A Coffee Date with Su Chang

Author of The Immortal Woman.

Paint a picture of your favourite coffee shop for writing. What makes it perfect to you? Is it the corner table, the barista who knows your name, the way the light hits at 2pm?

I so wish I could write in a coffee shop! I’m unhealthily attached to my writing desk at home. But I love to read or jot down random ideas at a coffee shop. A window seat overlooking some greenery and light jazz in the background both help. Shelves with books are a big plus too.

You’re at the counter. The barista knows your order by heart. What are you getting? Be oddly specific.

If it’s morning, I’d love a ginger lemon honey tea. If night, a passionflower that’s surprisingly soothing despite its name.

You're sitting across from me now, coffee (or other beverage) in hand. Tell me a bit about yourself and your latest book.

I am a Chinese-Canadian writer. My debut novel, The Immortal Woman, was published by House of Anansi in March 2025 and has received critical acclaim. It is a generational story following a Chinese mother and daughter who wrestle with the demons of their past. The mother, once a student Red Guard leader in 1960s Shanghai and a journalist at a state newspaper, was involved in a brutal act of violence during the Tiananmen Square protests and lost all hope for her country. The daughter is a student at an American university on a mission to become a true Westerner. The novel reveals an insider’s view of Chinese modern history and the fractured lives of Chinese immigrants and those they leave behind. I have also written plays and short fiction.

You notice I'm scribbling your social media handles and website on receipt paper (old barista habit). What should I write down so readers can find you?

Please find me on Instagram (@suchangwrites) and on my author website (suchangauthor.com).

I'm that friend who always asks 'what should I read next?' What are your top three current reads that you'd practically force into my hands, and why is each one consuming your thoughts?

1. Saga Boy by Antonio Michael Downing – a lyrical memoir tracing the author’s journey from a trauma-scarred childhood to self-reclamation in Canada, unpacking generational wounds and the many masks we wear. I found myself and my own journey reflected in this book.

2. Lost Dogs by Lucie Page – this is a hidden gem, a book full of dark humour and modern anxieties. It’s a witty and wise book that shows how being lost might just lead us to our truest selves.

3. The Migrant Rain Falls in Reverse by Vinh Nguyen – a stunning book that blends memory, history and speculation as the author searches for his father who disappeared amid refugee crossings after the Fall of Saigon. A mesmerizing meditation on loss and longing.

The coffee shop WIFI just went down, so we're stuck here talking. Tell me the weird, unexpected, or completely ridiculous path that led you to become a writer.

I’m convinced I was born to be a writer. My father was a writer. I grew up an avid reader and published my first short story in grade three in a Chinese national youth newspaper. But I soon learned, from my father’s and others’ experiences, that being a writer in China means being subjected to constant censorship. I ended up studying STEM in university. After I immigrated to North America in my 20s, I started reading English literature, and a decade later my writer’s dream was revived and I tried my hand at writing short pieces. Eventually, I went to the Humber School for Writers and studied with the wonderful Prof. Joseph Kertes. During that program, I worked on the first draft of what later became The Immortal Woman.

I’m timing you with my phone’s stopwatch. You have exactly 50 words to describe your writing ritual or process. Go!

When I work on a novel, I don’t edit until I reach the end of a first draft. Then edits and rewrites begin, which can take many rounds and a long time. I walk away from each draft, letting subconsciousness do the heavy lifting before I return to it.

You’re hosting a dinner party and can invite any of your characters. Who’s getting the invitation, and what are you serving? (Bonus points for pairing their personality with the menu).

I will invite the following characters and serve them the famous and familiar dishes:

Lemei (the Chinese mother in my novel): Red Braised Pork Belly (requires long, slow simmering, where tough cuts are made tender through time, much like Lemei, who has been through hardship yet emerges resilient).

Lin (the Chinese daughter in my novel): Congee with Century Egg and Pork (congee is her childhood comfort food and also endlessly adaptable, just as Lin who has stretched herself across continents and identities).

Yu Ma (Lemei’s mother): Lotus Root and Pork Rib Soup (lotus roots symbolizes memory and continuity, while pork ribs represent strength—the bones you cling to even as the world around you collapses).

The person at the next table is eavesdropping on us. Let's make them regret it. What's the weirdest research rabbit hole you've fallen down that would make them raise an eyebrow?

For the new fiction I’m working on, I researched the hidden cost of AI development and dived into reports on AI sweatshops all over the world. The dirty (and often cruel) work was relegated to the vulnerable population situated in or coming from the Global South, much like the previous iterations of colonization.

As we're leaving, you turn back and say something that will stick with me forever about writing, creativity, or life. What is it (no pressure)?

Don’t compare; you are not late or behind. The story you are meant to tell will wait for you, until you are strong enough to carry it.

Find out more about The Immortal Woman here.