I feel a cultural shift in the way the publishing world is accepting Cambodian American stories. In 2021, Ecco Press posthumously published the groundbreaking story collection, Afterparties, by Anthony Veasna So, opening new doors for Khmer American writers. The next year the University of Hawai’i Press published a treasure trove of writings by Cambodians in Srok Khmer and in the diaspora, and 2023 saw the publication of three major books by Cambodian Americans.
In short, we are witnessing a boom in Cambodian American literature.
I’ve been waiting for this moment for some time now. I grew up Khmer on the East Coast in the 1980s, and like many new Americans, was surrounded by white teachers, white students, and mainly read books by white authors. Instinctively, I knew that literature was my way out of the depression and alienation I felt. I wanted to tell my story and have people know what I was going through as a Cambodian refugee in America. I craved books by and about my people.
In full: https://lithub.com/a-new-asian-american-boom-a-reading-list-of-the-cambodian-american-experience/
