Catherine Chung is an American writer whose first novel, '' Forgotten Country, ''received an Honorable Mention for the 2013

PEN/Hemingway Award The PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Fiction is awarded annually to a full-length novel or book of short stories by an American author who has not previously published a full-length book of fiction. The award is named after Ernest Hemingway and fu ...

, and was an Indie Next Pick, in addition to being chosen for several best of lists including Booklist's 10 Best Debut Novels of 2012, and the ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. ...

''s and Bookpage's Best Books of 2012.Jan Stuart, Fiction Chronicle" "New Books by Jon McGregor and Others"
''The New York Times'', April 22, 2012."Korean-American author’s riveting tale of family secrets"
''Korea Herald'', June 1, 2012, accessed March 13, 2013 She received a 2014

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the feder ...

Fellowship in Creative Writing, and was recognized in 2010 by ''

Granta ''Granta'' is a literary magazine and publisher in the United Kingdom whose mission centres on its "belief in the power and urgency of the story, both in fiction and non-fiction, and the story's supreme ability to describe, illuminate and make ...

'' magazine as one of its "New Voices" of the year. Her second book ''The Tenth Muse'' was released to critical acclaim, and was a 2019 Finalist for a National Jewish Book Award. In 2015 Buzzfeed named her one of 32 Essential Asian American Writers.

Early life and education

Chung was born in

Evanston, Illinois Evanston is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States, situated on the North Shore (Chicago), North Shore along Lake Michigan. A suburb of Chicago, Evanston is north of Chicago Loop, downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skok ...

, and has a brother. She grew up in New York,

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

and

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

. She graduated with a mathematics degree from the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

, and worked at the think tank the

RAND Corporation The RAND Corporation, doing business as RAND, is an American nonprofit global policy think tank, research institute, and public sector consulting firm. RAND engages in research and development (R&D) in several fields and industries. Since the ...

before attending

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

to receive her MFA.

Career

Chung's critically acclaimed debut novel, ''Forgotten Country'', was published in 2012 by Riverhead Books, a division of

Penguin Press Penguin Group is a British trade book publisher and part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by the German media conglomerate Bertelsmann. The new company was created by a merger that was finalised on 1 July 2013, with Bertelsmann initiall ...

. Her second novel, ''The Tenth Muse'' was published in 2019 by Ecco, a division of Harper Collins. She has also published short stories and essays in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', ''

The Rumpus ''The Rumpus'' is an online literary magazine founded by Stephen Elliott (author), Stephen Elliott, and launched on January 20, 2009. The site features interviews, book reviews, essays, comics, and critiques of creative culture as well as origi ...

'', and ''Granta'', and was the recipient of a Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Prize in Poetry. She has been a fellow at the

MacDowell Colony MacDowell is an artist's residency program in Peterborough, New Hampshire. The program was founded in 1907 by composer Edward MacDowell and his wife, pianist and philanthropist Marian MacDowell. Prior to July 2020, it was known as the MacDo ...

Yaddo Yaddo is an artists' community located on a estate in Saratoga Springs, New York. Its mission is "to nurture the creative process by providing an opportunity for artists to work without interruption in a supportive environment.". On March ...

Hedgebrook Hedgebrook is a rural retreat for women writers on Whidbey Island, Washington, founded in 1988. Hedgebrook's artist-in-residence program accepts up to 80 writers each year, who spend two to four weeks in residence working on their diverse writi ...

, Civitella Ranieri, and Jentel, and received support for her writing from the Camargo Foundation, the

Jerome Foundation James Jerome Hill II (March 2, 1905 – November 21, 1972) was an American filmmaker and artist known for his award-winning documentary and experimental films, one of which won him an Academy Award. Career Hill was the child of railroad executiv ...

, and the Constance Saltonstall Foundation. She was a Picador Guest Professor at the

University of Leipzig Leipzig University (), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 December 1409 by Frederick I, Electo ...

, a Director's Visitor at th
Institute for Advanced Study
in Princeton, and an Assistant Professor of Creative Writing at

Adelphi University Adelphi University is a private university in Garden City, New York, United States. Adelphi also has centers in Downtown Brooklyn, Hudson Valley, and Suffolk County in addition to a virtual, online campus for remote students. As of 2019, it had ...

. Chung is the recipient of a 2014 National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in Creative Writing, and a ''Granta'' New Voice.

References

External links

Catherine Chung
Official website
Catherine Chung, "Novel Neighborhoods"
Opinionator blog, ''The New York Times'', October 11, 2012 {{DEFAULTSORT:Chung, Catherine American writers of Korean descent Cornell University alumni University of Chicago alumni Novelists from New York (state) Novelists from Illinois Living people Writers from Evanston, Illinois 21st-century American novelists American women novelists 21st-century American women writers Year of birth missing (living people)