Mon, May 16 from 6pm – 9pm
Museum of Chinese in America, 215 Centre Street
$10 suggested donation; Free for MOCA Members
RSVP Required by Friday, May 13

Experience and Exchange: A Conversation serves as a forum based on dialogue between two individuals in a common field. The event’s objective is to introduce, inspire, and connect young Chinese American and Asian American professionals with the stories and journeys of the invited speakers. Through these influential interactions, the speakers will share their respective experiences and practical wisdom, while the young professionals will explore and consider the lessons learned.
Ava Chin, the Urban Forager columnist for the New York Times, and Wendy Lee, author of the novel Happy Family and an editor at HarperCollins, will join MOCA in dialogue about what it means to be a contemporary Asian American writer, how each of their backgrounds influence their work, and the trajectory that lead them to writing in the first place.

Please join us for an evening spent in good literary company that promises to be both entertaining and illuminating, moderated by Katie Salisbury, MOCA YP membernand book enthusiast, on Monday, May 16 at 7 pm.

Ava Chin is the “Urban Forager” columnist for the New York Times’ City Room—which appears online every other Saturday, and also in the Sunday Metropolitan section. She has written for about food, arts and culture for the Los Angeles Times Sunday Magazine, the Village Voice, BUST, SPIN, VIBE and Martha Stewart online. She earned an MA from the Writing Seminars at Johns Hopkins University and a PhD from the University of Southern California and is an assistant professor at the College of Staten Island-CUNY where she teaches Creative Nonfiction and Journalism. A native New Yorker, Ava forages throughout the five boroughs and the tri-state area, and lectures on edible weeds. She is currently working on a memoir for Simon & Schuster.

Wendy Lee is a graduate of Stanford University and New York University’s Creative Writing Program. Her first novel, Happy Family, was named one of the top ten debut novels of the year by Booklist and was awarded an honorable mention from the Association of Asian American Studies. The recipient of fellowships from the MacDowell Colony and the Corporation of Yaddo, she lives with her husband in New York City, where she is an assistant editor at HarperCollins Publishers.

For more info: MOCA