Book Event Honors Chinese Culture

On January 25, in celebration of the Chinese New Year, Oblong Books will host an online event featuring authors Maggie Zhu and Grace Lin, who will each discuss their new books.

New York–based writer, recipe developer, and photographer Zhu was born in Beijing and runs the popular website Omnivore’s Cookbook. Her family moved to Austin, Texas, when she was young; she next lived in Japan, where she began cooking in order to survive. Learning and sharing Chinese food has become a way for her to connect with her roots and the rest of the world. Her first book is Chinese Homestyle: Everyday Plant-Based Recipes for Takeout, Dim Sum, Noodles, and More.


Lin is a New York Times-bestselling author and illustrator who won the Newbery Honor for Where the Mountain Meets the Moon and the Theodor Geisel Honor for Ling and Ting. Her novel When the Sea Turned to Silver was a National Book Award Finalist and her picture book, A Big Mooncake for Little Star was awarded the Caldecott Honor. She’s also an occasional NPR commentator, New York Times reviewer, and “PBS NewsHour” video essayist. Her newest children’s title, Once Upon a Book, is available for preorder through Oblong Books’ website.

For its “Oblong Online” series, Oblong Books will host “Celebrate Chinese New Year with Maggie Zhu and Grace Line: Chinese Homestyle” via Zoom on January 25 at 7pm. Registration is free.

Oblong Books has locations in Rhinebeck and Millerton.