuing to work on improvements and additional features for BobaWay, but at much slower pace now that she’s busy with school. If you want to support her development of Bobaway visit her website www.taliyahhuang.com.

Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:

What motivated Taliyah to create Bobaway
How Taliyah got interested in technology
Taliyah’s first invention was a contraption to clean her flute
How Taliyah presented her first invention to US Vice President Mike Pence
Taliyah’s background and upbringing
Taliyah’s relationship with her grandparents
Taliyah’s favorite phrases in Taiwanese
How Taliyah learned to program and code
What Taliyah enjoys most about being an engineer
How Taliyah installed 100 different libraries and made 17 attempts to create Bobaway
How long it took Taliyah to create Bobaway
Why Taliyah decided to make and post a YouTube video showing how she created Bobaway
How Taliyah wants to inspire other young women to be interested in technology and engineering
Why Taliyah thinks it’s important for women to other women in STEM (Science Technology Engineering Math)
What kept Taliyah going and how she was not able to give up on creating Bobaway
How long it took Taliyah to make the YouTube video about Bobaway
Where the name Bobaway comes from
What her parents and grandparents think about Bobaway
The attention and response that Bobaway has gotten
How Taliyah has been interviewed by Bao Dao Radio and Radio Taiwan and World Journal
How Taliyah grew up in California and is now on the East Coast attending Johns Hopkins University
Why Taliyah decided to attend Johns Hopkins and what it’s been like attending Johns Hopkins
Inventions that Taliyah is currently working on
Suggestions that Taliyah has gotten from people using Bobaway
Taliyah’s role models
How you can learn more about Taliyah and support her development of Bobaway

Graci Kim: From New Zealand Diplomat to New York Times Best Selling Author Ep 223

Felicia Lin — Tue, 10 Jan 2023 11:24:00 +0000

Graci Kim is a New York Times Bestselling author of the Gifted Clans series. In 2012, she was interviewed for Talking Taiwan about her cooking show called Graci in the Kitchen. We’ve invited her back to give us an update on what she’s up to do these days.

She’s been a New Zealand diplomat, once ran a business that turned children’s drawings into cuddly toys, and given a TED Talk in 2018 that still resonates today.

She spoke with us about her Korean roots, how she decided to become a writer, what it was like when her book, The Last Fallen Star hit the New York Times Bestseller list, and her writing process.

This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women’s Association.

NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is:

to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women’s dignity,
to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality,
to fully develop women’s potential and encourage their participation in public affairs,
to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan,
to reach out and work with women’s organizations worldwide to promote peace for all.

To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com

Talking Taiwan has a donor who is willing to make a $5,000 matching donation!

Help us double what we raise to $10,000 by MAKING A CONTRIBUTION to Talking Taiwan at:

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Checks or money orders made payable to Talking Taiwan can be sent to:

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https://talkingtaiwan.com/support/

Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:

What happened to Graci’s cooking show, Graci in the Kitchen
Graci’s TED Talk in 2018 and how what she talked about in the talk still resonates today
Korea’s occupation by Japan and how that impacted Graci’s family
Graci’s Korean roots
Graci’s Gifted Clans trilogy and the inspiration behind it
The connection between the Percy Jackson and the Olympians book series and Graci’s Gifted Clans trilogy
Graci’s writing process and routine
How Graci had a career as a diplomat and decided to try being a writer
Writers who have influenced Graci
What it was like when Graci’s book Last Fallen Star hit the New York Times Best Seller List
Graci’s advice for first time writers
Graci’s sources of inspiration and ideas for her writing

A Master Class in Art and Life with Guy Gilchrist Famous Cartoonist for the Muppets Ep 214

Felicia Lin — Sat, 26 Nov 2022 15:29:48 +0000

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

On November 5^th we hosted a special live online event for people to experience the artistry of Master Cartoonist Guy Gilchrist. Guy’s artwork is enshrined in the Smithsonian Museum and first lady Nancy Reagan has declared him a national treasure. In this episode we share highlights from the event.

HURRY! LAST CHANCE! YOU CAN WIN ALL OF GUY’S DRAWINGS FROM THIS PODCAST BY DONATING $25 OR MORE TO TALKING TAIWAN!

Guy has generously donated all 10 of the drawings he did that night of various Muppets and classic cartoon characters. You own Guy’s artwork! Just enter to win his drawings by simply by making a donation of $25 or more to TalkingTaiwan.com/support by 11:59 EST on November 30.

To Donate, the EASIEST WAY IS TO click this link and go to the Talking Taiwan Support Page

Alternatively, you can go directly on PayPal and use talkingtaiwanpodcast@gmail.com

*Note: When donating with PayPal or with a credit or debit card, be sure to select the option “Sending to a friend” to avoid withheld commissions

Guy has generously donated all 10 of the drawings he did that night of various Muppets and classic cartoon characters. You own Guy’s artwork! Just enter to win his drawings by simply by making a donation of $25 or more to TalkingTaiwan.com/support by 11:59 EST on November 30

To see Guy in action and draw along with his tutorials visit our YouTube channel and watch A Master Class In Art and Life with Guy Gilchrist: Famous Cartoonist for The Muppets.

https://youtu.be/aijIsddfo8c

A full replay of the event (which is over two hours long) is also available on our YouTube channel. Guy Gilchrist: The Muppets Master Cartoonist Main Event REPLAY

We want to thank Guy Gilchrist and his cameraman Rich for sharing his amazing talent with us. Aside from being a talented artist, Guy really knows how to bring happiness to others through his art, as you’ll see if you watch any of the recordings of the event that we’ve posted on our YouTube channel.

A portion of the money raised will benefit Guy’s favorite charity World Central Kitchen.

This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women’s Association.

NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is:

to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women’s dignity,
to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality,
to fully develop women’s potential and encourage their participation in public affairs,
to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan,
to reach out and work with women’s organizations worldwide to promote peace for all.

To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com

Here are the highlights from this episode:

[Go to You Tube Video “A Master Class…” to get the timestamps for topics covered during the episode]

Michelle Kuo and Albert Wu: On a Broad and Ample Road and the Taiwanese Presbyterian Church Shooting Ep 209

Felicia Lin — Fri, 21 Oct 2022 15:43:23 +0000

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

In mid-June I spoke with Michelle Kuo and Albert Wu about their weekly newsletter, A Broad and Ample Road. They began writing it in 2020 as a way to keep in touch with people during the pandemic. We also spoke about the shooting at the Irvine Taiwanese Presbyterian church in Laguna Woods which had happened a month before on May 15^th.

We discussed how the shooting sparked debate on the shooter’s identity as Taiwanese or Chinese, and the terms benshengren (本省人) and waishengren (外省人) which are commonly used in Taiwan to differentiate people. Michelle reflected on how the close-knit nature of the Taiwanese community in Laguna. Her parents live five minutes from the church and knew members of the Taiwanese community in Laguna Woods. Albert shared why he felt that in a different life the shooter could have been one of his uncles.

Michelle Kuo is a social activist, lawyer, teacher, and writer. She is an associate professor at the American University of Paris in History, Law, and Society and a visiting associate professor at National Taiwan University.

Albert Wu is a historian and an associate research fellow at the Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica.

This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women’s Association.

NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is:

to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women’s dignity,
to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality,
to fully develop women’s potential and encourage their participation in public affairs,
to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan,
to reach out and work with women’s organizations worldwide to promote peace for all.

To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com

Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:

Why Michelle and Albert named their newsletter A Broad and Ample Road
Why Michelle and Albert started their newsletter
The piece that Michelle and Albert wrote about how Taiwan’s pro-China media depicts Ukraine and Russia
How Michelle thinks that writing doesn’t have to be a solidary activity
How Michelle and Albert decide what to write together
How Michelle and Albert write together
What Michelle and Albert’s writing process is
How Michelle and Albert deal with disagreements in the writing process
How often the newsletter is published
One of the most enjoyable things about writing the newsletter
How the newsletter had connected them with a variety of people who can relate to the things Michelle and Albert write about
Michelle’s piece about moving to Taiwan
Michelle and Albert have envisioned the newsletter being bilingual and through a grant from Substack have been able to work with translators
Michelle’s book Reading With Patrick has been translated into Chinese
The shooting at Irvine Taiwanese Presbyterian Church in May
Divisions between the different groups of people who identify as Taiwanese and Chinese in Taiwan
The terms benshengren (本省人) and waishengren (外省人)
The Chinese character for sheng (省) means province which is how Taiwan was referred to under the Republic of China initially until constitutional amendments were made
The term the “49ers” which refers to the Chinese that fled China with the with the Kuomintang to Taiwan in 1949
How the gunman of the shooting at Irvine Taiwanese Presbyterian Church was a son of waishengren
Albert and Michelle’s experiences growing up a family that was a mix of bengshengren and waishengren
The discrimination that Albert’s waishengren uncles experienced in Taiwan
How Michelle was raised by her parents to identify as Chinese American
The debate over whether to call the gunman Taiwanese or Chinese
The idea that the term Taiwanese can be inclusive, multicultural
The waishengren identity as victim vs. privileged
The variety of reactions to the Taiwanese Presbyterian Church shooting
Michelle’s parents’ connection to the members of the Taiwanese Presbyterian Church
How members of the Taiwanese community in Laguna Woods coexist and interact despite their differences in political opinions
How the circumstances of the shooter David Chou’s life were unraveling
What makes someone become a killer or a hero
The types of communities that could contribute to making people in to heroes or killers
The brutal impact of authoritarian regimes on all members of its society
Activists in the opposition (dangwai) movement have included waishengren, aboriginal, Hakka and other groups

Emily Wu Truong: Award-Winning Mental Health Speaker Inspires Others to Find Meaning in Their Struggles Ep 198

Felicia Lin — Thu, 28 Jul 2022 06:28:01 +0000

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

Emily Wu Truong is a motivational mental health speaker. She is affiliated with NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness and has been involved with this organization for the last 8.5 years speaking on mental health awareness. I’ve invited her on to Talking Taiwan as a guest since July is BIPOC (Black Indigenous People of Color) Mental Health Month. Emily spoke with me about her own struggles with mental health, and suicide. She has a passion for working with youths on mental health related issues. She also shared her thoughts about the oppression and trauma experienced firsthand or as generational trauma by the people of Taiwan, and how it could impact one’s mental health.

About Emily Wu Truong

Emily Wu Truong is an award-winning mental health advocate, nationally-recognized motivational speaker, catalytic thought leader, community educator, playwright and published author. For over a decade, Emily has worked tirelessly to create more compassionate & accepting communities by bringing mental health education wherever she goes. As a speaker, Emily utilizes her story from depression to self-actualization, inspiring others to find meaning in life struggles. She has spoken to a variety of audiences, including students from elementary school to graduate school students, school administrators, teachers, families, law enforcement, faith-based communities, medical and mental health professionals and many more. Over the years, in recognition of Emily’s efforts to raise awareness on mental health and emotional resilience, she has been featured in the California Mental Health Movement “Each Mind Matters,” Good Morning America, NBC Asian America, LA 18 and World Journal (世界日報). Emily has also been honored with the “2015 Woman of Achievement Award” by former Senator Ed Hernandez. Also in 2015, Emily was honored with the Youth and Young Adult Leadership Award at the 29th Annual National Alternatives Conference in Memphis, Tennessee. In 2017, the Los Angeles County Supervisors honored Emily’s request to establish May 10th as “Asian Pacific American Mental Health Day.” In 2018, former Assemblyman Ed Chau honored Emily with the 2018 Make A Difference Award. Emily has become a role model for many, sharing her life lessons and delivering her message that helplessness is not hopelessness and that with help, there is hope.

This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women’s Association.

NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is:

to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women’s dignity,
to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality,
to fully develop women’s potential and encourage their participation in public affairs,
to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan,
to reach out and work with women’s organizations worldwide to promote peace for all.

To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com

Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:

Why she’s been called the lady in green
How Emily tries to talk about mental health in a positive light
The struggles that Emily felt growing up
How the painting “The Potato Eaters” by Van Gogh reminds her of how she felt disconnected from her family in the past
How she started asking existential questions about life when she was in junior high
Competitiveness in the Asian culture
Comparisons made by Asian parents, families and relatives
Emily’s passion for the mental health of youth
How important it is for kids to have supportive friends
How Emily struggled in elementary school and was bullied in junior high
Emily’s best friend in high school Enoch who helped her to get through high school
How Emily used dating as a coping skill in the past
How Emily is a suicide survivor what her to consider suicide and what stopped her from committing suicide
Emily’s thoughts on school shootings
Her first experience with a therapist and counseling in college
How Emily wants to help young people to develop coping skills to deal with their parents and peers so that they don’t need to internalize things
How Emily took an interest Taiwan in order to bond with her mother
How Emily competed in the Miss Taiwan pageant
How Emily discovered that her mother’s cousin is Taiwanese activist Koh Se Kai and that encouraged her to be more outspoken
How Emily got involved in the Write in Taiwanese Census Bureau, TACL and FAPA
Emily’s thoughts on how the people of Taiwan have been oppressed and how and trauma experienced firsthand or as generational trauma could impact one’s mental health
Author Iris Chang who died by suicide
Emily’s work with NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness)

Celebrating Children’s Day in Taiwan: Margaret Chiu Greanias Talks About Her Latest Book “Amah Faraway” Ep 177

Felicia Lin — Wed, 06 Apr 2022 11:31:18 +0000

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

April fourth is Children’s Day in Taiwan, which is great timing for this interview with children’s book author Margaret Chiu Greanias. She spoke with me about her latest book Amah Faraway, which has many of its scenes set in Taipei, Taiwan. Margaret shared how she became a children’s book author, what she loves about picture books, how they get created and what she’s working on next.

This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by the Taiwan Elite Alliance 優社 and the Taiwanese United Fund.

The Taiwan Elite Alliance 優社 was established in 2000 to promote Taiwanese and Taiwanese American arts and literature, and to protect and enhance the human rights, freedom and democracy of the people in Taiwan.

The Taiwanese United Fund is an arts and culture foundation that celebrates the cultural heritages of Taiwanese Americans. Established in 1986, the foundation’s mission is to facilitate cultural exchange between the Taiwanese American community and other American cultural communities, hoping to enrich and expand our cultural experiences. To learn more about TUF visit their website http://www.tufusa.org/

Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:

How Amah Faraway is written as a reverse poem
What is a reverse poem
The reverse poem, “The Lost Generation” by Jonathan Reed that inspired Margaret to write Amah Faraway as a reverse poem
What inspired Margaret to write Amah Faraway
How much of the book was based on Margaret’s relationship with her amah and on her children’s relationship with their amah (Margaret’s mother)
How Margaret’s children react to reading her books
Margaret’s memories of visiting Taiwan as a child
How Margaret got connected with the illustrator of Amah Faraway
Tracy Subisak the illustrator of Amah Faraway who is half Taiwanese and her special contributions to the book, which included the use of Mandarin Chinese
The Two Tigers nursery rhyme that amah sings to Kylie in Amah Faraway
How children’s picture books can be written first without an illustrator or written with a specific illustrator, in which case the manuscript and sketches would be sent together to an editor
How Margaret’s first book Maximillian Villainous was created with illustrator Lesley Breen Withrow, and the manuscript and sketches were sent together to an editor
How the movie Despicable Me inspired the idea for Margaret’s first children’s book Maximillian Villainous
When the editor chooses the illustrator for a picture book usually the author and illustrator aren’t introduced to each other, and the illustrator works independently to interpret the words of the story in their own way
How picture books are half about the words and half about the art
How Margaret decided to become a children’s book author
What Margaret was doing before she became a children’s book author
Margaret’s favorite books as a child
How Margaret decides to write about
Margaret’s writing process
Margaret writes picture books for ages 3-8 but would like to also write chapter books for middle grade (8-12 years old)
What Margaret loves about picture books and writing for the 3-8 year old age group
World Read Aloud Day
The Five Chinese Brothers, an American children’s book written by Claire Huchet Bishop
What’s involved in the process of getting a children’s book published
The challenge of writing a story in 500 words or less
Children’s books that Margaret recommends
Margaret’s next book, Hooked on Books that will be coming out next summer

Parenting Archives - Talking Taiwan Podcast

Cathy Erway on The Food of Taiwan Ep 310

Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:

Related Links:

A Conversation on “The Translator’s Daughter” A Debut Memoir by Author Grace Loh Prasad Ep 304

Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:

Related Links:

Michelle Krusiec: Acclaimed Actor, Writer, and Director Talks About Dealing with Institutional Racism and her Sources of Inspiration Ep 279

Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:

Related Links:

Abigail Hing Wen: NY Times Best-Selling Author Launches her New YA Book “Loveboat Forever” Ep 261

Related Links:

Taliyah Huang: Young Inventor of Bobaway, Online Translator that Converts English to Taiwanese Ep 253

Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:

Related Links:

Graci Kim: From New Zealand Diplomat to New York Times Best Selling Author Ep 223

Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:

Related Links:

A Master Class in Art and Life with Guy Gilchrist Famous Cartoonist for the Muppets Ep 214

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

HURRY! LAST CHANCE! YOU CAN WIN ALL OF GUY’S DRAWINGS FROM THIS PODCAST BY DONATING $25 OR MORE TO TALKING TAIWAN!

Here are the highlights from this episode:

Related Links:

Michelle Kuo and Albert Wu: On a Broad and Ample Road and the Taiwanese Presbyterian Church Shooting Ep 209

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:

Related Links:

Emily Wu Truong: Award-Winning Mental Health Speaker Inspires Others to Find Meaning in Their Struggles Ep 198

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:

Related Links:

Celebrating Children’s Day in Taiwan: Margaret Chiu Greanias Talks About Her Latest Book “Amah Faraway” Ep 177

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:

Related Links: