Ava Chin, author portrait
© © Tommy Kha

Ava Chin

Ava Chin, a 5th generation New Yorker, is the author of the award-winning Mott Street, a recipient of the 2024 Best Book Award from the Chinese American Librarians Association, and Eating Wildly, which won the 2015 M.F.K. Fisher Book Award for excellence in food writing. Mott Street, an ALA Notable Book and one of People magazine’s top books by Asian American authors, was a Best Book of the year by TIME, the San Francisco Chronicle, Library Journal, Kirkus Reviews, and Elle. Chin is the recipient of fellowships from the New York Public Library’s Cullman Center, Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program, NYFA, the NY Institute for the Humanities, AAWW, and MacDowell. She is Professor of Creative Nonfiction and head of the CUNY Graduate Center’s American Studies program. The Huffington Post named her one of "9 Contemporary Authors You Should Be Reading."
Mott Street

Books

Mott Street

Three Penguin Random House Authors Win Pulitzer Prizes

On Monday, May 5, three Penguin Random House authors were honored with a Pulitzer Prize. Established in 1917, the Pulitzer Prizes are the most prestigious awards in American letters. To date, PRH has 143 Pulitzer Prize winners, including William Faulkner, Eudora Welty, Josh Steinbeck, Ron Chernow, Anne Applebaum, Colson Whitehead, and many more. Take a look at our 2025 Pulitzer Prize

Read more

Books for LGBTQIA+ Pride Month

In June we celebrate Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, and Asexual + (LGBTQIA+) Pride Month, which honors the 1969 Stonewall riots in Manhattan. Pride Month is a time to both celebrate the accomplishments of those in the LGBTQ+ community and recognize the ongoing struggles faced by many across the world who wish to live

Read more