Rachel Khong

Rachel Khong (born 1985) is an American writer and editor based in San Francisco.

Rachel Khong
Born1985 (age 37–38)
EducationYale University
University of Florida
Notable worksGoodbye, Vitamin
SpouseEli Horowitz
Website
www.rachelkhong.com

Life

Khong was born in Malaysia to a Malaysian Chinese family.[1] She grew up in Rancho Cucamonga, California and attended high school in nearby Diamond Bar, California.[2]

Khong attended Yale University and graduated with a degree in English in 2007.[3] She received her MFA from University of Florida in 2011,[4] where she studied with Padgett Powell.[5]

Khong is married to Eli Horowitz, co-creator of Gimlet's Homecoming podcast, and former editor at McSweeney's.[6]

Career

After completing her graduate degree, Khong moved to San Francisco and worked in the food service industry.[7] She had interned at McSweeney's while in college[7] and edited cookbooks for them after graduating. In 2011, Chris Ying of Lucky Peach, who Khong had met while interning at McSweeney's, asked her to be the managing editor of the magazine.[7] She later went on to become executive editor of Lucky Peach.[8]

Khong cofounded The Ruby in 2018, a female oriented co-working space based in Mission District, San Francisco.[9]

Writing

Her writing has appeared in publications such as American Short Fiction, Joyland, and The San Francisco Chronicle. She is the coauthor of a cookbook called All About Eggs.[10]

Her first novel, Goodbye, Vitamin, received Best Book of the Year honors from NPR,[11] O, The Oprah Magazine,[12] the San Francisco Chronicle,[13] and Vogue.[14] The story was inspired by her grandmother's battle with Alzheimer's disease.[1] The novel won the 2017 California Book Award for First Fiction,[15] as well as a Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist for First Fiction.[16] Universal Pictures optioned the film rights in June 2019, with Constance Wu attached to lead.[17]

FilmNation Entertainment announced on February 5, 2021 that they and Ali Wong are producing an adaptation of Khong's short story, The Freshening, with director Cathy Yan set to write and direct.[18] She has written book reviews for the New York Times, including of novels by Maria Kuznetsova[19] and Sarah Elaine Smith.[20]

Works

Novels

  • Goodbye, Vitamin (2017) ISBN 9781471159480, OCLC 1015212743[21]

Short stories

  • The Freshening (2018)[22]

References
  1. Khong, Rachel. "'How My Relationship With My Grandmother Inspired My Book'". bodyandsoul.com.au. Retrieved 2020-01-18.
  2. "Rachel Khong". yaledailynews.com. January 19, 2007. Retrieved 2019-11-15.
  3. She later went on to receive her MFA from University of Florida in 2011,
  4. "News – Page 2 – MFA@FLA: Creative Writing". mfa.english.ufl.edu. Retrieved 2019-11-15.
  5. Tafoya, Angela; Velez, Jessica; Pang, Jeanine Celeste. "30 Under 30 S.F. — Rising Young Stars in San Francisco". www.refinery29.com. Michael O'Neal (photographer). Retrieved 2019-11-15.
  6. "SPINE-Rachel Khong on Writing Goodbye, Vitamin". SPINE. Retrieved 2019-11-15.
  7. "'Really Small Books Can Be Just as Ambitious as Big Ones': An Interview with Rachel Khong". Hazlitt. 2017-07-24. Retrieved 2019-11-15.
  8. "Rachel Khong | Authors | Macmillan". US Macmillan. Retrieved 2018-05-28.
  9. "Catapult | How Rachel Khong Built The Ruby, a Coworking Community for San Francisco Creatives | Anita Felicelli". Catapult. 2019-05-16. Retrieved 2019-11-15.
  10. Lucky Peach All About Eggs by Rachel Khong, the editors of Lucky Peach | PenguinRandomHouse.com.
  11. "'Goodbye, Vitamin' Is Sweet — But Not Sugarcoated". NPR.org. Retrieved 2018-05-27.
  12. "Goodbye, Vitamin". Oprah.com. Retrieved 2018-05-27.
  13. "Best of 2017: 100 recommended books". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2018-05-27.
  14. "These Were the Best Books We Read All Year". Vogue. Retrieved 2018-05-27.
  15. "California Books Awards 2017".
  16. Schaub, Michael. "L.A. Times Book Prize finalists include Joyce Carol Oates and Ta-Nehisi Coates; John Rechy receives lifetime achievement award". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2018-05-27.
  17. Kroll, Justin (2019-06-24). "Constance Wu to Star in 'Goodbye, Vitamin' Adaptation for Universal (Exclusive)". Variety. Retrieved 2019-11-15.
  18. Lang, Brent (2021-02-05). "Cathy Yan to Write, Direct Sci-Fi Comedy 'The Freshening' for FilmNation (Exclusive)". Variety. Retrieved 2021-02-06.
  19. Khong, Rachel (2021-04-13). "And Now, a Case for the Ordinary". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-04-29.
  20. "A Girl Goes Missing. A Loner Takes Her Place. (Published 2019)". 2019-07-30. Retrieved 2022-04-29.
  21. "A Darkly Comic Novel About Turning 30 Without Growing Up". The New York Times. 2017-07-28. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2018-05-27.
  22. Khong, Rachel (2018). "The Freshening". The Paris Review. Vol. Fall 2018, no. 226. ISSN 0031-2037. Retrieved 2021-02-06.
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