Elaine Hsieh Chou

Elaine Chou
Born	c. 1987 (age c. 37) California, United States
Notable work	Disorientation

Elaine Hsieh Chou (born c. 1987) is a Taiwanese American author and screenwriter from California, ^{[1] [2] [3]} best known for her debut novel, Disorientation (2022), ^{[4] [5] [6] [7]} which was shortlisted for the Thurber Prize for American Humor and Young Lions Fiction Award. ^{[8] [9]}

Career

A former Rona Jaffe Graduate Fellow at New York University (NYU) and New York Feminist Art Institute (NYFA) Artist Fellow, Chou's Pushcart Prize-winning short fiction has been published in Guernica , Black Warrior Review , Tin House, Ploughshares , The Atlantic and elsewhere. As a writing and workshop instructor, she has taught fiction at NYU, the Adroit Journal Summer Mentorship Program, Catapult, the Accent Society, Kundiman, and Tin House.

Her debut novel Disorientation was published by Penguin Press in the United States on March 22, 2022; it was first released in the United Kingdom in paperback form by Picador, July 21, 2022. The novel was optioned by Apple TV+ the same month it was released, and a film adaption was announced on September 27, 2022; Chou is writing the screenplay. ^[10] The novel received praise, and it was a New York Times Editors' Choice Book and an NPR Best Book of 2022. Chou was shortlisted afterwards for the Thurber Prize for American Humor and Young Lions Fiction Award. ^{[8] [9]}

She is the recipient of the 2023 Fred R. Brown Literary Award. ^[11]

Her multi-genre short story collection Where Are You Really From was published by Penguin Press in 2025.

Awards

Year	Title	Award	Category	Result	Ref
2023	Disorientation	Chinese American Librarians Association Best Book Award	Adult Fiction (成人读物—小说类)	Honor Book	[12]
		Thurber Prize for American Humor	—	Shortlisted	[8]
		Young Lions Fiction Award	—	Shortlisted	[9]
	—	Fred R. Brown Literary Award	—	Won	[11]

Bibliography

Books

• Disorientation (2022)
• Where Are You Really From (2025)

Short stories

• "Careless" (September 2018), Cease, Cows ^[13]
• "A Woman Without Origin" (November 2018), The Normal School ^[14]
• "A Beast Need to Hunt and I Must Be Caught" (July 2019), Black Warrior Review ^[15]
• "Carrot Legs" (2019), Guernica (reprinted "in slightly different form" in Where Are You Really From) ^{[16] [17]}
• "Skinfolk" (January 13, 2021), Ploughshares , Winter 2020–2021 Issue ^[18]
• "After the Diversity Panel" (July 9, 2021), Catapult ^[19]
• "In Which Ms. Swan Suffers Clarity" (September 2021), Black Warrior Review, Issue 47.2 ^[20]
• "Interlude" (2022), Guernica ^[21]
• "The 100% Silicone Vibrating Ass & Pussy Speaks" (August 2022), LARB Quarterly Journal, "Do You Love Me? issue ^{[22] [23]}
• "At 10 a.m. on March 8, Daiso Opened in Flushing" (November 3, 2022), AAWW's The Margins ^[24]
• "Background" (January 30, 2023) The Atlantic (reprinted "in slightly different form" as "Featured Background" in Where Are You Really From) ^{[25] [17]}

References

1. "Elaine Hsieh Chou channels her 'unspoken rage' in debut novel 'Disorientation'". NBC News. April 13, 2022. Retrieved February 13, 2024.
2. Radney, Imani (September 13, 2022). ""Our Lives Are at Stake": Elaine Hsieh Chou on the Necessity of Asian American Writers". Public Books. Retrieved February 13, 2024.
3. Ribner, Sonya (April 28, 2022). "In conversation with Elaine Hsieh Chou". Cherwell. Retrieved February 13, 2024.
4. "How 'Disorientation' Author Elaine Hsieh Chou Wrote the Funniest, Most Poignant Novel of the Year". Vogue. March 29, 2022. Retrieved February 8, 2024.
5. Morris, Kadish (August 7, 2022). "Disorientation by Elaine Hsieh Chou review – witty tale of campus chaos". The Observer. ISSN   0029-7712 . Retrieved February 8, 2024.
6. Cha, Steph (April 18, 2022). "Down the Rabbit Hole". The New York Times.
7. Praseed, Malavika (March 23, 2022). "Embracing the Readable in "Disorientation"". Chicago Review of Books. Retrieved February 8, 2024.
8. "Past Finalists & Winners | The Thurber Prize". www.thurberprize.org. Retrieved September 16, 2024.
9. "Past Finalists & Winners | The Thurber Prize". www.thurberprize.org. Retrieved September 16, 2024.
10. Ravindran, Manori (September 27, 2022). "Malala Teams With 'Don't Look Up' Director Adam McKay for 'Disorientation' Adaptation, Unveils First Slate (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety . Retrieved February 25, 2024.
11. "PCWS Presents...Elaine Hsieh Chou". University of Pittsburgh. Retrieved September 29, 2025.
12. "2023 Best Book Award Winners". CALA. Retrieved September 15, 2024.
13. Chou, Elaine Hsieh. "Careless". www.ceasecows.com. Retrieved September 29, 2025.
14. "Volume 11, Issue 2". The Normal School. Retrieved September 29, 2025.
15. "A Beast Needs Hunt and I Must Be Caught | BWR" . Retrieved September 29, 2025.
16. Chou, Elaine Hsieh (September 12, 2019). "Carrot Legs". Guernica. Retrieved September 29, 2025.
17. Chou, Elaine Hsieh (August 19, 2025). Where Are You Really From. New York: Penguin Press. pp. Copyright page. ISBN   978-0593298381.
18. "Winter 2020-21". Ploughshares. Retrieved October 10, 2025.
19. Chou, Elaine Hsieh. "After the Diversity Panel" . Retrieved October 10, 2025.
20. "47.2 Feature: "In Which Ms. Swan Suffers Clarity" by Flash Contest winner Elaine Hsieh Chou | BWR" . Retrieved October 10, 2025.
21. Chou, Elaine Hsieh (March 28, 2022). "Interlude". Guernica. Retrieved September 29, 2025.
22. "Writing". Elaine Hsieh Chou. Retrieved October 10, 2025.
23. "LARB Quarterly #34: Do you love me?". Los Angeles Review of Books. Retrieved October 10, 2025.
24. "At 10 a.m. on March 8, Daiso Opened in Flushing". Asian American Writers' Workshop. November 4, 2022. Retrieved October 10, 2025.
25. Chou, Elaine Hsieh (January 30, 2023). "Background". The Atlantic. Retrieved September 29, 2025.