Amy Chen

I’m leaving @the-vcca.bsky.social feeling greedy for more—more time and space, more candid advice from those who have gone through the publishing journey.

As Robin Tewes used to tell her students: If it feels hard, you’re learning something.

I must be learning a lot.
#vccafellow #writingresidency

22.07.2025 18:20 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

Six days ago, I arrived for my first writing residency at @the-vcca.bsky.social. Grateful to be part of this community that has shown me a different way of living and creating. #vccafellow #memoirwriting #writing #writingresidency

22.07.2025 03:54 — 👍 2    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

April 2025 Art Residency Application Primer: An Interactive Conversation Get insider tips on applying to artist, writer and composer residencies straight from the Fellows and Staff of the VCCA!

We're one month away from VCCA's next application deadline (May 15, 2025) — an opportune time for the VCCA Fellows Council to host another Artist Residency Application Primer (this Friday, April 18, at Noon ET)!

RSVP and bring your questions: www.eventbrite.com/e/april-2025...

15.04.2025 20:54 — 👍 6    🔁 1    💬 0    📌 1

I can’t wait to join this #VCCAFellows community of writers, composers, and visual artists.

If you've attended a writing residency or retreat, what worked for you? What should I not forget to pack? What would you do differently? Thx for any tips!

15.04.2025 22:51 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

Long before I landed @aliciabrooks.bsky.social as my agent, I applied to writing residencies. Every application required sample pages. What I churned out was rough, but at least the deadlines got me started. I’m delighted to say I’ll be heading to @the-vcca.bsky.social this summer as a #VCCAFellow!

15.04.2025 22:51 — 👍 7    🔁 2    💬 1    📌 0

Within months, Bedford would be gone. A few months later, I would transfer those iPhone notes into a Google doc and keep writing until I finished a draft.

As my amazing agent @aliciabrooks finds the right home for my book, I’m reminded (and still heartbroken over) how fleeting a year can be.

06.04.2025 22:19 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 0

“How did you start writing your book?”

A year ago, I sat on these Adirondack chairs unaware that Bedford’s limp was due to bone cancer. I read in this chair while Bedford rested. When I finished my book, I started jotting down memories in the Notes app. Within months, Bedford would be gone.

06.04.2025 22:19 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 0

I never got a chance to enjoy the community aspect of Nanowrimo so I’m a bit disappointed to hear that the site is shutting down… but I’ll always be grateful for the role that it played in tracking my progress and celebrating milestones along the way.

01.04.2025 00:26 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

I’ve attempted #Nanowrimo many times over the past decade and always stopped around 10K words. I logged back in last June and used the tracker to help me hit my goal of 50K words, then 60K. I stopped tracking after that, and my memoir ended up at more than 88K.

01.04.2025 00:26 — 👍 3    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 0

Eight months ago, I said goodbye to Bedford, my 11-year-old dog. I ended up channeling my grief into a memoir about my father who died in 2014. I recently stumbled on this “manuscript” from high school. My teenage self can’t believe I’m represented by Alicia Brooks at Martin Literary Management!

15.02.2025 00:35 — 👍 4    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

Congrats to the entire MISTRESS DISPELLER team on being named an official selection of the #SBIFF!

14.02.2025 07:25 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

Thanks to @goldhouseco.bsky.social for inviting me to tonight’s reception honoring filmmaker Elizabeth Lo. Not only was it a treat to meet Elizabeth and the MISTRESS DISPELLER team, I loved hearing SFFilm’s Penelope Wong remind us why these voices matter now more than ever.

14.02.2025 07:23 — 👍 3    🔁 1    💬 1    📌 0

As the window for recording oral histories narrows, I’m so grateful for all the people who have shared their memories of using my father’s dictionary and other language books to learn English. While filling in the gaps, I’d love to collect more memories of growing up in #Taiwan in the ‘50s-‘70s. TY!

07.01.2025 23:15 — 👍 2    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

Like many immigrants, my parents never volunteered much about their life in Taiwan. The more I uncover, the more I respect their sacrifices. As humbling as it is to realize how much can be gained—and lost—in a generation, I hope my quest inspires more to ask their parents before it’s too late.

07.01.2025 23:15 — 👍 6    🔁 0    💬 2    📌 0

What! Dad made a fortune selling English in Taiwan? - Taipei Times Bringing Taiwan to the World and the World to Taiwan

Every family has secrets. In my case, the headline in this Taipei Times article captures my initial disbelief after learning about my parents’ life and business in Taiwan about a decade before I was born:

07.01.2025 23:15 — 👍 4    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 0

A bulletin board covered with Amy Tan’s rejection letters from The New Yorker, The Atlantic, and publishing companies.

Kicking off 2025 by finishing my first MasterClass by the incomparable @amytan.bsky.social. She is why I believed that I could ever become a writer. I especially loved the part where she shared some rejection letters with the reminder that they aren’t “a rejection of who you are.”

01.01.2025 21:41 — 👍 4    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

The cover of Margaret Juhae Lee’s STARRY FIELD memoir in front of a fireplace

Just finished @mjuhae.bsky.social ‘s brilliant memoir about her grandfather Lee Chul Ha who was imprisoned in 1929 for protesting Japan’s colonization of Korea; decades later, he was posthumously recognized as a patriot of S. Korea. Surreal to now see the headlines out of S. Korea over the last 24h…

04.12.2024 22:19 — 👍 2    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 1

go.bsky.app/PeChxU4

Just started this one!

23.11.2024 21:18 — 👍 7    🔁 3    💬 0    📌 0

It’s got a butterfly for a logo. If you really want to piss Musk off, name this thing Flitter.

23.11.2024 18:34 — 👍 6    🔁 1    💬 0    📌 0

A female stands in front of a Medill School of Journalism sign

A female stands in front of a Northwestern University sign in 2000.

Medill School of Journalism Dean Charles Whitaker hosted an alumni reception during Reunion Weekend 2024.

Holding a photo from 2004 in front of McCormick Journalism Center, Northwestern University

Loved returning to Evanston for our 20th #NUReunion (and my first time on campus since graduating). From visiting our freshman dorm to chatting on the Lakefill, the weekend felt like old times. Grateful for lifelong friendships and all the doors opened by being a @medillschool.bsky.social alum!

23.11.2024 18:39 — 👍 2    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0