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Interview with Author Vanessa Hua
(This was originally published under The Ignatian Literary Magazine’s website soon after the interview. However, as the website has undergone changes and the piece is no longer available there, it seemed fitting to move it to another platform).
In March 2017, the University of San Francisco hosted the semiannual Emerging Writers Festival, which included local author Vanessa Hua. Her work has been particularly praised for its focus on overlooked people and places as well as its eloquent capture of human emotion. Among other honors, Hua has received the Asian/Pacific Award for Literature and was a finalist for a California Book Award.
At the event, Hua first read a few excerpts from her short story collection, Deceit and Other Possibilities, originally published in 2016. (She has since published the acclaimed novel River of Stars). Afterwards, when she wasn’t passing out cute temporary tattoos to promote her work, she courteously answered a few questions:
Kayla Vokolek: Are there any specific books that motivated or inspired your works?
Vanessa Hua: Books that I turn to again and again include Junot Diaz’s Drown and Yiyun Li’s A Thousand Years of Good Prayers.
KV: What do you usually find yourself editing out from your first draft to the final work?
