Siel Ju

Category: Siel

Siel Ju’s publications and events

  • Five Firsts: Me on voyeurism, desire, identity

    Five Firsts: Me on voyeurism, desire, identity

    Cake Time by Siel JuSo usually I post a monthly interview with an author I admire whose book I’m giving away.

    But since I’m giving away my own Cake Time this month to celebrate its publication, I’ll take this opportunity to link to interviews with me in other places and hope that you won’t think that’s too narcissistic!

    These are both amazing lit zines that deserve your time and attention. Thank you to the interviewers for featuring me and my work —

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    Michelle Ross at Fiction Writers Review: This sensation of watching one’s life from outside the self, like it’s a theatrical performance, is a running theme in your book. And I think it’s a sensation to which we can all relate to some extent or another. Would you talk a little bit about this in terms of your novel as a whole? Why does this topic interest you?

    Me: …. I think it’s because this sense of watching one’s life from outside the self seems very self-effacing — in a I-cannot-bear-to-be-truly-present-for-this-experience-type manner–yet simultaneously, very self-indulgent — in a I-like-to-spend-my-time-watching-film-clips-of-myself kind of way. It’s both an erasure of the self and an obsession with the self.

    More at Fiction Writers Review.
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    Shilpa Argawal at Angels Flight • literary west: The book has a voyeuristic feel; you invite us into very intimate moments, and you don’t sugarcoat them. You write, “I started really watching him, hard. And as I bore my eyes into him, I could sense a shift in him, too … I was frightening him.” Sexual encounters fade into a parody of themselves. Characters shift under the unflinching gaze of the protagonist, who misses nothing. Would you say this is the point of view of the book?

    Me: I love this question — it really points to the voyeuristic experience of reading for me, this desire as a reader to watch the characters go through the experiences of a story and feel a part of that experience by proxy. It makes me wonder if living is all that different from reading, especially when both modes can evoke the exact same thoughts and emotions.

    More at AFLW, where you can also read “The Robertson Case,” a story from Cake Time.

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    I’m currently in Portland on book tour — and will be at Powell’s on Hawthorne tonight, chatting with Kevin Sampsell! Then it’s off to Belligham, Seattle, after which I return to LA for more events. I hope to see you at one of them — Please come say hello!

  • I’ll be at AWP in DC signing and reading from Cake Time

    I’ll be at AWP in DC signing and reading from Cake Time

    Will you be in Washington DC later this week? If so, let’s catch up! I’ll be signing books — and reading — and singing karaoke — at the AWP conference, and hope to see your friendly face —

    AWP, for those who don’t know, stands for Association of Writers & Writing Programs — a professional organization for writers with a focus on college and university writing programs. Each year, AWP has an annual conference that brings many thousands of people together, and this year that conference happens February 8 – 11 at Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington DC.

    And I’ll be there! First, about the book signing: Officially, Cake Time isn’t out until April 6, 2017 — but early copies of my novel-in-stories will be available at AWP! Please come by the Red Hen Press booth — # 412/414/416 — to check out a copy and say hello. I’ll be there all three days:

    * Thurs, Feb. 9, 11:30 am – 12:30 pm
    * Fri, Feb. 10, 10:30 am – 11:30 am
    * Sat, Feb. 11, 11 am – noon

    (more…)

  • One book review in Los Angeles Review of Books

    One book review in Los Angeles Review of Books

    Visit Los Angeles Review of Books today, and you’ll find on the front page a new book review I wrote — “To Be Young, Rich, and Screen-Addicted: Lindsey Lee Johnson’s The Most Dangerous Place on Earth.”

    Here’s a little excerpt:

    Although the teens in The Most Dangerous Place on Earth never grow up enough to contend with a world beyond their own lives, the novel effectively highlights the perils of sharing anything personal or meaningful today. Anything you say or do can be uploaded onto Instagram, dissected on Twitter, ridiculed on Facebook — the private has become public in a very different way.

    Read the rest at Los Angeles Review of Books!

  • Cake Time receives a Kirkus starred review

    Cake Time receives a Kirkus starred review

    Cake Time by Siel JuIt’s almost Cake Time — and my forthcoming novel-in-stories received a Kirkus starred review!

    “A promising start for a brave and unapologetically bold new writer,” ends the review. You can read the rest at Kirkus.

    Early copies of Cake Time will be available at AWP in Washington DC in February — and I’ll be going on a west coast book tour around the book launch on April 6, followed by an east coast book tour in June. The itinerary is still being worked out, but some readings are already listed on my events page, with more to be added soon. Hope to see you your town!

    Preorder now: Barnes & Noble | Target | IndieBound | Skylight

  • One weekend, two readings: Hear me at SoCal Poetry Festival and Roar Shack

    One weekend, two readings: Hear me at SoCal Poetry Festival and Roar Shack

    Roar Shack reading series at 826LA in Los Angeles

    Clear your calendar and come hang out with me at two readings this weekend!

    First up: Southern California Poetry Festival happens all weekend at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach. My reading with Red Hen Press happens tomorrow, Saturday, Sep. 10, at 2 pm. Would love to see you there! (More about the festival)

    Secondly: The monthly reading series Roar Shack returns on Sunday, Sep. 11 at 4 pm. I’ll be reading fiction here — along with Natasha Deon, Seth Fischer, Rich Ferguson, and Toni Ann Johnson. (More about Roar Shack)

    Both events are free and open to the public. Come say hello!

  • I’m reading at the Southern California Poetry Festival in Long Beach 9/10

    I’m reading at the Southern California Poetry Festival in Long Beach 9/10

    Southern California Poery FestivalThe first ever Southern California Poetry Festival happens next month in Long Beach. Organized by Sonia Greenfield and Donna Hilbert in partnership with The Poetry Foundation, the weekend affair going to be two days filled with readings, panels, and keynotes — topped off with cocktail hours at The Brass Lamp Book Bar!

    Hear luminaries like Amy Gerstler and Henri Cole, discover a dozen or so local literary journals, and find out about local bookish nonprofits. There’ll even be a panel moderated by former book critic of the Los Angeles Times David Ulin, with the provocative title, “Does SoCal Have a Voice?” I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that the panelists — Marilyn Chin, Suzanne Lummis, Luis Rodriguez, Ralph Angel — are probably going to say yes.

    I’ll be reading with the Los Angeles Review crew on Saturday, Sep. 10 from 2 pm to 3 pm, along with Charles Harper Webb (Amplified Dog), Jessica Piazza (Interrobang), and Kim Dower (Slice of Moon). Here’s the full schedule lineup for both days.

    Reserve a FREE ticket for the festival here — though I must warn you that all 175 tickets for Saturday are already taken! That said, if you’re a reader of this blog and would like to come on Saturday, just leave a comment ASAP and I’ll contact the organizers to get a ticket reserved for you.

    Hope to see you there!

    Southern California Poetry Festival. Saturday, Sep. 10 – Sunday, Sep. 11, 2016. Aquarium of the Pacific, 100 Aquarium Way, Long Beach.