Nicole Chung (born May 5, 1981) is an American writer and editor. She is the former managing editor of ''

The Toast ''The Toast'' was an American anthology, humor and feminist writing website, founded by editors Nicole Cliffe and Daniel M. Lavery (né Ortberg) and publisher Nicholas Pavich. It was active from January 2013 through July 2016. Content and tar ...

'', the editor-in-chief of ''Catapult'' magazine, and the author of the memoir ''All You Can Ever Know''.

Early life and education

Chung was born in Seattle in 1981 to Korean parents who put her up for adoption after she spent months on life support. She was raised in Oregon by adoptive white Catholic parents. In her mid-20s Chung took a nonfiction class and started writing essays. She attended

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consi ...

, graduating with an undergraduate degree from the Krieger School of Arts & Sciences in 2003 and an MA in 2014. , Chung lives in

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, Na ...

, with her husband Dan and two daughters.

Career

Chung worked as the managing editor for ''

'' from 2014 until the site closed in 2016, after which she became the editor-in-chief of ''Catapult'' magazine. She continued writing essays on topics involving gender, race, and media, such as the impact of seeing Asian American figure skater

Kristi Yamaguchi Kristine Tsuya Yamaguchi (born July 12, 1971) is an American former figure skater. In ladies' singles, Yamaguchi is the 1992 Olympic champion, a two-time World champion (1991 and 1992), and the 1992 U.S. champion. In 1992, she became the first ...

on television and the experience of casual racism at dinner parties. Her first book, a memoir titled ''All You Can Ever Know'', was published by Catapult in 2018. The memoir follows Chung's own life story as well as the story of her birth sister, whom she met after reestablishing contact with their birth parents. The book is structured around Chung's efforts during her first pregnancy to reconstruct the story of her own origins, including searching for her birth family, contacting them, then discovering a history of abuse, divorce, and deception. Writing for ''

The Washington Post ''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 ...

'', Bethanne Patrick called ''All You Can Ever Know'' "one of this year’s finest books", while ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

'' called it "vibrant and provocative". Katy Waldman of ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'' praised the book's "relatability" but noted that the characters are "sympathetic, but not particularly enthralling" and that she wanted "more surprise, more invention, from this book". Kate Tuttle of ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

'' summarized the book as "deeply thoughtful and moving" and "a fiercely compelling page-turner".

Works

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chung, Nicole Soojung 1981 births Living people 21st-century American essayists 21st-century American women writers American adoptees American online publication editors American women memoirists 21st-century American memoirists American writers of Korean descent Johns Hopkins University alumni Writers from Oregon Writers from Seattle South Korean adoptees