About this Event
Join us for an evening with award-winning author R.F. Kuang for the release of her latest novel, Taipei Story, with Abigail Hing Wen at Calvary Presbyterian Church.
Presented by Litquake, San Francisco's Literary Festival, and Green Apple Books
Kuang will be joined in-conversation by author Abigail Hing Wen, followed by an audience Q+A. Signing line to follow. Please see FAQ for more details.
Tickets include a copy of Taipei Story. Student entry-only tickets available while supplies last.
Doors 6:00pm, Event Start 7:00pm
Please see our FAQ for more details
About Taipei Story
College freshman Lily Chen is off to spend the summer in Taipei at an intensive language program like so many Chinese American students before her, hoping to connect with the culture she inherited but never fully understood. But a promising start quickly unravels. Her classes are grueling, her roommate is driving her insane, and a reckless trip to the hot springs with a guy she barely knows soon has her classmates viciously gossiping. She feels adrift, a foreigner in a country she thought would feel like home.
Then shocking news arrives: Lily’s grandfather has passed away. The loss forces her to grapple with now-unanswerable questions about her family history. As Lily grieves, she’s drawn into a journey of self-discovery—piecing together memories, stories, and silences over a series of hilarious and devastating attempts at connection.
Taipei Story asks: What if the diaspora fantasy of homecoming never comes true? What if learning a language can’t bring you any closer to the people you’re trying to reach? What if you search for your family’s history, but your family doesn’t want to share? What if you wait too long to ask the right questions? As Lily struggles for answers, her summer becomes a poignant search for understanding—of herself, her family, and the meaning of home.
About R.F. Kuang
Rebecca F. Kuang is the #1 New York Times and #1 Sunday Times bestselling author of the Poppy War trilogy, Babel: An Arcane History, Yellowface, and Katabasis. Her work has won the Nebula, Locus, Crawford, and British Book Awards. A Marshall Scholar, she has an MPhil in Chinese Studies from Cambridge and an MSc in Contemporary Chinese Studies from Oxford. She is now pursuing a PhD in East Asian Languages and Literatures at Yale, where she studies diaspora, contemporary Sinophone literature, and Asian American literature.
About Abigail Hing Wen
Abigail Hing Wen is a filmmaker, former tech leader based in the SF Bay Area and the New York Times best selling author of multiple novels, including the Loveboat, Taipei trilogy, the first of which was adapted as the movie Love in Taipei, now on Netflix internationally, and The Vale. Abigail directed its prequel, The Vale - Origins, her short film starring 3x Tony Award Winner Lea Salonga, a hybrid live action / animated film featuring an inventor family that builds an Al generated virtual world. She serves on the board of Harvardwood, judged the Golden Trailer Awards and is a member of the Rideback Rise Circle.
FAQs
- Signed books will be available for pick up upon entry to the event. All books will be signed in advance, and there will be no signing line at this event.
- All copies of Taipei Story will be signed in advance. If you would like to have your copy of Taipei Story personalized, or have one additional Kuang book signed/personalized, the author will be available to sign books after the event.
- Only candid photos allowed. Due to timing, no posed photos will be allowed during signing. Phones should be put away as attendees approach the signing table. Please hand your phone to the designated staff member if you would like to have your photo taken during signing.
- Seating will be first come, first serve. Priority seating will be given to wheelchair users and those with mobility devices and other attendees with disabilities. There are enough seats for everyone in attendance.
- If you require ASL interpretation, please purchase your ticket by September 1, 2026 so that we can ensure interpreter availability. If you purchase your ticket after September 1, please email [email protected] and we will do our best to to ensure accessibility.
- This is an in-person, ticketed event and will not be livestreamed. No refunds will be given after the event date for those unable to attend. No refunds will be given to those who pick up their book but are unable to attend the event.
- We will accept refund requests up to 24 hours before event start. Refunds requests will not be accepted after that timeframe or after the event itself.
- If for whatever reason you are unable to attend but would still like your copy of the book, books will be available for pick up at 1231 9th Ave after the event at no extra charge. If you would like your book shipped, additional charges will apply.
- To attend the event, you must purchase a ticket through this Eventbrite page.
- Purchase of Taipei Story made through the bookstore website does not grant entry to the event. If you have already pre-ordered a copy of Taipei Story through the Green Apple Books website prior to June 4, 2026 and would like to attend this event, please contact [email protected].
- We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone.
Accessibility - The venue is located on ground level, and there is a wheelchair accessible ramp at the venue's Fillmore St entrance.
- If you require space for a wheelchair or mobility device, you can choose a specification at checkout.
- If you require ASL interpretation, please purchase your ticket by September 1, 2026 so that we can ensure interpreter availability. If you purchase your ticket after September 1, please email [email protected] and we will do our best to to ensure accessibility.
- Seating for this event is on both the ground level and up a set of stairs. Those who require accessible seating will be on the ground level.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Calvary Presbyterian Church, 2515 Fillmore Street, San Francisco, United States
USD 16.74 to USD 50.34
