May-lee Chai
May-lee Chai is the author of eleven books of fiction, nonfiction, and translation including the American Book Award-winning story collection, Useful Phrases for Immigrants, and Tomorrow in Shanghai & Other Stories, which was longlisted for The Story Prize and a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice.
Interviews with May-lee Chai
The Best Memoirs: The 2025 NBCC Autobiography Shortlist, recommended by May-lee Chai
The last year has been one of the best for autobiography and memoir in recent memory, says May-lee Chai, chair of the judging committee for the National Book Critic Circle Prize for Autobiography. Their 2025 shortlist includes a posthumous memoir by Alexei Navalny, former leader of the opposition in Russia, and a travel memoir with a surrealist twist.
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1
I Would Meet You Anywhere: A Memoir
by Susan Kiyo Ito -
2
Secret Harvests: A Hidden Story of Separation and the Resilience of a Family Farm
by David Mas Masumoto -
3
Rotten Evidence: Reading and Writing in an Egyptian Prison
by Ahmed Naji, translated by Katharine Halls -
4
How to Say Babylon: A Memoir
by Safiya Sinclair -
5
Story of a Poem: A Memoir
by Matthew Zapruder
The Best Memoirs: The 2024 NBCC Autobiography Shortlist, recommended by May-lee Chai
The Best Memoirs: The 2024 NBCC Autobiography Shortlist, recommended by May-lee Chai
It's been a “phenomenal” year for autobiographical writing, says May-lee Chai—the award-winning author and chair of the judges for this year's National Book Critics Circle prize for autobiography. Here she offers us a tour of the five memoirs that made their 2024 shortlist.
