NEA Big Read: A Celebration of Charles Yu's Interior Chinatown with Performances by Fang Du and Sami Ma

Since 2008, The Center for Fiction has partnered annually with the National Endowment for the Arts Big Read to create dynamic, community-wide, free programming centered around a single work of literature—inspiring meaningful conversations, artistic responses, and new discoveries and connections.

We couldn’t be more excited about this year’s Big Read title, Interior Chinatown—Charles Yu’s sharply observed satire about racial stereotyping in Hollywood and escaping the roles we are forced to perform, inventively presented in the form of a screenplay. Since it was first published in January of 2020, we have seen a sharp increase in violence against Asian Americans, bringing new urgency to Yu’s sharp rebuke of America’s persistent prejudices.

This event, co-presented by the National Asian American Theatre Company, introduces Interior Chinatown and its innovative form with readings performed by accomplished stage and screen actors Fang Du (Thoroughly Modern Millie national tour) and Sami Ma (Once Upon A (korean) Time). We invite you to join this vibrant celebration of Yu’s groundbreaking novel!

This event, along with all of our NEA Big Read programming, is free, but space is limited. Guests will be admitted on a first-come, first-seated basis.