GrubStreet is thrilled to congratulate Catherine C. Wu! Her debut novel, The Moon Goddess’s Smile—a historical and multicultural story—will be released on Amazon on April 19th. She extends her heartfelt thanks to Tim Weed, Tilia K. Jacobs, Maya Lang, Jackie Cangro, Ursula DeYoung, Jessica Bird, Liesl Swogger, Amy Johnson, Anie Onaiza, Pia Owens, Elisabeth Sylvan, Maggie Huff-Rousselle, Marina Werbeloff, Matthew McKay, Trish Ruan, Judy Young, Selena Lin, Julia Horwitz, Amy Heuton, and all of their classmates at GrubStreet for helping make this novel possible.

We asked Catherine how her time at GrubStreet influenced her accomplishment:

"For a long time, I burned with the desire to tell some fantastic stories about my extended family in Nanjing, China, but I didn’t know where to start. My adult life was steeped in STEM: I was a biomedical researcher and then a podiatric surgeon. Fortunately, one of my former patients—a poet—told me about GrubStreet. Since 2018, I have taken classes to develop the necessary skills to tell a complicated story, interweaving layers of recent Chinese history, an immigrant's cultural identity struggle, and a woman's journey of self-discovery. I’ve benefited tremendously from a supportive community teeming with talented teachers, fellow writers, and helpful staff. Their constructive criticism was instrumental in the writing and revising of my debut novel, The Moon Goddess’s Smile. (I’ve listed their names on the Acknowledgments page of the book.) A big thank you to the entire Grub community!"

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