NEW POETRY!
Heart Eater: A Memoir of Immigration, Belonging, and How We Find Ourselves in Language
Inaugural Selection of the Immigrant Writers on Immigrant Writing Series
Comprised of short essays, or field notes, Heart Eater: A Memoir of Immigration, Belonging, and How We Find Ourselves in Language traces 신 선 영 Sun Yung Shin’s journey from her childhood as a nameless, abandoned nine-month-old baby in Seoul, South Korea to an award-winning author.
Raised as a Korean immigrant by a white Christian family in the American Midwest, 신 선 영 Sun Yung Shin paid close attention to the power of words—especially those related to race, nation, and kinship. Through these meaningful encounters, Shin developed into a writer enthralled with language’s capacity to imagine, manifest, connect, and even heal.
Through the lens of language and immigration, Heart Eater explores the question that has obsessed Shin since childhood: “What does it mean to be American?”
NEW POETRY!
Heart Eater: A Memoir of Immigration, Belonging, and How We Find Ourselves in Language
Inaugural Selection of the Immigrant Writers on Immigrant Writing Series
Comprised of short essays, or field notes, Heart Eater: A Memoir of Immigration, Belonging, and How We Find Ourselves in Language traces 신 선 영 Sun Yung Shin’s journey from her childhood as a nameless, abandoned nine-month-old baby in Seoul, South Korea to an award-winning author.
Raised as a Korean immigrant by a white Christian family in the American Midwest, 신 선 영 Sun Yung Shin paid close attention to the power of words—especially those related to race, nation, and kinship. Through these meaningful encounters, Shin developed into a writer enthralled with language’s capacity to imagine, manifest, connect, and even heal.
Through the lens of language and immigration, Heart Eater explores the question that has obsessed Shin since childhood: “What does it mean to be American?”
books of poetry/essays:
SIX TONES OF WATER
August 2024
Ricochet Editions
The Wet Hex
June 2022
Coffee House Press
Unbearable Splendor
October 2016
Coffee House Press
Rough, and Savage
August 2012
Coffee House Press
Skirt Full of Black
April 2007
Coffee House Press
books of poetry/essays:
SIX TONES OF WATER
August 2024
Ricochet Editions
Unbearable Splendor
October 2016
Coffee House Press
The Wet Hex
June 2022
Coffee House Press
Rough, and Savage
August 2012
Coffee House Press
Skirt Full of Black
April 2007
Coffee House Press
anthologies:
What We Hunger For: Refugee and Immigrant Stories about Food and Family
May 2021
Minnesota Historical Society Press
A Good Time For The Truth: Race in Minnesota
April 2016
Minnesota Historical Society Press
Outsiders Within: Writing on Transracial Adoption
2020
University of Minnesota Press
anthologies:
What We Hunger For: Refugee and Immigrant Stories about Food and Family
May 2021
Minnesota Historical Society Press
A Good Time For The Truth: Race in Minnesota
April 2016
Minnesota Historical Society Press
Outsiders Within: Writing on Transracial Adoption
2020
University of Minnesota Press
children’s literature:
Revolutions Are Made of Love: The Story of James Boggs and Grace Lee Boggs
Authors: Mélina Manga & Sun Yung Shin
Illustrated by Leslie Barlow
November 2025 Lerner Books
Where We Come From
Authors: Diane Wilson, Sun Yung Shin, Shannon Gibney, John Coy
Illustrated by Dion MBD
October 2022 Lerner Books
Cooper's Lesson
Illustrated by Kim Cogan
2015 Lee & Low Books
children’s literature:
Revolutions Are Made of Love: The Story of James Boggs and Grace Lee Boggs
Authors: Mélina Manga & Sun Yung Shin
Illustrated by Leslie Barlow
November 2025 Lerner Books
Where We Come From
Authors: Diane Wilson, Sun Yung Shin, Shannon Gibney, John Coy
Illustratrated by Dion MBD
October 2022 Lerner Books
Cooper's Lesson
Illustrated by Kim Cogan
2015 Lee & Low Books