Wǒ De: Fiction by Alice Kuok

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2025 Betty L. Yu and Jin C. Yu Creative Writing Prize – Grand Prize Winner, Middle Grade Category From the judges: “‘Wo de’ is a story about two school boys in Taiwan and their growing friendship. It is observant, subtle and evocative, full of sensory detail that make the world feel rich and alive. For a young writer, this story is remarkable for its tone and sense of longing and nostalgia. We look forward to hearing more from this impressive young voice.” There was nothing left to…

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Jaded Girls: Fiction by Davina Jou

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2025 Betty L. Yu and Jin C. Yu Creative Writing Prize – Grand Prize Winner, High School Category From the judges: "‘Jaded Girls’ is a ghost story which deftly weaves past and present together to tell a compact, complete narrative that also hints at more. There is much to admire in its originality and moments of humor and surprise. A polished piece of writing.” Vivian’s wedding ring was featherlight against her wet skin—the cheapest thing at the market near where a ghost clawed her…

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Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken: Creative Nonfiction by Kelly Chu

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2025 Betty L. Yu and Jin C. Yu Creative Writing Prize – Grand Prize Winner, College Category From the judges: “Playful and poignant, this submission infuses simple family recipes with deep emotional resonance. A bold and original take on themes of food, family, and inheritance.” Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken  Ingredients:  2 lbs of boneless childhood (preferably thigh meat, for tenderness)  1 cup of cultural ambiguity (1 part Taiwanese brown sugar, 1 part American corn syrup)…

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Charles Yu, Grace Loh Prasad, Alvina Ling select 2025 Creative Writing Prize Winners

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We are thrilled to announce the 2025 cohort of honorable mentions, finalists, and grand prize winners of the Betty L. Yu & Jin C. Yu Creative Writing Prizes, established in partnership with TaiwaneseAmerican.org in honor of Charles Yu’s parents, longstanding leaders in the Taiwanese American community. Now in its fourth year, the prize continues to grow in reach and resonance, with writer Grace Loh Prasad joining the judging panel this year alongside returning judges Charles Yu and Alvina…

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How Far We Stray: Fiction by Angelica Lai

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2025 Betty L. Yu and Jin C. Yu Creative Writing Prize - Grand Prize Winner, Adult Category From the judges: “Combining vivid physical descriptions with nostalgic reflections, this tale of an adult daughter returning to her deceased mother’s homeland is simultaneously tender and unsentimental. Intelligent and polished… a clear standout.” I sit by my mother’s death bed and read about caecilians, worm-like creatures that survive by tearing off their mothers’ milky blue skin. The mother…

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Homing: Creative Nonfiction by Lenna L. Liu

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  Homing  Dedicated to my father  Meet me   along a border, a boundary,  where earth and water meet.  Snow geese fly   tracing coastlines,   salmon leave   salty bay waters for freshwater streams,   grey whales slow  filling their bellies on long journeys to arctic seas.  What if borders are pathways,  not barriers  guideposts, banks of a stream,   fertile grounds for crossings   birthing diversity,  in estuaries,…

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Charles Yu, Shawna Yang Ryan, Alvina Ling select 2024 Creative Writing Prize Winners

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We are pleased to announce the 2024 cohort of honorable mentions, finalists, and grand prize winners of the Betty L. Yu & Jin C. Yu Creative Writing Prizes, established in partnership with TaiwaneseAmerican.org in honor of Yu’s parents, who are longstanding Taiwanese American community leaders. In its third year, the prize expanded to include adult writers of all life stages. Their work will be published on TaiwaneseAmerican.org throughout the year. Now in its fourth year, the prize saw…

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Now accepting submissions: 2024 Betty L. Yu and Jin C. Yu Creative Writing Prizes celebrate Taiwanese American student and adult writers

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  TaiwaneseAmerican.org is pleased to announce the 2024 Betty L. Yu and Jin C. Yu Creative Writing Prizes. Created in 2021 in collaboration with Taiwanese American author Charles Yu, the Prizes are intended to encourage and recognize creative literary work by Taiwanese American students, and to foster discussion and community around such work. In 2022, the prize expanded to include a separate middle school category for 6th-8th grade applicants, judged by Alvina Ling. In 2023, we added…

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Betelnut, Soldier-Wolf 檳榔，兵狼: Fiction by YakuzaBaby

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Grand Prize Winner, Middle School Category Betelnut, Soldier-Wolf: 檳榔，兵狼  Echo sat on the edge of the cracked leather seat, clipping a curler into her bangs. What the hell was she doing in this dingy-ass store, every surface plastered with slippery tiles in dire need of grouting, a flickering neon sign out front with the words 檳榔 五十年老店 and a drawing of a clawed hand faded into it. Though she could not read the words, she found the strange hand amusing. Her phone vibrated…

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“One Order of Dan Bing, Please”: Creative Non-Fiction by Tristan Tang

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Grand Prize Winner, High School Category 老闆, 我要一份蛋餅!  Summers in Taiwan are brutal. I mean, think of the thrashing Da’an heat, cooking you alive like a fried egg from a breakfast shop. Or picture an army of mosquitoes, all nosediving towards you with their suckers out, ready to unleash an unrelenting week of itchiness.  Buzz.  The irritating sound made me sigh.  A mosquito flew in circles around my ear, taunting me for not killing it before it’d injected its…

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