Instant New YORK TIMES Bestseller

New york Times notable book of 2021

One of President Obama’s Favorite books of 2021

NPR Best Book of 2021

A TODAY SHOW Read with Jenna Pick

BeautiFUL Country

Out now!

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 An incandescent memoir from an astonishing new talent, Beautiful Country puts readers in the shoes of an undocumented child living in poverty in the richest country in the world.

 In Chinese, the word for America, Mei Guo, translates directly to “beautiful country.” Yet when seven-year-old Qian arrives in New York City in 1994 full of curiosity, she is overwhelmed by crushing fear and scarcity. In China, Qian’s parents were professors; in America, her family is “illegal” and it will require all the determination and small joys they can muster to survive.
 
    In Chinatown, Qian’s parents labor in sweatshops. Instead of laughing at her jokes, they fight constantly, taking out the stress of their new life on one another. Shunned by her classmates and teachers for her limited English, Qian takes refuge in the library and masters the language through books, coming to think of The Berenstain Bears as her first American friends. And where there is delight to be found, Qian relishes it: her first bite of gloriously greasy pizza, weekly “shopping days,” when Qian finds small treasures in the trash lining Brooklyn’s streets, and a magical Christmas visit to Rockefeller Center—confirmation that the New York City she saw in movies does exist after all.
 
    But then Qian’s headstrong Ma Ma collapses, revealing an illness that she has kept secret for months for fear of the cost and scrutiny of a doctor’s visit. As Ba Ba retreats further inward, Qian has little to hold onto beyond his constant refrain: Whatever happens, say that you were born here, that you’ve always lived here.

    Inhabiting her childhood perspective with exquisite lyric clarity and unforgettable charm and strength, Qian Julie Wang has penned an essential American story about a family fracturing under the weight of invisibility, and a girl coming of age in the shadows, who never stops seeking the light.

LISTEN TO A SAMPLE of BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY, the author-narrated audiobook

“Incredibly important, exquisitely written… Beautiful Country will make Qian Julie Wang a literary star.”

–Shondaland

A photo of Qian Julie Wang, a Chinese American woman, with red lipstick, a black gown, stilettos, long earrings, and an updo.

Photo credit: Brendan Wixted

QIAN JULIE WANG (pronounced “Chien Joolee Wong”) is a New York Times bestselling author and civil rights litigator. A graduate of Yale Law School and Swarthmore College, Qian Julie is managing partner of Gottlieb & Wang LLP, a firm dedicated to advancing education, disability, and civil rights on behalf of marginalized communities. Her writing has been published in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Elle, Harper’s Bazaar, and The Cut, and she has appeared on the TODAY Show, MSNBC, and NPR. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and their two rescue dogs, Salty and Peppers.

yesterday, i belatedly discovered these real talk Claudia Kishi #BSCremixed covers that the talented Phil Yu of @angryasianman designed back in 2017 (thank you @tkpcreates for bringing them to my attention!). for so long, Claudia was the only Asian n
During two landmark moments in my life, I questioned whether I was dreaming. The first was in 2016, when President @barackobama called me a “fellow American” on video during the ceremony where I earned my citizenship. The second was tod
last thursday, i was honored to be the author featured at the inaugural event for the Asian American Authors Book Club (site linked in bio; check out their upcoming events!). the unforgettable night at @bnfifthavenue was the salve for everyone still
so much of my book takes place in Chinatown, and particularly the area around Columbus Park. it was where i first attended school in the US, and where I first began to wrestle with, and then forge, my Asian American identity. this is why it was such
ID: my heart is broken. today i had one of those book events that authors of color warn each other early about, and that we hope no one else has to ever endure ⠀ -the event was for a women’s association, and i was one of three authors to speak.
such an honor speaking to the trailblazing @aliciamenendezxo on @msnbc’s American Voices. swipe through for a look behind the scenes and at a condensed video of our conversation. 💕
‘tis the season for best-of-the-year lists, a difficult time for creatives in subjective fields where it can be easy to define innate worth by external metrics. i am endlessly grateful to @NPR for naming BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY a best book of 2021; t
i was delighted to sit down with @brooklynmag to chat about my book and my childhood in Brooklyn, long before gentrifiers made it cool. swipe to read the write-up; link in bio for the audio of the full interview. thank you to Brooklyn Magazine for
i find today’s national holiday problematic, but i have zero problems with pie 🙃 so very grateful for @pieladybooks, who made a pie for BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY just in time for family dinners across the country. thank you, Stephanie, for the honor o
two for two on a new tradition: an author photo shoot every pandemic winter 🙃 thank you to everyone who made me look so good: photography 📸 @brendanwixtedphoto glam 💄 @alextbeauty vision & shoot assistance ♥️ @personapr styling 👗

Immigrants’ Rights Organizations

If you are looking to support immigrants’ rights or get involved in work in the area, here are just some of the vital organizations in the field. Please note that Qian Julie is not affiliated with the organizations below, which are particularly focused on the undocumented and young immigrant populations:

Make the Road New York • Kids In Need of Defense • Safe Passage Project • United We Dream • ACLU Immigrants’ rights project • Americans for Immigrant Justice