Jen Sookfong Lee wrote her first serious short story at the age of 10, a horror tale featuring a witch, a scrappy little girl and a casserole dish. She hasn't stopped writing since.

Her first novel, The End of East (Vintage Canada and Thomas Dunne Books), explores themes of isolation, immigration, romance and sanity through the eyes of its narrator, Sammy Chan, a Chinese Canadian woman in her early 20s, and through the experiences of her parents and grandparents. The End of East is a novel with poetry at its heart, mixing character study, history, place and sexuality for a story that is both edgy and evocative.

Critics have called The End of East "impressive," "an emotional powerhouse of a novel" and "accomplished," while Jen has been hailed as "a novelist to watch." An energetic and engaged stage presence, Jen has appeared at a number of literary festivals, including the Asian American Writers Workshop, the Vancouver International Writers Festival and International Readings at the Harbourfront Centre. She has spoken at universities and high schools across Canada and was the first debut novelist to be featured on CBC's Studio One Book Club.

A popular radio personality, Jen is the writing columnist for CBC Radio One's On the Coast with Stephen Quinn and All Points West with Jo-Ann Roberts. Her column, Westcoast Words, explores the plethora of words around us--online, on billboards, in magazines, on stages, everywhere--and the people who write them. She also appears regularly as a columnist on The Next Chapter with Shelagh Rogers and is a frequent co-host of the Studio One Book Club.

Jen is currently working on her first piece of young adult fiction, Shelter, which will be published by Annick Press as part of its Single Voice series in Spring 2011. She is also working on Miss Val and the Shutterbug, her second novel, which is scheduled for release by Knopf Canada in June 2011.

Jen is represented by the Carolyn Swayze Literary Agency. For more detailed information about Jen and the work she's doing, visit her website at www.sookfong.com.

Photo of Jen by Sherri Koop Photography