Victoria Chang is an American poet and children's writer. Her fifth book of poems, OBIT, was published by Copper Canyon Press in 2020. Her prior book of poems, Barbie Chang, was published by Copper Canyon Press in 2017. Her third book of poetry, The Boss was published by McSweeney's as part of the McSweeney's Poetry Series in July 2013—it won a PEN Center USA literary award and a California Book Award. Her second poetry collection is Salvinia Molesta. Her first book, Circle, won the Crab Orchard Series in Poetry. She also writes picture books for children and middle grade novels, and her picture book, Is Mommy? published by Beach Lane Books in the fall of 2015, illustrated by Marla Frazee, was named a New York Times Notable Book. Her middle grade verse novel, LOVE, LOVE was published by Sterling Publishing in 2020. She was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2017, a Lannan Residency Fellowship in 2020, a Sustainable Arts Foundation Fellowship in 2017, a Poetry Society of AmericaAlice Fay di Castagnola Award in 2018, a Pushcart Prize, and a MacDowell Fellowship.
Life
Victoria Chang was born in Detroit, Michigan, and raised in the suburb of West Bloomfield. She first became interested in poetry in elementary school, where her school put on a poetry contest. She enjoyed creating surprise endings. Her parents were immigrants from Taiwan. She graduated from the University of Michigan with a BA in Asian Studies, Harvard University with an MA in Asian Studies, and Stanford Business School with a MBA. She also has an MFA in poetry from the Warren Wilson MFA Program for Writers where she held a Holden Scholarship. She worked for Morgan Stanley in investment banking, Booz Allen & Hamilton in management consulting, and others. She lives in Los Angeles and spent her business career working in marketing and communications. She now focuses on writing and teaching. She teaches at Antioch University's MFA Program and helps to run the program with a team, and she co-coordinates the Idyllwild Writers Week. She also serves on the National Book Critics Circle Award. Her work has appeared in literary journals and magazines including The Paris Review, The Kenyon Review, Gulf Coast,Virginia Quarterly Review, Slate, Ploughshares, and The Nation, and Tin House.
Honors and awards
2020 Lannan Foundation Residency Fellowship
2019 MacDowell Fellowship
2018 Pushcart Prize
2018 Housatonic Book Award for Barbie Chang
Poetry Society of America's Alice Fay di Castagnola Award 2017
Sustainable Arts Foundation Fellowship 2017
Guggenheim Fellowship 2017
IS MOMMY? named a New York Times Notable Book in 2015
2014, The Boss winner of a 2014 PEN Center USA Literary Award
