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Jamie Ford Biography, Books, and Similar Authors

Author Biography  | Interview  | Books by this Author  | Read-Alikes

Jamie Ford
Photo: Laurence Kim

Jamie Ford

Jamie Ford Biography

Jamie Ford is the great-grandson of Nevada mining pioneer Min Chung, who emigrated from Hoiping, China to San Francisco in 1865, where he adopted the western name Ford, thus confusing countless generations. His debut novel, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, spent two years on the New York Times bestseller list and went on to win the 2010 Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature. His work has been translated into thirty-five languages. Having grown up in Seattle, he now lives in Montana with his wife and a one-eyed pug.

Jamie Ford's website

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Interview

Jamie Ford discusses his first novel, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet; where the inspiration came from, and how his own heritage and experiences are reflected in the novel (video and text).

In a video profile and text Q&A, Jamie Ford discusses his first book, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter & Sweet



Where did the idea for Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet come from?
It really started with the "I Am Chinese" button - this thing my father mentioned wearing as a kid. There was a bit of an identity crisis in the International District in the wake of Pearl Harbor. Many Chinese families feared for their safety, especially as the FBI was rounding up prominent members of the Japanese community. It piqued my curiosity and really led me to research the whole period.

From there I wrote a sliver of a short story, really nothing more than a vignette, and I submitted it to the now-defunct Picolata Review, where it was ultimately accepted. A few weeks later I was accepted to an intensive, immersive, week-long literary boot camp run by science fiction and fantasy writer Orson Scott Card - where we literally read and wrote fifteen to seventeen hours a day. It was while attending that camp in Virginia that Scott inspired me to write what he termed "a noble romantic tragedy." That story was called "The Button," about a Chinese boy (Henry) that tried to prevent his best friend (Keiko) from being taken away. I ...

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Books by this Author

Books by Jamie Ford at BookBrowse
The Many Daughters of Afong Moy jacket Love and Other Consolation Prizes jacket Songs of Willow Frost jacket Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet jacket
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Read-Alikes

All the books below are recommended as read-alikes for Jamie Ford but some maybe more relevant to you than others depending on which books by the author you have read and enjoyed. So look for the suggested read-alikes by title linked on the right.
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