Helen Catherine Wan (born January 29, 1973) is a Taiwanese-American

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire to ...

and lawyer. She is the author of the 2013 novel ''The Partner Track'', the story of a young Chinese-American woman poised to become the first minority female partner at a powerful, prestigious corporate law firm and the basis for the 2022 series ''

Partner Track '' Partner Track'' is an American legal drama streaming television series developed by Georgia Lee, based on Helen Wan's 2013 novel ''The Partner Track''. It premiered on Netflix on August 26, 2022. In November 2022, the series was canceled af ...

''.

Background

Wan was born in California and raised near

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

by parents Peter and Catherine Wan who were originally from

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

and had met there, immigrating to the United States in the 1960s. She also graduated from The Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology,

Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zephaniah Swift Moore, Amherst is the third oldest institution of higher educatio ...

, and The

University of Virginia School of Law The University of Virginia School of Law (Virginia Law or UVA Law) is the law school of the University of Virginia, a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson as part of his "academical v ...

. Prior to becoming a full-time author and lecturer, she was Associate General Counsel at the

Time Inc. Time Inc. was an American worldwide mass media corporation founded on November 28, 1922, by Henry Luce and Briton Hadden and based in New York City. It owned and published over 100 magazine brands, including its namesake ''Time'', ''Sports Illu ...

division of Time Warner Inc. and a corporate and media attorney at the law firms Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz, P.C. and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, and practised media and corporate law in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

for over fifteen years.

Writing

Wan's novel, ''The Partner Track'', was first published by

St. Martin's Press St. Martin's Press is a book publisher headquartered in Manhattan, New York City, in the Equitable Building. St. Martin's Press is considered one of the largest English-language publishers, bringing to the public some 700 titles a year under si ...

in September 2013 and became the subject of a ''

Washington Post Magazine ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' cover story, has been optioned for television, and is now being taught in law schools and universities. Wan is also a frequently invited speaker at corporations, law firms, law schools, universities, leadership and diversity conferences, and bar associations on diversity and inclusion in corporate America and advancing the careers of women, Asian Americans and women of color. She has also been a contributor to CNN, ''The Washington Post'', The Daily Beast, ''The Huffington Post'', and many other publications.

References

External links

Helen Wan's Official WebsiteAbove The Law Interview with Helen Wan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wan, Helen 1973 births 21st-century American novelists Living people Amherst College alumni American writers of Taiwanese descent American women writers of Chinese descent American women novelists American women lawyers Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology alumni University of Virginia School of Law alumni 21st-century American women writers American novelists of Chinese descent