Kevin Chong, MFA

(He, Him, His)

Associate Professor

Creative Studies, Creative Writing

Other Titles: Chair, Anti-Racism and Indigenous Initiatives Committee, UBC Faculty Association
Office: CCS 337
Email: kevin.chong@ubc.ca

Research Summary

Creative writing, fiction, creative nonfiction, literary journalism, dramatic writing.

Courses & Teaching

Creative writing, novel, short story, memoir, personal essay, lyric essay, literary journalism.

Biography

Kevin is the author of seven books of fiction and nonfiction, including the novel The Double Life of Benson Yu, a finalist for the 2023 Scotiabank Giller Prize and named a Best Book of Canadian Fiction by the CBC. His books have been named books of the year by Globe and Mail, National Post, and Amazon.ca, listed for a CBC prize, a BC Book Prize, and a National Magazine Award, optioned for film and TV, and published in the US, Europe, and Australia. His creative nonfiction and journalism have appeared in the Guardian, the Times Literary Supplement, the Rumpus, and the South China Morning Post.

Photo credit: Iris Chia

Websites

thatkevinchong.com

Degrees

BA English and Creative Writing, University of British Columbia, MFA, Writing (Fiction) Columbia University.

Selected Publications & Presentations

The Double Life of Benson Yu (North America: Atria/Simon & Schuster, 2023): Finalist for the 2023 Scotiabank Giller Prize and named a Best Book of Canadian Fiction by the CBC

The Plague, (North America: Arsenal Pulp, 2018).

Northern Dancer, (North America: Penguin Canada, 2014): Excerpt appeared as a cover story in Reader’s Digest Canada in August 2014.

My Year of the Racehorse, (North America: Greystone Books, 2012): Named a book of the year in the National Post, the Montreal Gazette, and Amazon.ca

Beauty Plus Pity, (North America: Arsenal Pulp, 2011; Macedonia/Albanian language: Shkupi, 2015).

Neil Young Nation, (North America: Greystone Books, 2005; Australia: Hardie Grant, 2006): Named a best book in the Globe and Mail, the Toronto Star, and the Ottawa Citizen

Baroque-a-Nova (Canada: Penguin, 2001; United States: Putnam, 2002; France: Balland, 2002): Canada A.M. Book Club selection, a Walrus Bookshelf selection, Honourable Mention in Amazon.ca/Books in Canada First Novel Award

Selected Grants & Awards

Canada Council, 2019 and other years

BC Arts Council, 2020 and other years

Access Copyright Grant, 2015

Awards & Distinctions

Finalist, Scotiabank Giller Prize, 2023

Juror, Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust Prize for Nonfiction, 2021

Honourable Mention, Best Canadian Short Stories 2021

Longlist, CBC Creative Nonfiction Prize, 2020

Juror, Governor General Literary Awards, English Nonfiction, 2016

Longlist, CBC Creative Nonfiction Prize, 2015

Finalist, Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award, 2015

Finalist, Hubert Evans Prize (Best Original Non-Fiction), 2015

Semifinalist, Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award, 2013

Honourable Mention, National Magazine Award, 2009

Bronze, Foreword Magazine Book of the Year, 2005

Juror, Writers Trust Rogers Fiction Award, 2003

Honourable Mention, Books In Canada/Amazon.ca First Novel Award, 2001

BC Arts Council Scholarship, 1997 and 1999

Hertog Research Fellowship, Columbia University, 1999

National Magazine Award Honourable Mention, 2009

Amazon.ca First Novel Prize, Honourable Mention, 2002

Professional Services/Affiliations/Committees

The Writers Union of Canada

Graduate Supervisions

Mackenzie Blackwood, Dreamless Deep (novel), 2024.

Larissa Piva, In Between Us (novel), 2023.

Justin Madu, The Smark (personal essays), 2023.

Rasma Haidri, My Mother Doesn’t Do Pink (memoir), 2021.

Teri Armitage, MFA, Happier Home Death Handbook (memoir), 2018.

Geoff Cole, MFA, Jellyfish Blues (novel), 2017.

Mason Hanrahan, MFA, The Castle (novel), 2017

Lenore Rowntree, MFA, Cluck (novel), 2012, published by Thistledown Press in 2016.