Qin ("Ching") Sun Stubis

Author

Dear Kevin --

My name is Qin Sun Stubis. I was born in a Shanghai shantytown during the Great Chinese Famine, which killed some 50 million people and am now a writer, longtime newspaper columnist, and author of the book, “Once Our Lives: Life, Death and Love in the Middle Kingdom.”

I’m writing to explore whether you would consider having me as a guest to talk about my life's journey and my new book, which is the true story of four generations of Chinese women (including me) who struggle against the gigantic historical tides sweeping over them, as well as an ancient prophecy that seems to change their fates.

I can share stories of the tribulations my family and I went through, including our fight to survive war, revolution, famine, pirates, gender oppression, the unjust imprisonment of my honest but outspoken father, and even an attempt to assassinate me, my mother and sisters. The book takes the reader from cosmopolitan 1930s Shanghai to China’s dusty and dangerous Wild West and is filled with stories of lost jewels, babies sold in opium dens, kidnappings, and the eerie power of an ancient superstition that seemed to change the fates of the family.

I could talk about my life growing up inside a wooden shack in a shantytown, the colorful and dramatic stories of heroism and heartbreak from China during the past century, how women were often the ones who held their families together and helped them survive despite being second-class citizens, and how I worked to overcome poverty and the political persecution of my family to emigrate to the United States and become a newspaper columnist, poet, and author.

Support & Endorsements

“Once Our Lives” was named a Gold Winner in the Nonfiction Book Awards, #1 winner of the PenCraft Award for literary excellence in culture/history, a Best Book Award winner, the first-place winner of the Nellie Bly Award for Journalistic Non-Fiction, and winner of the Readers’ Favorite Book Awards. It was also chosen as a top selection by Ms. Magazine and Glamour Magazine UK.

Here is a short bio that was put together about me:

Qin was born amidst the rubble of a Shanghai shantytown during the Great Chinese Famine, which killed some 50 million people. She was left alone in her crude bamboo crib for two years while her parents worked to scrape together a few coins each day for their daily handful of rice. Growing up, she and her sisters were at first ignored by the rest of the family for being “worthless” girls, and later shunned as political pariahs when their honest father was imprisoned for speaking out against the injustice he saw around them.

Despite extreme poverty, Qin pulled herself up by reading forbidden books and winning admission to one of China’s most prestigious universities, graduating with a degree in English and English Literature. With the help of a powerful U.S. Senator, she emigrated to the United States to further her studies and became the first foreign student ever to graduate from her university’s department of communications.

For the past 15 years, she has been a newspaper columnist, exploring the rich legacy of Asian culture and the common links of humanity we all share. She also writes poems, essays, short stories, and original Chinese tall tales inspired by traditional Asian themes. Qin has published more than 200 works in such media as The New York Times, USA Today, The Santa Monica Star, GRAND Magazine, Lotus Magazine, Paper Dragon, and Mochi Magazine, and speaks to audiences around the world about writing and the need to strengthen the bonds of understanding and humanity that connect us all.

You can find out more about her and her book, “Once Our Lives,” at www.QinSunStubis.com/news .

Thank you for your kind consideration!

Qin Sun Stubis
qstubis@gmail.com
www.QinSunStubis.com