Awards & Mentions

▪ The Best American Short Stories 2025, for the story “The Masterclass,” originally published in the Los Angeles Review

▪ The Pushcart Prize 2025 Anthology, Notable Story for the story “Amsterdam,” originally published in Joyland Magazine

▪ 2024—Longlisted for the Granum Foundation Prize

▪ 2023—”Necessary Evils” received a Notable Mention in the Best American Short Stories 2023, first published in The Southern Review

▪ 2023—”Happy Family” included in Ten Outstanding Stories to Read in 2023 by Longreads, https://longreads.com/2023/01/12/ten-outstanding-stories-to-read-in-2023/

▪ 2022—The Granum Foundation Prize, Finalist

▪ 2022—Pushcart Prize Nomination

▪ 2022—Kundiman Fellowship in Fiction

▪ 2021—Pushcart Prize Nomination

▪ 2020—The Best American Short Stories 2020 for “Enlightenment,” published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Fall 2020

▪ 2020—The Story Foundation Prize, Finalist

▪ 2020—A Public Space Emerging Writers’ Fellowship, Finalist

▪ 2019—The Seán O’Faoláin International Short Story Competition, Cork, Ireland, shortlisted

▪ 2019—American Short Fiction Prize, Finalist

▪ 2019—F(r)iction Magazine Short Story Contest, Finalist

▪ 2019—Screencraft Cinematic Story Contest, Finalist

▪ 2019—Leopardi Writing Conference Jeannine Cooney Scholarship for Excellence in Fiction, Runner Up, Recanati, Italy

▪ 2019—Sozopol Fiction Seminars and CapitaLiterature Fellowship, Shortlisted, Sofia, Bulgaria

▪ 2019—Finalist for Narrative Magazine’s Fall Story Contest

▪ 2018—Tennessee Williams Scholarship to the Sewanee Writers’ Conference, Sewanee, TN

▪ 2018—Scholarship to the Napa Valley Writers’ Conference, Napa Valley, CA

▪ 2018—Finalist for the Disquiet Prize in Fiction.

▪ 2018—ScreenCraft Cinematic Short Story Contest, top ten finalist

▪ 2017—Carol Houck Smith Scholar in Fiction, Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, Middlebury, VT

▪ 2017—Kundiman Fellowship in Fiction, Fordham University, New York City

▪ 2017—The Bridport Prize, shortlisted, UK

▪ 2017—Bare Fiction Prize, shortlisted, London, UK

▪ 2017—The London Magazine Short Story Competition, shortlisted

▪ 2016—Finalist for the Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction

▪ 2016—Winner of The John Steinbeck Award for Fiction.

▪ 2016—Awarded the Emerging Writers Fellowship to the Sun Valley Writers’ Conference. Sun Valley, Idaho.

▪ 2016—The U.K. Bath Short Story Award. Publication in the Bath Short Story Award Anthology.

▪ 2016—Tom Howard/John H. Reid Fiction & Essay Contest, Winning Writers (Finalist).

▪ 2016—Matrix Magazine Lit POP Fiction Award (Finalist). Montreal, Canada.

▪ 2016—Philadelphia Stories Short Story Contest (Two stories chosen as finalists).

▪ 2016—Nominated for the Pushcart Prize

▪ 2016—Finalist for the University of East Anglia David T.K. Wong Fellowship.

▪ 2015—Second Place winner of The Masters Review Short Story Award

▪ 2015—Narrative Magazine Fall Story Contest (Finalist)

▪ 2015—Glimmer Train Press Short Story Award (Finalist)

▪ 2014—The U.K. Bridport Prize (Prizewinner). Publication in The Bridport Winners Anthology, Redcliffe Press Ltd.

▪ 2014—The Alice Munro Short Story Competition (2nd Place). Ontario, Canada.

▪ 2014—The Alice Munro Short Story Competition (5th Place). Ontario, Canada.

▪ 2014—storySouth Million Writers Award for most notable stories of the year

▪ 2014—Glimmer Train Press Short Story Award (Finalist)

▪ 2013—The Fiat Band Prix (Finalist), co-songwriter of “A Love Song.”

▪ 2013—The Hemingway Short Story Competition (Honorable Mention)

▪ 2013—The Raymond Carver Short Story Contest (3rd Place)

▪ 2013—Glimmer Train Press Family Matters Short Story Award (Finalist)

▪ 2013—Glimmer Train Press Very Short Story Award (Finalist)

▪ 2012—Narrative Magazine’s 30 Below Story Award (Finalist)

▪ 2012—Glimmer Train Press Short Story Award for New Writers (Finalist).

▪ 2012—Glimmer Train Press Very Short Fiction Award (Finalist)

▪ 2011—Writer’s Digest 61st Annual Short Story Competition (Honorable Mention)

▪ 2011—The Hyphen Magazine/Asian American Writers’ Workshop (AAWW) Asian American Short Story Contest (Second Place)

▪ 2011—The Hyphen Magazine/Asian American Writers’ Workshop (AAWW) Asian American Short Story Contest (Twice Honorable Mention)

▪ 2010—Glimmer Train Press Short Story Award for New Writers (Finalist)

▪ 2010—Glimmer Train Press Family Matters Short Story Award (Finalist)

▪ 2009—The Hemingway Short Story Competition (Honorable Mention)

▪ 2004—NYU Founder’s Day Award for Academic Scholarship

▪ 2000 – Winner of the Bertelsmann Award for Instrumental Composition

▪ 2000 – Winner of the ASCAP Aaron Copland Young Composer’s Award

▪ 1999 – Honorable Mention in John Lennon Songwriting Contest

▪ 1998 – Charles Fox Award in Music Composition