Bilingual Authorship and Self-Translation: Jianan Qian on Publishing in Chinese & English
Tuesday, October 7, 2025 | 11:00AM-12:30PM PT | Zoom (meeting link will be emailed) | RSVP

EASC Guest Speaker Series: Talk by Prof. Jianan Qian (Towson University) with Faculty Moderator Prof. Brian Bernards (COLT 512: Literary and Cinematic Translingualism and Translation) 

What is it like to write and publish in both one’s native and adopted languages? How does an author navigate two distinct publishing markets and balance different aesthetic traditions? Do writers develop a different voice in each language? USC alum and fiction writer Jianan Qian will share her experiences writing and publishing in both Chinese and English, reflecting on the challenges and creative possibilities of bilingual authorship.

Speaker Bio: Jianan Qian is a bilingual author and translator. She has published four original works in her native language, Chinese, and has translated multiple English classics into Chinese, most recently a story collection by Shirley Jackson. In English, her work has appeared in Granta, The New York Times, The Millions, and elsewhere. She holds a Ph.D. in Literature and Creative Writing from USC and is currently an Assistant Professor of Fiction Writing at Towson University in Maryland.