Maisie Chan

Last updated
Maisie Chan
Maisie chan 2022 1.jpg
Akbar in 2022
Born1977 (age 47–48)
Birmingham, England
Alma mater
Years active2021–present
Website www.maisiechan.com

Maisie Chan (born 1977) is a British children's writer from Birmingham and based in Glasgow. Her novel Danny Chung Does Not Do Maths (2021) won the Branford Boase Award and a Jhalak Prize.

Contents

Early life

Chan was born in Birmingham to Hong Kong-Chinese parents who worked in a takeaway. Chan was placed in private foster care and subsequently adopted by an older couple, her adoptive father a machine cleaner and mother, a dinner lady. [1] [2] Chan grew up on Dale Road in south Birmingham. [3]

Chan graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in 1999 and then a Master of Philosophy (MPhil), both from the University of Birmingham. [4] She also pursued a diploma in Creative Writing at Birmingham City University. [5] Having studied Asian American literature and studied abroad for a year, Chan was inspired to go into writing to help improve British Chinese representation in media and literature. [6]

Career

Via Piccadilly Press (a Bonnier Books UK imprint), Change published her debut novel Danny Chung Does Not Do Maths in 2021. It was also released as Danny aching Sums It Up. Anh Cao provided the illustrations and cover art for the former, while Natelle Quek provided them for the latter. [7] [8] Danny Chung Does Not Do Maths won the Branford Boase Award and the Jhalak Prize in the Children's and Young Adult category. It was also shortlisted for the Blue Peter Book Award for Best Story.

Chan signed a second book deal with Hachette Children's, [9] through which she published her Tiger Warrior series, starting with a trilogy before expanding to further novels. [10] She also contributed a short story to the anthology The Very Merry Murder Club, edited by Sheena Patel. [11]

This was followed by Chan's second standalone novel Keep Dancing, Lizzie Chu, published in 2022 via Piccadilly Press. [12] Keep Dancing, Lizzie Chu was a Read for Empathy collection pick. [13]

From 2024 to 2026, Chan is a Royal Literary Fund (RLF) Fellow at the University of Strathclyde. [14] Chan reunited with Piccadilly Press in 2025 [15] and published her third standalone novel Nate Yu's Blast from the Past. [16]

Personal life

Chan lives in Glasgow with her family. [3]

Bibliography

Tiger Warrior

Standalones

Short stories

Accolades

YearAwardCategoryTitleResultRef.
2022 Blue Peter Book Award Best StoryDanny Chung Does Not Do MathsShortlisted [17]
Jhalak Prize Children's and Young AdultWon [18]
Branford Boase Award Won [19]
Diverse Book AwardsChildren'sShortlisted [20]
The Very Merry Murder Club3rd [11]
2023Juniper Book AwardsBook of the YearKeep Dancing, Lizzie ChuShortlisted [21]

References

  1. ↑ Turpin, Adrian (6 May 2020). "Interview: Maisie Chan". Wigtown Book Festival. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
  2. ↑ Asl, Nasim (2022). "Nasim Asl Interviews: Maisie Chan". Books from Scotland. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
  3. 1 2 Helen Victoria (January 2022). "DEBUT JOURNEYS Maisie Chan". Words & Pics. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
  4. ↑ Choon Young Tang (16 June 2022). "INTERVIEW: Author of "Keep Dancing, Lizzie Chu", Maisie Chan". Resonate. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
  5. ↑ "Inspirations – Maisie Chan". Wind & Bones. 23 March 2021. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
  6. ↑ "KS3 / KS4 English Language: Maisie Chan – Children's Author". BBC Bitesize. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
  7. ↑ Broadley, Sarah (8 June 2021). "Danny Chung Does Not Do Maths By Maisie Chan, Illustrated Anh Cao". My Book Corner. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
  8. ↑ Jayne (18 September 2021). "REVIEW: Danny Chung Sums It Up by Maisie Chan, illustrated by Natelle Quek". Dear Author. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
  9. ↑ Hackett, Tamsin (3 March 2021). "HCG acquires three-book series from Chan". The Bookseller. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
  10. ↑ Crewdson, Anna (5 March 2024). "'Tiger Warrior' books are the perfect adventure series for middle grade readers". International Examiner. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
  11. 1 2 "Our 2022 Winners". The Diverse Book Awards. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
  12. ↑ Yang Ming Renee (12 February 2023). "Books From The Pantry: Keep Dancing Lizzie Chu by Maisie Chan reviewed by Yang Ming Renee". Ink Pantry. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
  13. ↑ Brown, Lauren (8 February 2023). "Books by Ainsworth, Chan and Coehlo among Read for Empathy collection 2023". The Bookseller. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
  14. ↑ "Maisie Chan". Royal Literary Fund. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
  15. ↑ Spanoudi, Melina (29 January 2025). "Piccadilly Press acquires two middle-grade novels by Maisie Chan". The Bookseller. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
  16. ↑ "Nate Yu's Blast From the Past: A Q & A with Maisie Chan". Books from Scotland. April 2025. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
  17. ↑ Comerford, Ruth (11 November 2021). "Chan, Cook and Sirdeshpande shortlisted for Blue Peter Book Awards". The Bookseller. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
  18. ↑ Shaffi, Sarah (26 May 2022). "Sabba Khan and Maisie Chan triumph in Jhalak prizes for writers of colour". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
  19. ↑ Anderson, Porter (14 July 2022). "Maisie Chan and Editor Georgia Murray Win the UK's Branford Boase". Publishing Perspectives. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
  20. ↑ "The Diverse Book Awards 2022". The diverse book awards. 3 October 2022. Retrieved 9 September 2025.
  21. ↑ "The Juniper Book Awards 2023: The Winners have Been Revealed!". Juniper Education. 29 March 2023. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
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