From cooking to helping women entrepreneurs succeed, Karen Wang Diggs explores the nature of being an Asian woman in today’s world.
As an Asian woman, how did your background play into this book being born?
(KWD): I was inspired to write this book by my aunt, who was part of the last generation of Chinese women who suffered from the terrible custom of foot-binding.
Unfortunately, she passed away when I was young, and I never had the chance to ask her about her life and to fully understand the suffering that she endured.
What did your writing process look like for this book? Is there anything you would’ve done differently?
(KWD): Because I wanted the book out by March 2025, in time for Women’s History, I had to stay focused and prioritize it.
I got the book deal from Mango Publishing in August of 2024 (with the support of Brenda Knight) and had to submit the manuscript by October in order for the editing and formatting to take place in time to get it to the printers. I would have liked to have had more time, but having said that, I am at my best when there is a deadline.
What new perspectives and messages do you hope readers gain from reading The Book of Awesome Asian Women?
(KWD): I hope readers will be well inspired by all the awesome Asian women in the book, from the past and present, and have a fresh understanding that Asian women have always been incredibly resilient, strong, and creative. I also hope that my book will help to erase the stale and offensive stereotyping of Asian women as being either docile and submissive OR dragon ladies out to beguile and dominate.
What inspires you as a reader and writer? What brings you to write books?
(KWD): As a child, books were my refuge. As a teenager who suffered from clinical depression, books were my refuge. And as an adult who has overcome a lot of emotional trauma and stress, books are my refuge.
My home is surrounded by books, and I am constantly reading. After so many years of reading, the desire to write naturally arose, and I am humbled that I am now a published author.
Women’s history is often overlooked, though it has been brought up more recently and your book is another addition to changing that. What was your experience researching this topic?
(KWD): I was shocked and surprised to learn about many of the women I researched. While reading scholarly papers, news articles, or blogs, I felt that my own life had been deeply affected and enriched by meeting these women, from centuries ago, such as Empress Wu Zetian or Queen Himiko, to women who are superstars today, such as Awkafina and Sandra Oh.
Aside from being an author, what did your upbringing look like? You’re also a nutritionist and chef. How do you think your experiences have influenced you?
(KWD): My aunt and mother were the two most influential women in my life. Sadly, my aunt stayed behind when we immigrated to the US from Hong Kong. My mother raised six children, mostly on her own, and I genuinely marvel at her strength and resilience. The one thing about my Mom was that she was a bad cook! So, we siblings had to fend for ourselves. And that was the impetus that ignited my interest and passion for cooking and nutrition. Being a chef (which is still a male-dominated profession) opened my eyes to the systemic gender bias in the workplace, and being a nutritionist made me understand that women are usually the ones who are most concerned about feeding their families and taking care of everyone’s health. Everything is intertwined, and I feel a strong desire to be part of the positive social movement that highlights the incredible contribution that girls and women have had on behalf of all humanity.
As an awesome Asian writer, do you have any advice for aspiring authors?
Keep reading and keep writing! If you want to get published, be focused and write about a topic that you feel passionate about.
Karen is a classically trained chef, microbiome nutritionist, author, and expert fermenter. She specializes in helping women entrepreneurs thrive through The Gut-Brain Protocol. She is also passionate about sharing delicious recipes promoting health and well-being and lives by the motto: “Food is our most intimate and profound connection with Nature.”
Shanti Ariker is a writer by night and a lawyer by day. The start of her memoir appears in How We Change, the 2024 San Francisco Writer’s Foundation Writing Contest Anthology. Her work has been published in The Thieving Magpie, On Being Jewish Now substack and Simpsonistas Vol. 3.
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Brenda Knight, author of Women of the Beat Generation, began her publishing career at HarperCollins working with luminaries including Paolo Coehlo, Marianne Williamson, Mark Nepo, and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Knight was awarded IndieFab’s Publisher of the Year at the American Library Association in 2014. She is the author of Random Acts of Kindness, Be a Good in the World, and Women of the Beat Generation which won the American Book Award. She is President of WNBA-SF Chapter.
Elise Marie Collins has consulted with small businesses, authors, and alumni associations on social media marketing and believes that a social media plan should be intuitive, fun, and seamless. Helping students and clients form healthy lifestyle patterns is Elise Collins’ passion and life purpose. She has taught yoga for the past 20 years and is the author of several books on healthy living, including her latest, Super Ager: You Can Look Younger, Have More Energy, a Better Memory, and Live a Long and Healthy Life. Elise enjoys sharing yoga wisdom and current scientific research and is President of WNBA National.
Kate Farrell, author, storyteller, and educator founded the Word Weaving Storytelling Project and published numerous educational materials on storytelling. She has contributed to and edited award-winning anthologies of personal narrative. Her award-winning new book is a how-to guide on the art of storytelling for adults, Story Power: Secrets to Creating, Crafting, and Telling Memorable Stories. She offers workshops on storytelling and the heroine’s journey for libraries and writing groups 
Debra Eckerling is the award-winning author of Your Goal Guide: A Roadmap for Setting, Planning, and Achieving Your Goals and creator of the D*E*B METHOD®, for Goal-Setting Simplified. A goals strategist, corporate consultant, and workshop leader, Debra offers personal and professional planning content development, event strategy, and team-building for executives, entrepreneurs, consultants, and companies. Debra has spoken on stages for TEDx, Innovation Women, SCORE LA, and more. She is the founder of the 
Paul S. Levine “wears two hats:” he is a lawyer (www.paulslevine.com) and a literary agent (www.paulslevinelit.com). Mr. Levine has practiced entertainment law for more than 40 years and established his first solo practice in 1992. Seeing an underserved niche on the West Coast, he decided early on to focus on serving book authors. This naturally evolved into his work as a literary agent. Seeking to expand the range of services he could offer his clients to include the representation of books, Levine opened The Paul S. Levine Literary Agency in 1996, which he has recently expanded. Whether he is considering fiction or non-fiction, Levine will not take on a project unless he feels certain he can sell it. With a preference for politically and socially important works, he represents more than 200 book authors, the vast majority of whom are new, unpublished, or self-published writers. For Levine, the most rewarding moment is holding his client’s published book in his hands at a well-attended book signing and seeing the smile on his client’s face. Enjoying public speaking and teaching, Levine presents extensively at writers’ conferences throughout the country and at entertainment law-related classes and seminars.
Naleighna Kai is the USA TODAY, Essence®, and national bestselling and award-winning author of several controversial novels. She is a literary agent with The Seymour Agency and also a contributor to a New York Times bestseller, one of AALBC’s 100 Top Authors, a member of the Chicago Vocational School Hall of Fame (CVS), Mercedes Benz Mentor Award Nominee, and the E. Lynn Harris Author of Distinction.
Andy Ross opened his literary agency in January 2008. Before that, he was the owner for 30 years of the legendary Cody’s Books in Berkeley. The agency represents books in a wide range of subjects including narrative non-fiction, science, journalism, history, religion, children’s books, young adult, middle grade, literary and commercial fiction, and cooking. However, he is eager to represent projects in most genres as long as the subject or its treatment is smart, original, and will appeal to a wide readership. In non-fiction, he looks for writing with a strong voice and robust narrative arc by authors with the authority to write about their subject. For literary, commercial, and children’s fiction, he has only one requirement– simple, but ineffable–that the writing reveals the terrain of that vast and unexplored country, the human heart. 
Leland Cheuk is a MacDowell and Hawthornden Castle Fellow and award-winning author of three books of fiction, most recently the novel NO GOOD VERY BAD ASIAN (2019). Cheuk’s work has been covered in Buzzfeed, The Paris Review, VICE, San Francisco Chronicle, and has appeared or is forthcoming in publications such as NPR, The Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle, Salon, among other outlets.
Lindsey Smith (Speilburg Literary Agency) represents non-fiction projects. In addition to being a literary agent, she owns a bookstore in her hometown, runs her own publishing press, and is the author of several books and gift products. Having worked in every facet of the publishing industry—from author to publisher, to PR strategist to publicist, she knows the book industry inside and out.
Kat Georges is a poet, playwright, editor, publisher, and graphic designer. She is co-director and an acquisitions editor for Three Rooms Press, an independent publisher inspired by diversity, dada, punk, and passion. Her most recent book is the poetry collection Awe and Other Words Like Wow, and she is co-editor of MAINTENANT, the annual journal of Contemporary Dada Writing and Art. She lives in New York City. Kat is currently looking for LGBTQ+ fiction and young adult fiction that deal directly with current anti-queer attitudes, mysteries that center on bold and daring diverse main characters, and riveting women of history who need to have more attention given to them. Kat welcomes voices that have something different to say, that inspire readers, and that shows the power of innovative, compelling writing. To see the latest Three Rooms Press releases, visit 
Natalie Obando is a graduate from California State University, Long Beach with a BA in journalism emphasizing public relations and a minor concentration in creative writing. For nearly two decades, she’s worked in the world of books as a book publicist. Natalie is the founder of Do Good Public Relations Group and the grassroots organization, Women of Color Writers Podcast and Programming. She is the current national president of the 105-year-old non-profit, the Women’s National Book Association (WNBA), overseeing all eleven chapters across the nation. As the first Latina president of the national organization, her goal has been promoting diversity in publishing via strategic grassroots efforts. Her dedication to promoting diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in the book world led her to found and chair Authentic Voices—a four-month long program that immerses people from marginalized communities in a master class of writing, editing, marketing, and publishing.
Peter Carlaftes is a publisher, poet, playwright, author, and actor. The most recent of his seven published books is the poetry collection, Life in the Past Lane. He is co-director and acquisitions editor for Three Rooms Press, with a strong interest in memoirs, literary fiction, mystery, and fantasy by diverse authors.
A well-established agent, who began her career as an editor at major publishing houses, Rita Rosenkranz represents almost exclusively adult non-fiction titles. Her wide-ranging list includes health, history, parenting, music, how-to, popular science, business, biography, sports, popular reference, cooking, writing, humor, memoir, spirituality, illustrated books and general interest titles. She represents first-time as well as seasoned authors, and looks for projects that present familiar subjects freshly or lesser-known subjects presented commercially. Rita works with major publishing houses, as well as regional publishers that handle niche markets. She is a member of the Association of American Literary Agents (AALA), The Authors Guild, and Women’s Media Group.
Jacklyn Saferstein-Hansen is a literary agent at boutique Los Angeles agency Renaissance Literary & Talent. She represents commercial fiction, nonfiction, and illustrated books. Her authors include Olympic gymnast Jordan Chiles, thriller novelist Jennifer Moorhead, cookbook author and novelist Allyson Reedy, and many more. Her agency represents big names including Cher, Goldie Hawn, Heidi Murkoff, and Vanity Fair writer Sam Kashner, as well as several prominent literary estates. Originally from Omaha, Nebraska, she earned her BA in English, Classical Civilization and Medieval Studies and her MFA in Screenwriting, both from Boston University. She is looking to add fresh literary voices to her list in the areas of general and women’s fiction, thriller, history, Jewish issues, and pop culture.
Isabelle Bleecker is a book publishing industry veteran based in New York’s Hudson Valley. In her over 30 years in publishing, she has held positions across editorial, production, and subsidiary rights in several houses including Rizzoli, Tuttle, Basic Books, Da Capo Press, PublicAffairs, and Running Press, giving her a thorough insider’s understanding of every aspect of the trade book business. With Jennifer Thompson she established Nordlyset Literary Agency in 2018 and has placed works of fiction and nonfiction with such imprints as Random House, Algonquin/Little Brown, St. Martin’s Press, Dutton Books for Young Readers, Shambhala, and Broadleaf Books, among others.
Celebrating 48 years working in publishing, John Willig often says to friends that his career actually began as a Newsday paperboy growing up on Long Island, New York. After graduating from Brown University, his first job was as a sales representative in academic publishing. He soon began work as a marketing manager and then editor for HarperCollins where he published in 1984 one of the first books on AI Artificial Intelligence: Tools, Techniques and Applications by Tim O’Shea and Marc Eisenstadt. As his interests moved to trade publishing, he became an executive editor at Prentice Hall for business books. While at P-Hall, John enjoyed working with such authors as Henry Mintzberg, Philip Kotler and Jim Collins. He acquired and edited Jim’s first book Beyond Entrepreneurship which now has a new edition B.E. 2.0. In 1991 he decided to become a literary agent to work more closely with writers. Throughout his career as an editor and agent, John has successfully negotiated over 850 publishing agreements and worked with many award-winning authors. John participates at many industry events including the 
Throughout her career, Jen Newens has been an author, editor, and publisher, giving her experience in all sides of the publishing business. In her new role as agent, Jen applies her 360-view of the publishing world, seeking out original voices and developing exciting new talent in children’s literature and adult nonfiction categories.
Noelle Armstrong is an Acquisitions Editor at New World Library, a publisher dedicated to books that inspire and challenge us to improve the quality of our lives and the world. She is the host of 
Katharine Sands has worked with a varied list of authors who publish a diverse array of books including fiction, memoir and non-fiction. Among the books she represents are: The Apothecary’s Curse, nominated for the Bram Stoker Award in the First Novel category by Barbara Barnett and its sequel, Alchemy of Glass; Girl Walks Out of a Bar, a memoir by Lisa Smith that was featured by People Magazine as Notable Nonfiction and I’m Speaking: Every Woman’s Guide to Finding Your Voice and Using It Fearlessly by Jessica Doyle-Mekkes. Katharine likes books that have a clear benefit for readers’ lives in categories of food, travel, lifestyle, home arts, beauty, wisdom, relationships, parenting, and fresh looks, which might be at issues, life challenges or popular culture. When reading fiction, she wants to be compelled and propelled by urgent storytelling and hooked by characters. For memoir, femoir, and himoir, she likes to be transported to a world rarely or newly observed. She is the agent provocateur of Making the Perfect Pitch: How to Catch a Literary Agent’s Eye, a collection of pitching wisdom from leading literary agents.
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