Introduction: Kathy Nguyen

Hello everyone! This is my dorky self:

Do you have a nickname?

My sister calls me Kappy, but everyone else calls me Kathy.

What do you like to read?

This is a difficult question to answer, mainly because there are too many books to list, and my reading habits are kind of…all over the place?

Some of my favourite novels include: The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman, The Shining by Stephen King, NOS4A2 by Joe Hill, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick, The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman, and Nervous Conditions by Tsitsi Dangarembga. Right now I’m reading A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki and am enjoying it so far.

Some shorts stories that I love are: "The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, “The Summer People” by Kelly Link, “Z.Z.’s Sleep-Away Camp for Disordered Dreamers” by Karen Russell, “The Last Ride of the Glory Girls” by Libba Bray, “Why I Read Beowulf” by Shashi Bhat, “Visitation” by Brad Watson, and “Fox 8” by George Saunders. 

I’m also partial to comics/manga, although I wish I was more of an expert in this area! Stuff that I’ve read and fangirl over: Fun Home by Alison Bechdel, Through the Woods by Emily Carroll, Nijigahara Holograph by Inio Asano, and 20th Century Boys by Naoki Urasawa. A comic series I started this year was Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman.

Also, if anyone has any reading recommendations for me, I would love to hear them!

What kind of stories do you write?

Speculative fiction! I’m interested in stories that are liminal in some way, either through structure/genre or theme, but I have also always wanted to write the perfect, quiet horror story at some point.

How would you describe your personality?

I’m rather shy and easily freaked out! If you think back to your high school days, I’m the kid in P.E. who does everything she can to avoid the ball but still gets hit in the face anyway.

What would you do this summer if you hadn’t been accepted to Clarion?

I would have continued working in a lab and volunteering at my local hospital. I think I also would have found a second part-time job for the summer to convince myself that I was being productive. Maybe I would have had time to fit in some travelling. Above all, I would have kept reading and writing. 

Who will you miss most while you’re in San Diego (cats, kids, partner, boss, coworkers)?

My family. 

Have you participated in an intensive writing workshop before?

No. The closest I have ever come to something like this would be those two undergraduate writing courses I took, and there was more than a hundred students enrolled in them. (So not even close at all!)

What scares you most about Clarion?

Well, everyone here seems to be so, so talented and have so much life experience; if anything, I’m super excited and lucky to learn from you all! I guess I’m worried that I won’t be able to keep up everyone, since I just make everything awkward and I work so slowly and I haven’t read widely or thoroughly enough and I haven’t had much in the way of a formal education in writing and maybe my writing sucks and I’m not actually supposed to be here (!). I think I should have posted sooner.

What do you do to relax or for recreation?

I go to the library. Sometimes, while I’m there, I borrow DVD’s so I can watch them with my sister late at night on the weekends. I watch many excellent (if you haven’t already, check out Spirited Away!) and not-so-excellent movies this way.

What 1-2 essential things will you bring to Clarion besides your laptop, watergun, and espresso maker?

Definitely a spiral-bound notebook, a mechanical pencil, and a heavy-duty eraser. I like to write stories in longhand, although I fear this might get me in trouble because I’m slow enough at writing already without having to type up everything.

What is your ideal career?

A writer.

What else do you want us to know about you?

I’m Canadian! 

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