Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant
BY curtis chin Little, Brown2023Query Letter
My name is Curtis Chin. I'm an award-winning filmmaker and queer activist currently seeking representation for my memoir.
Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant is a coming-of-age memoir written at the intersection of race, class, sex, and Motown. The story centers on a gay Asian boy as he struggles to find his identity within his crazy poor Asian family, their inner city business, and a city defined as Black and white.
Detroit in the 80’s and 90’s was a volatile place. Between the crack epidemic, AIDS, the Reagan Revolution, and the decline of the American auto industry, violent crimes were on the rise. By the time, he reached sixteen, Chin knew five people who had been murdered. Despite this bleak setting, Chin manages to find the humor and joy of growing up, going to the University of Michigan, and eventually coming out.
With the recent murder of George Floyd and the ascendency of Black Lives Matter, Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant is a timely book. There is a hunger (pardon the pun) to discuss race and the inequities in our country. This memoir will contribute a seldom heard voice to this conversation.
Here is a little more about me:
Curtis Chin is an award-winning writer and documentary filmmaker whose voice has been recognized by the National Association for Multicultural Education, the National Association for Ethnic Studies, the American Librarians Association, and more. A graduate of the creative program at the University of Michigan, Chin has also received fellowships from ABC/Disney Television, the New York Foundation for the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts, and served as a Visiting Scholar at New York University.
Chin has spoken and screened his films, Vincent Who? and Tested, with over 600 entities in sixteen countries and appeared on CNN, MSNBC, and public radio, as well as national print media including the Economist, the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, USA Today, and Huffington Post.
As a community activist, Chin co-founded the Asian American Writers’ Workshop, the premiere non-profit dedicated to promoting Asian American writers. He was also a Visiting Scholar at New York University.
I look forward to your response.
About
Age Range
Adult
Genre
Memoir
Word Count
70,000
Book Link
https://www.amazon.com/Everything-Learned-Chinese-Restaurant-Memoir/dp/0316507652
Query Stats
Publication Status of The Book Queried
Published (Big 5)
Years Spent Writing Before This Book was Published
10