It’s definitely something I struggle to get used to, to stop myself from brushing off my books and be all “oh, it’s nothing, just a hobby” if it comes up among the college crowd and on the other end, to not invalidate myself as a student like “oh, I just go to class” among the author crowd.Ī lot of undergrads find it difficult balancing coursework with everything else in college –like spending time with friends or working a job, or, you know, sleeping. I think the closer I get to publication, the more that these two sides of me start to merge into one, especially when my college friends find out about my books. Wild! It feels like leading a double life sometimes because it’s not like I wear my Twitter bio around when I’m walking about campus or going to class, so Student Chloe and Author Chloe are very much two separate people. How does it feel to be hitting such a huge milestone before you’ve even turned your tassel?
Your debut novel, These Violent Delights, drops this November – almost smack dab in the middle of your senior year of college. The following is a conversation with New Zealand’s favorite knife enthusiast about what it’s like debuting a novel when you still have midterms creeping up on you. Set in 1920s Shanghai, this Romeo and Juliet retelling features rival gangs, longstanding grudges, and a monster dwelling in the depths of the Huangpu River. How else would we justify the National Book Foundation’s annual 5 Under 35 list?īut unlike voting, driving, or drinking, there is no age requirement for having a story in your heart nor for knowing how to tell it.Įnter Chloe Gong, University of Pennsylvania undergrad student and author of the forthcoming YA historical fantasy These Violent Delights.
Publishing is often seen as a “mature” person’s game, so much so that writers who successfully claim a seat at the Big-Kids Table and achieve critical success before crossing particular age thresholds are lauded as rarities, prodigies who beat the odds by creating something noteworthy despite their young years.
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