Writers@Grinnell Welcomes Beth Nguyen & Vauhini Vara on Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023.

Vauhini Vara

Vauhini Vara is the author of This is Salvaged, named one of the most anticipated books of the year by Lithub, Electric Literature, and The Millions, and The Immortal King Rao, a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle’s John Leonard Prize. She is also a journalist, writing for Wired, The New York Times Magazine, and others. She teaches at Colorado State University as a 2023–24 visiting assistant professor of creative writing and at the Lighthouse Writers Workshop's Book Project. She is also the secretary of Periplus, a mentorship collective serving writers of color.

Beth Nguyen

Beth Nguyen also goes by Bich Minh Nguyen. Her essay in The New Yorker explains why she has two names. Please call her Beth.

She is the author of three books published by Viking Penguin: the memoir Stealing Buddha's Dinner and the novels Short Girls and Pioneer Girl. Her awards and honors include an American Book Award, a PEN/Jerard Award from the PEN American Center, a Bread Loaf fellowship, and best book of the year honors from the Chicago Tribune and Library Journal. Her books have been included in community and university read programs around the country. Nguyen's work has also appeared in numerous anthologies and publications including The New Yorker, The Paris Review, The New York Times, Literary Hub, Time Magazine, and The Best American Essays. Her next book, Owner of a Lonely Heart, is a memoir forthcoming from Scribner in July 2023.

Nguyen was born in Saigon. When she was a baby, she and her family came to the United States as refugees and were resettled in Michigan.

Nguyen received an master's in creative writing from the University of Michigan and is currently a professor in creative writing at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

A note on pronunciation: Bich is pronounced like "Bic"; Nguyen, the Smith of Vietnam and apparently the 38th most common surname in the United States, is pronounced something like Ngoo-ee-ehn (said almost as one syllable), but most people tend to say "Win" or "New-IN" instead and that has become acceptable.