Asian, South Asian, & Pacific Islander Authors/Stories

Last Updated: September 28, 2023

Deep as the Sky, Red as the Sea by Rita Chang-Eppig

Deep as the Sky, Red as the Sea
by Rita Chang-Eppig

Shek Yeung’s husband, a feared pirate, is slain by a Portuguese sailor, so she marries his second-in-command and bears him a son and heir in order to retain power over her half of the fleet. The Chinese Emperor has charged a nobleman with ridding the South China Sea of pirates, and the Europeans have new plans for the area. Shek Yeung navigates motherhood and leadership, and she must decide how long she is willing to fight- and at what price.

The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese

The Covenant of Water
by Abraham Verghese

Spanning from 1900 to 1977 and set in Kerala, South India, this novel follows three generations of a family that suffers a peculiar affliction: in every generation, at least one person dies by drowning- and in Kerala, water is everywhere.

Yellowface by R. F. Kuang

Yellowface
by R. F. Kuang

After the death of her literary rival in a freak accident, author June Hayward steals her just-finished masterpiece, sending it to her agent as her own work, but as emerging evidence threatens her success, she discovers how far she’ll go to keep what she thinks she deserves.

Victory City by Salman Rushdie

Victory City
by Salman Rushdie

In the wake of an insignificant battle between two long-forgotten kingdoms in fourteenth-century southern India, a nine-year-old girl has a divine encounter that will change the course of history. After witnessing the death of her mother, the grief-stricken Pampa Kampana becomes a vessel for the goddess Parvati, who begins to speak out of the girl’s mouth.

The Perfumist of Paris by Alka Joshi

The Perfumist of Paris
by Alka Joshi

After being tasked with her first major project for the master perfumer, Radha travels to India, enlisting the help of her sisters and the courtesans of Agra, but discovers that the son she gave up years earlier is heading to locate her in Paris–threatening her marriage and carefully managed world.

Now You See Us by Balli Kaur Jaswal

Now You See Us
by Balli Kaur Jaswal

Three women who work in the homes of Singapore’s elite band together to solve a murder mystery involving one of their own.

Y/N by Esther Yi

Y/N
by Esther Yi

The narrator, a Korean American woman living in Berlin, is obsessed with K-pop idol Moon. She begins writing Y/N fanfiction (in which you, the reader, insert [Your/Name] and play out an intimate relationship with the star. When Moon suddenly retires, she journeys to Korea in search of the object of her love.

Banyan Moon by Thao Thai

Banyan Moon
by Thao Thai

Three Vietnamese American women mourning the death of the family matriarch recount their lives and childhoods at a crumbling, gothic manor called Banyan House, where the secrets of her grandmother’s past come to light.