Anelise Chen

Anelise Chen
Anelise Chen (2017)
Born
Taipei, Taiwan
EducationUniversity of California, Berkeley (BA)
New York University (MFA)
OccupationAuthor
Writing career
Notable worksSo Many Olympic Exertions (2017)
Clam Down: A Metamorphosis (2025)
Notable awards5 Under 35 Honoree

Anelise Chen is a Taiwanese-born American author of fiction and nonfiction. She was named a "5 under 35" Honoree by the National Book Foundation in 2019.[1]

Her first novel, So Many Olympic Exertions, was published in 2017 by Kaya Press and was named one of the best books of the year by Brooklyn Rail.[2]

Early life and education

Chen was born in Taipei, Taiwan. At a young age, she and her family moved to Los Angeles, California and she grew up in Temple City.[1][3] She holds degrees from UC Berkeley (B.A. English) and New York University (M.F.A. Fiction).[4]

She teaches writing at Columbia University and lives in New York City.[4]

Writing career

Her essays and reviews have appeared in The New York Times, National Public Radio, BOMB Magazine, The New Republic, Vice, and The Village Voice. She writes a column on mollusks for Paris Review.[5]

Her first book, So Many Olympic Exertions, is an experimental novel that blends elements of self-help, memoir, and sports writing.[6] Publishers Weekly characterized the book as "Formally unique and inventive, this novel fluctuates in tone, reading at some times like an authentic and unfiltered private journal and at others like a deeply researched academic essay."[7] It was a finalist for the 2018 VCU Cabell First Novelist Award.[8]

Her second book, Clam Down: A Metamorphosis, published by Random House in 2025, is a divorce memoir told from the perspective of a clam.[9][10] Named one of "The 10 best books of 2025" by the Chicago Tribune.[11] Kirkus Reviews described it as "A dreamlike, albeit carefully studied, tale exploring introversion, hardening one’s exterior as a means of self-protection and reliance... A poignant and wholly original memoir of liberation through confinement."[12]

Clam Down was a finalist for the 2026 Pulitzer Prize for Memoir or Autobiography.[13]

Chen has received residencies and fellowships from the Asian American Writers’ Workshop, Blue Mountain Center, Banff Centre, the Wurlitzer Foundation, and the Akademie Schloss Solitude in Stuttgart, Germany.[14]

Bibliography

Novels

  • Chen, Anelise (2017). So Many Olympic Exertions. Kaya Press. ISBN 978-1-885030-35-1.[15]

Memoirs

  • Chen, Anelise (2025). Clam Down. New York: Random House. ISBN 978-1-9848-0184-5.[16][17]

References

  1. 1 2 "Anelise Chen". National Book Foundation. Retrieved 2020-05-19.
  2. ↑ "The Rail's Best Books of 2017". The Brooklyn Rail. 13 December 2017. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
  3. ↑ "Autofiction and the Asian Diaspora: A Q-and-A with Anelise Chen". Los Angeles Review of Books. 2018-04-03. Retrieved 2025-06-22.
  4. 1 2 "Professor Anelise Chen's New Book 'Clam Down' Out in June | School of the Arts". arts.columbia.edu. Retrieved 2025-06-22.
  5. ↑ "Anelise Chen, Author at The Paris Review". The Paris Review. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
  6. ↑ "So Many Olympic Exertions". nationalbook.org. Retrieved June 2, 2026.
  7. ↑ "So Many Olympic Exertions by Anelise Chen". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved June 2, 2026.
  8. ↑ "2018 VCU English department announces Cabell First Novelist finalists". Virginia Commonwealth University. Retrieved June 2, 2026.
  9. ↑ Lit, Intern Electric (2025-06-05). "This Divorce Memoir Is Told from the Perspective of a Clam". Electric Literature. Retrieved 2025-06-22.
  10. ↑ "BOMB Magazine | Anelise Chen by Karen Gu". BOMB Magazine. Retrieved 2025-06-22.
  11. ↑ "The 10 best books of 2025". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved June 2, 2026.
  12. ↑ "Clam Down: A Metamorphosis". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved June 2, 2026.
  13. ↑ "2026 Pulitzer Prizes". pulitzer.org.Retrieved 2026-05-05.
  14. ↑ "Finalist: Clam Down: A Metamorphosis, by Anelise Chen". pulitzer.org. Retrieved June 2, 2026.
  15. ↑ "Anelise Chen's So Many Olympic Exertions | The Brooklyn Rail". brooklynrail.org. 2024-08-19. Retrieved 2025-06-22.
  16. ↑ Leu, Chelsea (2025-05-31). "A Memoir of Divorce and Xenophobia, Narrated by a Clam". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-06-22.
  17. ↑ "Clam Down: A Metamorphosis by Anelise Chen". www.publishersweekly.com. Retrieved 2025-06-22.
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