Thrilled to see Red Oblivion on the 49th Shelf's Most Anticipated: 2019 Fall Fiction Preview. And an excerpt of Red Oblivion in the 49th Shelf can be read here.
Had fun being interviewed about Red Oblivion at The Word On The Street 2019. A lively conversation with Kristina and Allie, the hosts of semi-prose podcast.
Enjoyed chatting with Any Given Runway podcast about my writing process and experiences living and writing abroad. My interview can be listened to here.
My interview with Nikkei Voice about Red Oblivion can be read here.
May is Asian Heritage Month! My guest blog post about how I became interested in my family's experience of the Japanese internment can be read here.
In this guest blog post for Dundurn, I discuss the real life inspiration behind my novel. The blog post can be read here.
Some nice ink about Red Oblivion in A Bookish Type can be read here.
My very short story, "Masset Inlet, 1922," was recently published in an anthology of flash fiction called This Will Only Take a Minute. My story is inspired by my grandmother's childhood growing up on the Queen Charlotte Islands. The anthology can be purchased here.
Happy to receive this insightful review of Red Oblivion in Cha: An Asian Literary Journal, by a reviewer who's intimately familiar with my novel's setting of Hong Kong. The review can be read here.
My interview in Open Book about how I develop literary characters can be read here.
After the Bloom is featured in three articles in Bustle: 15 Feminist Novels That Need To Be TV Shows, 10 Books About Mothers and Daughters To Read With Your Mom and 10 Summer Book Club Picks Everyone Will Enjoy
Honoured to serve on jury of the 2018 Governor General's Literary Non-fiction award. Winner announced here.
After the Bloom is on CBC's list of recommended novels about the Japanese Internment here.
Happy to receive this review in Ottawa Review of Book's fall issue. It can be read here.
Thrilled to receive this review of Red Oblivion in Kirkus Review. It can be read here.
A starred review of After the Bloom in Booklist can be read here.
Had a great time being interviewed about Red Oblivion by Jamie Tennant on Get Lit. The podcast can be listened to here.
Leslie Shimotakahara
My short story "The Breakwater" is in the anthology Changing the Face of Canadian Literature, recently published by Guernica Editions. This short story was inspired by a childhood trip I took with my grandfather to Victoria, BC, to meet his brother, who'd been in the mental health system for fifty years. A starred review of the anthology in Quill & Quire can be read here.
An insightful, detailed review of After the Bloom in the National Post can be read here.
My interview with Nikkei Voice about my novel and family history can be read here.
AudioFile magazine praises the narrator of Red Oblivion's audiobook, Janet Song, for her "intense performance," which "adds to the intrigue of this compelling story." The full review can be read here.
Delighted to be a recommended book for June on Reading Group Choices.
Thanks Foreword Reviews for this review of my novel! The review can be read here.
Thanks Historical Novel Society for this lovely review of After the Bloom. The review can be read here.
Red Oblivion is The Word On The Street's Book of the Month pick for January. I enjoyed being interviewed on Twitter as part of #WOTSauthorchat. A transcript of the interview can be read here.
Enjoyed being interviewed by Ricepaper here.
A few author interviews and book reviews I did for the National Post:
My interview with Joy Kogawa about her new memoir Gently to Nagasaki can be read here.
My review of Claire-Louise Bennett's experimental novel Pond can be read here.
My review of Madeleine Thien's Man Booker nominated novel Do Not Say We Have Nothing can be read here.
My review of Cordelia Strube's novel On the Shores of Darkness, There is Light can be read here.
Delighted to be Open Book's writer-in-residence for the month of March. I'll be posting mini essays on diverse topics related to writing, reading, memory and inspiration, the first of which can be read here. My other posts, twice per week, will be accessible here. And my interview with Open Book, on the subject of book titles, can be read here.
A perceptive review of Red Oblivion in Maria Meindl's "In for the Duration: Books About the Long Haul," published in the 49th Shelf, can be read here.
A fun time at my book launch for Red Oblivion at Ben McNally Books.
World Literature Today invited me to write their "What to Read Now" column for the winter 2020 edition. My guest column can be read here.
Thanks Book Riot for this shout-out about After the Bloom in "11 Books about the Incarceration of Japanese Americans During World War II." The article can be read here.
A recording of my panel at Word Vancouver 2020, with fellow authors Jack Wang and Kawika Guillermo and moderator Anna Ling Kaye, can be viewed here.
Nice to see that Red Oblivion is included in the 49th Shelf's "Great Books for the Moment." This essay with full book list can be read here.
Curious about what's on my book shelf? My interview in Hazlitt on this topic can be read here.
This summer, Bustle has chosen After the Bloom as its #1 pick in "50 Books To Read With Your Book Club." It was also included last summer on Book Riot's "The Best Books You've Never Heard Of (Summer 2021)."
After the Bloom is featured in Bustle's article, These 15 Books With Twist Endings That Will Catch You Seriously Off Guard.
My essay in 49th Shelf about my circuitous journey toward becoming a writer can be read here.
Jamie Tennant interviews me about my novel on his radio show Get Lit. The interview can be streamed here.