Written by Mackenzie Manley, Content Specialist, Downtown Main Library
CHPL's 2026 Writer-in-Residence is Intisar Khanani, award-winning author of young adult fiction books. She’s also the host of CHPL's "Inside the Writer's Head" podcast.
In this episode, 2026 Writer-in-Residence Intisar Khanani interviews Diana Ma, a Chinese American author who writes young adult and middle grade books that feature Asian American heroes.
About the Guest
Diana was a 2019 We Need Diverse Books mentee with Swati Avashti and a 2021 Highlights Foundation Muslim Storytellers Fellow. Her debut novel Heiress Apparently was a 2021 Washington State Book Award finalist in the Young Adult Literature category. Diana holds a BA in Creative Writing from the University of Washington and an MA in English with a Creative Writing focus from the University of Illinois, Chicago. Diana lives in a suburb of Seattle, Washington, where she teaches composition, creative writing, literature, and humanities at a community college.
Subscribe to Inside the Writer's Head and all of CHPL's podcasts on Spotify, Google Podcasts, or Apple Podcasts.
Attend Intisar Khanani’s upcoming workshops and writer office hours.
Funds to support the Writer-in-Residence program are provided through the generous donation of a private donor and The Library Foundation.
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