C Pam Zhang

C Pam Zhang
Born1990 (age 33–34)
Beijing, China
OccupationWriter
Alma mater
Notable works
Website
cpamzhang.com

C Pam Zhang (born 1990) is an American writer. Her debut novel, How Much of These Hills Is Gold, was released by Riverhead Books in 2020 and was a finalist for a Lambda Literary Award for Bisexual Fiction and longlisted for the 2020 Booker Prize; she was named a "5 Under 35" writer by the National Book Foundation subsequent to its release. Her second novel, Land of Milk and Honey, was released in 2023.

Early life and education

Zhang was born in Beijing in 1990[1][2] and moved to the United States when she was four years old. While growing up, Zhang moved to ten new homes by the time she was eighteen.[3]

She attended Brown University and studied at Cambridge University.[4] Zhang was the 2017 Truman Capote Fellow at the Iowa Writers' Workshop.

Career

How Much of These Hills Is Gold

Zhang's debut novel How Much of These Hills Is Gold, published in 2020, follows two recently orphaned children of immigrants on the run, trying not just to survive but to find a home. The novel is set against the twilight of the American gold rush.[5] How Much of These Hills Is Gold is inspired by Zhang's childhood of moving homes often. It reckons with the grief she experienced after losing her father when she was twenty-two.[3]

The New York Times said, "C Pam Zhang’s arresting, beautiful first novel is filled with myths of her own making as well as sorrows and joys."[6]

The San Francisco Chronicle wrote that Zhang's novel is a "a fully immersive epic drama packed with narrative riches and exquisitely crafted prose … . Zhang captures not only the mesmeric beauty and storied history of America's sacred landscape, but also the harsh sacrifices countless people were forced to make in hopes of laying claim to its bounty."[7]

Zhang has been awarded support from Tin House, Bread Loaf, and Aspen Words.[8] In 2020, Zhang was nominated for the Booker Prize.[9] The same year, Zhang was named a National Book Foundation "5 Under 35" Honoree.[10][11]

Land of Milk and Honey

Her second novel, Land of Milk and Honey, was listed in The New York Times 100 Notable Books for 2023.[12] It was longlisted for the Aspen Words Literary Prize and the Carol Shields Prize for Fiction.

Awards

Year Work Award Category Result Ref
2020 How Much of These Hills Is Gold Booker Prize — Longlisted [13][3]
Booklist Best First Novels on Audio — Top 10 [14]
California Book Award First Fiction (Gold) Won [15]
Center for Fiction First Novel Prize — Shortlisted [16]
Goodreads Choice Award Debut Novel Nominated [15]
Reading Women Award Fiction Nominated [15]
2021 American Academy of Arts and Letters Rosenthal Family Foundation Award — Won [17]
Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature Adult Fiction Won [18][19]
Lambda Literary Award Bisexual Fiction Shortlisted [20]
National Book Critics Circle Award John Leonard Prize Shortlisted [21]
PEN/Hemingway Award — Shortlisted [22]
Young Lions Fiction Award — Shortlisted [23]
2023 Land of Milk and Honey Goodreads Choice Awards Science Fiction Nominated
2024 Aspen Words Literary Prize — Longlisted
Audie Award Fiction Narrator Shortlisted
BookTube Prize Fiction Octofinalist
Carol Shields Prize for Fiction — Longlisted
Young Lions Fiction Award — Shortlisted

Selected texts

  • —— (2020). How Much of These Hills Is Gold. New York: Riverhead. ISBN 9780593189290.
  • —— (2023). Land of Milk and Honey. New York: Riverhead. ISBN 9780593538241.[24][25][26]

References

  1. ^ "About". C Pam Zhang. Archived from the original on 2022-01-12. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
  2. ^ Bansinath, Bindu (September 19, 2023). "'I Don't Like the Feeling of Being Pinned Down'". The Cut. Retrieved October 17, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c de León, Concepción (April 4, 2020). "How a Chinese-American Novelist Wrote Herself Into the Wild West". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 15, 2020. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
  4. ^ Cumsky-Whitlock, Jake (May 19, 2020). "An Indies Introduce Q&A With C Pam Zhang". American Booksellers Association. Archived from the original on May 29, 2020. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
  5. ^ "How Much of These Hills Is Gold". Penguin Random House. Archived from the original on February 19, 2023. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
  6. ^ Southgate, Martha (April 7, 2020). "A Haunting Debut Novel Brings New Faces to the Myth of the American West". The New York Times.
  7. ^ Burling, Alexis (March 31, 2020). "Review: 'How Much of These Hills Is Gold' is a fierce reimagining of the American West". SF Chronicle. Archived from the original on June 27, 2020. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
  8. ^ "C Pam Zhang". Penguin Random House. Archived from the original on 2020-05-21. Retrieved 2020-05-21.
  9. ^ Marshall, Alex (July 27, 2020). "Hilary Mantel, Kiley Reid, Anne Tyler in Running for Booker Prize". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on August 2, 2020. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
  10. ^ "C Pam Zhang". National Book Foundation. Archived from the original on 2021-05-25. Retrieved 2021-05-25.
  11. ^ "2021 Lambda Literary Award Finalists". Lambda Literary. Archived from the original on 2021-05-13. Retrieved 2021-05-25.
  12. ^ Staff, The New York Times Books (2023-11-21). "100 Notable Books of 2023". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2023-11-26. Retrieved 2023-11-26.
  13. ^ "The 2020 Booker Prize longlist announced". The Booker Prizes. July 27, 2020. Archived from the original on November 24, 2020. Retrieved August 16, 2020.
  14. ^ Booth, Heather (2020-11-20). Top 10 First Novels on Audio: 2020. Retrieved 2022-01-11 – via Booklist.
  15. ^ a b c "How Much of These Hills is Gold". Goodreads. Retrieved 2022-01-11.
  16. ^ Saka, Rasheeda (October 1, 2020). "Here's the shortlist for the Center for Fiction's 2020 First Novel Prize". Literary Hub. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
  17. ^ "2021 Literature Award Winners – American Academy of Arts and Letters". Retrieved 2021-04-14.
  18. ^ "2021 Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature Winners Selected – APALA". January 25, 2021. Retrieved 2021-02-19.
  19. ^ "How Much of These Hills is Gold". Kirkus Reviews. 2020-01-13. Retrieved 2022-01-11.
  20. ^ "Here are the finalists for the 2021 Lambda Literary Award". Literary Hub. 2021-03-15. Retrieved 2021-04-14.
  21. ^ "Announcing the Finalists for the 2020 NBCC Awards". National Book Critics Circle. 2021-01-25. Retrieved 2021-02-19.
  22. ^ "PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel". PEN America. 2020-03-23. Retrieved 2021-02-19.
  23. ^ "Announcing the 2021 Young Lions Fiction Award Finalists". The New York Public Library. April 9, 2021. Retrieved 2021-07-31.
  24. ^ Kleeman, Alexandra (2023-09-21). "A Lush Novel at the Nexus of Food, Pleasure, Wealth and Catastrophe". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2023-10-13. Retrieved 2023-10-14.
  25. ^ "C Pam Zhang on Relishing Pleasure, Observing Billionaires, and Writing a Love Story". Vanity Fair. 2023-09-25. Archived from the original on 2023-10-14. Retrieved 2023-10-14.
  26. ^ Bansinath, Bindu (2023-09-19). ""I Don't Like the Feeling of Being Pinned Down"". The Cut. Retrieved 2023-10-14.