Qin Sun Stubis is a Chinese-American author of the book Once Our Lives: A Memoir of Shanghai, Teahouses, and Three Generations of Family, which tells the story of four generations of Chinese women in Shanghai, China during the Great Famine, navigating war and revolution.
In the latest episode of the Make Meaning Podcast, host Lynne Golodner interviews Qin about her early life, China’s Cultural Revolution and her love of words and storytelling. Qin explains how the loss of her parents inspired her to write a memoir that brings to life her family’s stories and a fascinating part of China’s history. She also discusses her writing process and the challenges she faced as a first-time author. Qin has received awards for this beautiful book and continues to write essays and short stories.
In this episode, Lynne and Qin discuss:
Growing up in poverty and how that influenced her writing
A mother's influence on her love of words
Early memories of writing – quoting Mao Zedong’s quotations
Attending the Shanghai Institute of Foreign Languages
Being a late-blooming writer
A mission to preserve family stories and reputation
Why history and humanity is the same around the world
First-time author challenges along the publishing journey
The importance of the first sentence and first chapter
Forming a support group for older women writers
Her column for the Santa Monica Star
Links and Resources:
Chinese Cultural Revolution
Thomas Hardy
Shakespeare’s Sonnets
Louisa May Alcott
Bessie Streeter Aldrich
Tess of the d’Urbervilles
F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Great Gatsby
Nonfiction Author Association
Miami Book Fair
PenCraft Book Awards
Frank McCourt, Angela's Ashes
Find Qin Sun Stubis:
Website
If you enjoyed this episode, you’ll like these other Make Meaning Podcast episodes:
Episode 156 – Blair Fell – Original Storylines & Unique Characters
Episode 149 – Anne-Marie Oomen – Writing through Family
Episode 146 – Barbara Stark-Nemon – Tracing the Path of Historical Fiction
Episode 139 – Desiree Cooper – Being “Genre Agnostic”
Episode 131 – Weina Dai Randel – The Last Rose of Shanghai
Episode 145 – CL Walters - Young Adult & New Adult Fiction from Hawaii
Episode 144 – Danny Hankner - Founding Story Unlikely
Episode 143 – Annie Cathryn - Dreams Come True: The Friendship Breakup
Episode 142 – Announcing Scotia Road Books
Episode 141 – Tom Sleigh– A Lifetime of Poetry
Episode 140 – Minda Zetlin – On ASJA, Leadership & Writing for Inc.
Episode 139 – Desiree Cooper – Being “Genre Agnostic”
Episode 138 – Sara Bennett Wealer – Connecting with YA Readers
Episode 137 – Christopher P. Locke – Breathtaking Essays & Stories
Episode 136 – Tammy Pasterick – Writing & Publishing Your Way
Episode 135 – Camille Pagan – Making Writing Your Career
Episode 134 – Andrew McDiarmid – Simply Scottish
Episode 133 – Sara Henning – Poetry about Loss & Redemption
Episode 132 – Merryn Glover – Literary Fiction about Place
Weina Dai Randel
Merle Saferstein
Rosina Lippi a.k.a. Sara Donati
Episode 128 – Becky Robinson – Building Reach for Books
Episode 127 – Ly Tran – Writing Unapologetically
Episode 126 – Indigo Willing – Skateboarding, Community & Consent
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