Curtis Chin 陳國材

SHORT VERSION

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Curtis Chin is the author of the award-winning memoir, "Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant." A co-founder of the Asian American Writers’ Workshop in New York City, Curtis Chin served as the non-profits’ first Executive Director. He went on to write comedy for network and cable television before transitioning to social justice documentaries. Chin has screened his films at over 600 venues in twenty countries. He has written for CNN, Bon Appetit, the Detroit Free Press and the Emancipator/Boston Globe. A graduate of the University of Michigan, Chin has received awards from ABC/Disney Television, New York Foundation for the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, and more. His essay in Bon Appetit was just selected for Best Food Writing in America 2023 and his short doc, "Dear Corky" premiered on American Masters (PBS). He is currently working on a new docuseries on the history o Chines restaurants in America.

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LONG VERSION

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Curtis Chin's memoir, "Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant" was published by Little, Brown and Company in October 2023. The book is about growing up Asian American in the Black and white city of Detroit and coming out in his working-class immigrant community, as well as being a first-generation college student at the University of Michigan.

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Graduating with a degree in creative writing, Chin has written for CNN, Bon Appetit, the Detroit Free Press, and the Boston Globe, as well as for comedy shows on network television. Chin has received fellowships from ABC/Disney Television, the New York Foundation for the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts. He has won awards from the National Association for Multicultural Education, the National Association for Ethnic Studies, the American Librarians Association, Asian Americans Advancing Justice, and served as a Visiting Scholar at New York University.

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Chin has screened his films with over 600 entities in twenty countries including the White House, Lincoln Center, Amnesty International, SXSWEdu, and the Government of Norway. Past media include CNN, MSNBC, and public radio, as well as the Economist, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe, Seattle Times, Tricycle Magazine, the Huffington Post, and more. 

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As an organizer, Chin co-founded the Asian American Writers’ Workshop, the premiere non-profit dedicated to promoting Asian American writers. He has also worked as the Director of Outreach for the Democratic National Committee and served on Barack Obama’s Asian American Leadership Committee during his 2008 Presidential Campaign. 

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His most recent documentary, "Dear Corky," a short on photographer, Corky Lee, recently premiered on American Masters (PBS) and he is currently working on a new docuseries on the history of Chinese restaurants in America.