This year, NüStories launched its first annual personal essay contest to encourage and honor non-fiction writing on China by underrepresented writers – and we were blown away by the response! We chose the theme “Chinese identity” because we wanted to showcase the diversity of Chinese-ness both inside and outside of China’s borders, and to provide a space for people to grapple with what it means to be Chinese today.
Over the past few weeks, our team has received so many wonderful submissions by talented writers all over the world – we’re so grateful to all of you for sharing your work with us, and for supporting our collective so that we can continue to fund creative work by gender minorities on China subjects. Check out this year’s amazing essays below:
1st place: “You need glasses for Asian faces.” by Juliette Yu-Ming Lizeray
2nd place: “I am a Midwestern Chinese Girl” by Jenna Wang
3rd place: “What you know (and didn’t know)” by Chris Yitao Shen
Runners-up (we will be updating this list as we publish pieces so stay tuned!):
“Chinese Female Stand-Up Comedians and their Prisoner’s Dilemma” by Qingbing Chen
“A trip to the supermarket” by N. J. Chan
Mother Tongue by Kim Gordon
In queer diaspora, my fear leaks through by Anran Zheng
“Homecoming at the Cemetery” by Tara Sun Vanacore
“That languages that make my family” by Jing-Jing Hu
“I work in US policy – being Chinese is an occupational hazard” by Frances Zhu Hisgen
“Carrying Chinese-ness Across South America” by Tappy Lung
“Living in London, belonging nowhere”
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CONTEST PROMPT:
Our 2025 theme is “Chinese identity.” Have you grappled with Chinese-ness and what it means to be Chinese today, both within and outside of China’s borders? If so, we’d love to hear from you! We’re looking for personal essays of 1,200 words max. in the genre of creative nonfiction by self-identified women, non-binary and queer writers.
CASH PRIZES:
1st place: USD $100
2nd place: USD $70
3rd place: USD $50
HOW TO SUBMIT:
Please email a Word Doc with your essay (1,200 words max) and a short bio to nuvoices@protonmail.com with the subject “ESSAY CONTEST” by March 31st, 2025.
For reference, here are some examples of personal essays we’ve published in the past:
I returned to China to find my biological family and discover my cultural roots
Losing a Grandmother, Learning Her Language
Navigating my biracial identity as a Chinese-American living in China
The half-truths we tell in times of sickness
JUDGE: Jessie Lau, NüStories Editor-in-Chief
Jessie Lau is a writer and journalist from Hong Kong now based in London. A specialist on China and Asia, she covers human rights, politics and culture with a transnational feminist perspective. Her writing has appeared in The Guardian, The Economist, CNN, Foreign Policy, and others. She fronted the BBC Eye documentary “China’s Silenced Feminist” and executive-produced the short film “China’s Feminist Fightback” for the Channel 4 News show “Uncovered.” She’s a board member and editor at NuVoices.