Amy Tan Born in the U.S. to immigrant parents from China, Amy Tan rejected her mother’s expectations that she become a doctor and concert pianist.
She chose to write fiction instead. Her novels are The Joy Luck Club, The Kitchen God’s Wife, The Hundred Secret Senses, The Bonesetter’s Daughter, Saving Fish from Drowning, and The Valley of Amazement, all New York Times bestsellers. She is also the author of two children’s books, The Moon Lady, and Sagwa, The Chinese Siamese Cat and numerous articles for magazines, including The New Yorker, Harper’s Bazaar, and National Geographic, as well as a short story “Rules for Virgins” published as an audiobook. Her work has been translated into 35 languages, from Spanish, French, and Finnish to Chinese, Arabic, and Hebrew. She has written a memoir, The Opposite of Fate, and a book about writing titled Where the Past Begins: A Writer’s Memoir. In keeping with her love of science in the wild and childhood love of doodling, she recently took up nature journal sketching. Her new book, The Backyard Bird Chronicles (Knopf, April 23, 2024), debuted at #1 on both the New York Times and the Indie bestseller list.
She serves on the board of the American Bird Conservancy.