10 Books by AANHPI Writers in The Midwest
Hello, book worms. How have you been? If you’re anything like me, none of the chaos happening in 2026 has stopped you from hoarding books. If anything, we consider reading as therapy. In case you’re looking for books written by Asian Diasporic and Asian American authors, we’ve partnered with Kansas City’s brilliant multi-lingual bookstore Babbling Bookery this year to bring forth curated reading lists and monthly read-along programs.
For our first install, here are 10 books by AANHPI writers in the Midwest to add to your reading list.
The Symmetry of Fish
by. Su Chuo
Language and lore are at the core of The Symmetry of Fish, a moving debut about coming-of-age in the middle of nowhere. Indiana-based poet and essayist Su Chuo was born in South Korea and have walked an impressive professional path in the literary world. The Symmetry of Fish is the author’s debut poetry collection.
Talk Thai :
the adventures of Buddhist boy
by. Ira Sukrungruang
Ira Sukrungruang, with his roots in Chicago, presents a heart-warming collection of essays in Talk Thai, spanning across Sukrungruang’s upbring in Oak Lawn, Illinois to the end of high school. The title, “Talk Thai,” refers to one of the eight rules posted on the family’s refrigerator. The memoir discusses the ongoing conflict the author experiences between Thai and American culture.
I'll Have What He's Having
by. Adib Khorram
“When it comes to love, substitute teacher Farzan Alavi is a disaster.
Newly heartbroken-again-he's drowning his sorrows at Kansas City's newest wine bar. Only instead of being crowded between strangers, he's escorted to a VIP table for one. There, the hot sommelier does more than treat him to the meal of his lite. The way he flirts with Farzan ignites instant sparks.”
In I’ll Have What He’s Having, Kansas City-based queer Iranian American author Adib Khorram brings forward an unforgettable romance full of real-life humor and realistic struggles.
Bliss Montage
by. Ling Ma
Ling Ma’s second book and first short story collection is a beautiful celebration of magical realism, surrealism, and absurdism, dancing between tangible reality and imaginative fables.
Collectively, the stories create a caricature of “people making their way through the madness and reality of our collective delusions (Macmillan Publishers).”
Kansastan
BY. Farooq Ahmed
“Inspired by the American Civil War, KANSASTAN takes place in a dystopic Kansas that is besieged by its neighboring state, Missouri. Close to the state line, an orphaned and disabled goatherd lives atop a minaret and is relegated to custodial work by the mosque's imam while the threat of occupation looms. When his aunt and cousin arrive, the mosque's congregants believe that the cousin, Faisal, is a young prophet.”
The Boat
BY. NAM LE
Vietnamese-Australian author Nam Le tells stories across United States, Australia, Colombia, and a boat tossed around by the waves of South China Sea. Though this book isn’t written by a Midwestern author, it carries certain midwestern roots and is simply too good to be left out of this list.
The Adventures of Joe Harper
by Phong Nguyen
“The Adventures of Joe Harper picks up where The Adventures of Tom Sawyer leaves off. Twenty years after plundering with Tom, Joe Harper is a failed pirate turned vagabond, wandering in search of the perfect cave in which to die. What he finds instead is a philosophizing Chinese railroad worker and an Amish woman fleeing a forced marriage a surrogate family that bonds over their hobo adventures. (Yellow Dog Books)”
Phong Nguyen is based in Missouri.
Central Places: A Novel
by. Delia Cai
“A young woman’s past and present collide when she brings her white fiancé home to meet her Chinese immigrant parents in this vibrant debut from an exciting new voice in fiction. (Penguin Random House)”
Cai is a freelance writer, editor who grew up in central Illinois.
Road to Ruin
by. Hana Lee
Based in Topeka, KS, Lee’s science fiction tells the tale of Jin-Lu, a megabike courier in the wasteland. Like a darker version of the beloved anime classic Tegami Bachi, Lee’s courier carries love letters from a prince to Yi-Nereen, a princess desperate to escape the clutches of her abusive family and soon-to-be husband.
The Last Tiger
by. Julia Riew and Brad Riew
Inspired by true stories from the Missouri-based authors’ grandparents’ lives during one of the darkest periods in Korean history, The Last Tiger is a young adult fantasy novel about the power of love to give voice to a silenced people. It debuted at #5 on the New York Times Bestseller List.