Jamie Ford (born July 9, 1968) is an American author. He is best known for his

debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to p ...

, '' Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet.'' The book spent 130 weeks on the New York Times Bestseller List, and was also awarded best "Adult Fiction" book at the 2010 Asian/Pacific American Awards for Literature. The book was also named the No. 1 Book Club Pick for Fall 2009/Winter 2010 by the

American Booksellers Association The American Booksellers Association (ABA) is a non-profit trade association founded in 1900 that promotes independent bookstores in the United States. ABA's core members are key participants in their communities' local economy and culture, and t ...

. In 2013, Ford released his second book, ''Songs of Willow Frost.'' His stories have also been included in '' Secret Identities: The Asian American Superhero Anthology'' and

The Apocalypse Triptych ''The Apocalypse Triptych'' is a series of three anthologies of apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, edited by John Joseph Adams and Hugh Howey. The first anthology, ''The End is Nigh'', was self-published on March 1, 2014, with the second ...

, a series of three anthologies of apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction where Ford wrote Asian-themed steampunk. The collections were edited by

John Joseph Adams John Joseph Adams (born 1976) is an American science fiction and fantasy editor, critic, and publisher. Career Editor Adams worked as Assistant Editor at ''The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction'' from May 2001 to December 2009. In January 20 ...

and

Hugh Howey Hugh C. Howey (born 1975) is an American writer, known best for the science fiction series ''Silo'', part of which he published independently through Amazon.com's Kindle Direct Publishing system. Howey was raised in Monroe, North Carolina and b ...

Early life

Jamie Ford was born on July 9, 1968, in

Eureka, California Eureka (Wiyot: ''Jaroujiji'', Hupa: ''do'-wi-lotl-ding'', Karuk: ''uuth'') is the principal city and county seat of Humboldt County in the Redwood Empire region of California. The city is located on U.S. Route 101 on the shores of Humboldt ...

, but grew up in

Ashland, Oregon Ashland is a city in Jackson County, Oregon, United States. It lies along Interstate 5 approximately 16 miles (26 km) north of the California border and near the south end of the Rogue Valley. The city's population was 21,360 at the 2020 cen ...

, and

Port Orchard Port Orchard, part of Washington state's Puget Sound, is the strait that separates Bainbridge Island on the east from the Kitsap Peninsula on the west. It extends from Liberty Bay and Agate Pass in the north to Sinclair Inlet and Rich Passage ...

and

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

, Washington. His father, a Seattle native, is of Chinese ancestry, while Ford's mother is of European descent. His Western last name "Ford" comes from his great grandfather, Min Chung (1850–1922), who immigrated to

Tonopah, Nevada Tonopah ( , Shoshoni language: Tonampaa) is an unincorporated town in, and the county seat of, Nye County, Nevada, United States. It is located at the junction of U.S. Routes 6 and 95, approximately midway between Las Vegas and Reno. In the 2 ...

in 1865 and later changed his name to William Ford. Ford's great grandmother, Loy Lee Ford, was the first Chinese woman to own property in Nevada. Ford earned a degree in Design from the Art Institute of Seattle and also attended Seattle's School of Visual Concepts.

Career

Ford is best known for his debut novel, '' Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet.'' The book received positive reviews after its release, and was also awarded best "Adult Fiction" book at the 2010 Asian/Pacific American Awards for Literature. In 2013, he released his second book, ''Songs of Willow Frost.'' In 2017, his third novel, ''Love and other Consolation Prizes'' was released. In 2018, ArtsFund presented him with their annual award for Outstanding Contribution to the Arts. Atria Books released Ford's next novel ''The Many Daughters of Afong Moy'' in August 2022.

Books

''Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet''

Ford's first book, '' Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet,'' was published on February 1, 2009. The novel received numerous awards after its publication. The most notable awards came in 2010, when the book was the winner in the "Adult Fiction" category at the 2010 Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature, and was a runner-up for the 2009

Langum Prize The David J. Langum Sr. Prizes are American literary awards for historical fiction, biography and legal history. They have been awarded annually since 2001 by the Langum Charitable Trust. The Langum Prize for American Historical Fiction (or Dav ...

for historical fiction. It was also named the No. 1 Book Club Pick for Fall 2009/Winter 2010 by the

. The book is set mainly in the

Nihonmachi is a term used to refer to historical Japanese communities in Southeast and East Asia. The term has come to also be applied to several modern-day communities, though most of these are called simply " Japantown", in imitation of the common term " ...

and Chinatown-International District areas of

, Washington. It switches between two different narratives of a

Chinese-American Chinese Americans are Americans of Han Chinese ancestry. Chinese Americans constitute a subgroup of East Asian Americans which also constitute a subgroup of Asian Americans. Many Chinese Americans along with their ancestors trace lineage from m ...

named Henry Lee, each one taking place at different points of his lifetime. The first narrative, taking place in 1942 just after the United States has entered

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, focuses on Henry's struggles with the racism towards Chinese and

Japanese-Americans are Americans of Japanese ancestry. Japanese Americans were among the three largest Asian American ethnic communities during the 20th century; but, according to the 2000 census, they have declined in number to constitute the sixth largest Asi ...

that was commonplace during that time period and his relationship with a Japanese-American girl named Keiko Okabe. The second narrative, also taking place mainly in the Chinatown-International District, is set in 1986, focusing mainly on an older Henry in his late fifties as he attempts to reconnect with his grown son, Marty, after the death of his wife Ethel. The book was part of various selections and picks in the media which included the IndieBound NEXT List Selection, a Borders Original Voices Selection, a Barnes & Noble Book Club Selection, Pennie's Pick at

Costco Costco Wholesale Corporation (doing business as Costco Wholesale and also known simply as Costco) is an American multinational corporation which operates a chain of membership-only big-box retail stores (warehouse club). As of 2022, Costco i ...

, a Target Bookmarked Club Pick, and a National Bestseller. The novel received positive reviews, including from the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' and the author

Lisa See Lisa See (born 18th February 1955) is an American writer and novelist. Her books include ''On Gold Mountain: The One-Hundred-Year Odyssey of My Chinese-American Family'' (1995), a detailed account of See's family history, and the novels '' Flower N ...

. Seattle author

Garth Stein Garth Stein is an American author and film producer from Seattle, Washington. Widely known as the author of the novel '' The Art of Racing in the Rain,'' Stein is also a documentary film maker, playwright, teacher, and amateur racer. Early life ...

commented, "A tender and satisfying novel set in a time and a place lost forever, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet gives us a glimpse of the damage that is caused by war—not the sweeping damage of the battlefield, but the cold, cruel damage to the hearts and humanity of individual people. Especially relevant in today's world, this is a beautifully written book that will make you think. And, more importantly, it will make you feel." Lisa See said the novel explores "old conflicts between father and son", while the book was "an impressive, bitter, and sweet debut."

Goodreads Goodreads is an American social cataloging website and a subsidiary of Amazon that allows individuals to search its database of books, annotations, quotes, and reviews. Users can sign up and register books to generate library catalogs and read ...

gave the novel a rating of 4 out of 5 stars, with over 100,000 votes. The book also received positive reviews from

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...

. As of 10-August-18, the book had 3082 reviews on Amazon.com, with 4.6 out of a possible 5 stars. '' Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet'' has been translated into 35 languages.

''Songs of Willow Frost''

On September 10, 2013, Ford released his second novel, ''Songs of Willow Frost'' which debuted at No. 11 on the

bestseller list. After the books release it received mainly positive reviews, with Barnes & Noble readers rating the book 4.5 out of 5 in November 2013. The book is the story of a twelve-year-old orphaned Chinese American boy named William. It is set in Seattle's Chinatown in the 1920s and 1930s and is alternately told from his mother's perspective and from William's. The book is also laced with details about life in Seattle in the 1920s and 1930s. The book references a number of historical figures, including "Rum King" Roy Olmstead and filmmaker

Nell Shipman Nell Shipman (born Helen Foster-Barham; October 25, 1892 – January 23, 1970) was a Canadian actress, author, screenwriter, producer, director, animal rights activist and animal trainer. Her works often had autobiographical elements to them and ...

. There also a host of references to gone-but-not-quite-forgotten places including the Meadows Race Track, Frederick & Nelson and Seattle's Film Row. Shortly after release, the book made it through to the second round of the 2013

Choice Awards in the category of historical fiction. As of 10-August-2018 the book had 684 reviews on Amazon averaging 4.1 of 5 stars.

''Love and Other Consolation Prizes''

At Seattle's 1909 World's Fair, a young boy named Earnest was auctioned off. Little, if any, more is known about him. Jamie Ford has given him a family name, Young, a girl friend, a life in the 'tenderloin' district of Seattle, and later a wife and daughters. As of 10-August-2018 the book has 275 reviews on Amazon averaging 4.4 of 5 stars.

Personal

Ford married Leesha Procopio on August 8, 2008, at 8:08 pm in

, the number eight being a Chinese lucky number. Ford was a friend and fan of

Harlan Ellison Harlan Jay Ellison (May 27, 1934 – June 28, 2018) was an American writer, known for his prolific and influential work in New Wave speculative fiction and for his outspoken, combative personality. Robert Bloch, the author of '' Psycho'' ...

and in 2012 bought Ellison's first typewriter, a 1938 Remington Wireless Portable. Jamie Ford currently lives in Montana.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ford, Jamie 1968 births Living people Writers from Ashland, Oregon American male writers