Stir Bedside Table: Vancouver novelist Janie Chang

The author of The Porcelain Moon and other books is on an ancient-myths streak

Stir Bedside Table is a column where Stir connects with local artists and creatives to hear about some of their favourite reads.

Canadian Independent Booksellers Association presents Canadian Independent Bookstore Day on April 29

The reader:

Janie Chang

What’s your story?

I write novels inspired by Chinese history and family tales of ancestors who encountered dragons, ghosts, and immortals. I live on the beautiful Sunshine Coast of British Columbia with my husband and Minnie the rescue cat.

This year has been busy, with the February launch of my fourth novel, The Porcelain Moon: A Novel of France, the Great War, and Forbidden Love, then finishing work on The Phoenix Crown, a novel co-authored with my friend Kate Quinn that releases in September 2023. I’m now starting work on The Fourth Princess, a Gothic novel set in pre-war Shanghai and that’s scheduled to release in 2025.

What's on your bedside table right now?

I just finished reading Homecoming: A Novel by Kate Morton, started Clytemnestra: A Novel by Costanza Casati, and have Stone Blind: A Novel by Natalie Haynes lined up. I’m on a bit of a retelling of ancient myths streak, ever since reading Ithaca by Claire North.

The book that changed your life?

Ha ha. Most books are life-changing when you read them at an impressionable age. Probably Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë, when I was nine years old. It was the first time I sensed that powerful emotions could exist on a printed page. Until then, books were just stories.

Most inspiring biography or autobiography?

The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank.

Best beach-read?

Fun mysteries, such as the Flavia de Luce series by Alan Bradley.

Working title of your autobiography?

Not Enough Words.

Articles

The Paper Trail to the 1923 Chinese Exclusion Act chronicles silenced lives of heartbreak and hope

An extension of her national exhibition of the same name, Catherine Clement’s latest book shares individual experiences of Canada’s dark period of Chinese exclusion

Just-released book The Place of Objects captures the extensive collection of John David Lawrence

Publication with corresponding Vancouver Art Gallery exhibition highlights the rich stories and cultural importance of B.C.’s art scene

Vancouver’s Dora Prieto and Jess Goldman win RBC Bronwen Wallace Award for Emerging Writers

Annual prize presented by the Writers’ Trust of Canada carries $10,000 for each recipient, along with access to skill development and mentorship opportunities

New book Sea of Islands showcases UBC Museum of Anthropology's Oceanic collection

Release by Figure 1 Publishing and MOA features more than 250 photographs alongside text by museum curator Carol E. Mayer

Toby Thompson's poetry takes jazz-infused solo at the Vancouver International Children’s Festival

In renowned one-man show I Wish I Was a Mountain, the award-winning British poet leans on rhythm of deep musical influences

Book review: Rodney DeCroo's Night Moves focuses on the passing mysteries of city's sidewalks

With this gritty collection of street photographs, the Vancouver songwriter, poet, and playwright opens a new chapter in his hard-won life as an artist

Whisky & Words offers a chance to celebrate local standouts, April 25 at Performance Works

Vancouver Writers Fest fundraiser features tastings from strong B.C. contingent, as well as Scottish distillers

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Vancouver Writers Fest founder Alma Lee remembered for putting city “on the literary map”

The founding executive director of the Writers' Union of Canada and the Writers Development Trust was also founding president of Music on Main

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The 2025 fest journeys from searing personal memoirs to hilariously neurotic short stories to a cookbook about modern Jewish cuisine

JCC Jewish Book Festival launches landmark 40th-annual edition, February 22 to 27

Lineup opens with memoirist Selina Robinson and closes with actor-comedian Brett Gelman of Stranger Things and Fleabag

Jewish Book Festival prologue event features two renowned authors, January 19

Maya Arad and Eshkol Nevo will discuss their latest works

Daniel Levitin speaks at a special Vancouver Writers Fest post-festival event, November 19

The neuroscientist, writer, and musician’s conversation with André Picard has musical interludes by Chor Leoni

B.C. author Li Charmaine Anne among the winners of 2024 Governor General’s Literary Awards

New Westminster writer takes home award for young people’s literature—text with Crash Landing

Curve!: Women Carvers on the Northwest Coast hits bookshelves

Publication co-curated by Dana Claxton and Curtis Collins is accompanied by an exhibition at the Audain Art Museum in Whistler

Jack Shadbolt: In His Words paints a picture of a man who longed to be understood

Local arts critic and friend of the late artist, Susan Mertens, assembled the memoir from the painter’s journals, letters, talks, writings, and poetry

Artist Geoffrey James's Canadian Photographs captures fast-changing spaces, coast to coast

Launching new book at the Polygon Gallery, Canadian photographer has an eye for unchecked development and elusive nature

Dorothy Grant: An Endless Thread traces four decades of a Haida haute couture trailblazer

Appearing at Vancouver Writers Fest, the designer talks about a 40-year career that set the stage for today’s explosion of Indigenous fashion

Marc Garneau unpacks memoir A Most Extraordinary Ride at BlueShore at CapU, November 18

Former Minister of Foreign Affairs and first Canadian to go into space talks about his awe-inspiring life trajectory

Drew Hayden Taylor chats about his latest thriller at the Vancouver Writers Fest, October 26

In Cold, Ojibway author tells the humour-laced story of two women left stranded after a tragic plane crash

L.A.-based screenwriter Yulin Kuang serves romance with a dash of realism in debut novel

Ahead of Vancouver Writers Fest event, author delves into resurgence of rom coms and the importance of stories that feel “true to life”

B.C. authors among finalists revealed for the 2024 Governor General’s Literary Awards

Vancouver’s Danny Ramadan and Burnaby poet Brandi Bird are among the local nominated scribes

Explore a stellar selection of events at this year's Vancouver Writers Fest, October 21 to 27

Tickets are now available for a conversation with bestselling mystery novelist Nita Prose, dramatic readings of songs from film soundtracks, and beyond