My name is Shirley Wang. I’m a 25-year-old writer, radio journalist and producer from Iowa City, Iowa. My writing has been noted in Best American Sports Writing and I won a Public Media Journalists Association Award for ‘Soft Feature’ in 2019.
As a child of Chinese immigrants, I love to write about immigrant communities and about how things like race and generational differences tie into family dynamics. I produce in-depth and emotional pieces with standout characters around issues of everyday life. Hopefully, reading my writing makes people feel less alone. I’ve published pieces with 99 Percent Invisible, NPR, The Washington Post, the New York Times, NBC, Popula and Chinese-language newspaper The World Journal. My professional training mostly comes from the radio world - I’ve worked for NPR affiliate station Iowa Public Radio, interned for WGBH in Boston and I’ve produced, hosted and edited three independent podcasts. I attended Tufts University and received a BA in Anthropology in 2018.
In December of 2018, I went viral. My radio story “My Dad’s Friendship with Charles Barkley” for NPR’s Only A Game garnered millions of views around the world and trended at #2 on twitter. I was on the Today Show, Buzzfeed’s AM2DM show and the story was mentioned on Jimmy Kimmel. It was named as part of the top '13 moments in Asian America that moved us in 2018' by NBC and was shared by celebrities Roxane Gay, Seth Meyers, Celeste Ng, Eddie Huang, Gabrielle Union, Chamath Palihapitiya and Soledad O'Brien. It was also mentioned in Sunday Long Read Best of 2018, The New York Times Newsletter and Politico's Playbook. I wrote a follow-up to this story for Father's Day. If you liked this story, you can read this one about the Chinese Church in Iowa City, where my dad used to host New Years parties — or this one about Vedant Gupta, an 13-year-old aspiring sports media influencer whose dad is also greatly entertaining.
I’m currently freelancing from Melbourne, Australia, open to assignments for essays, reported features and audio stories. Email me at shirley@shirl.wang
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Here are some topics I'm currently interested in:
-Diaspora, building communities and new "homes"
-Ethical travel writing
-Healthcare and hope
-The elderly
-Housing, Section 8 experiences
-Spirituality and religion
-Books and their authors, creative journeys
-Regular celebrations and events: Weekly gatherings, rituals, associations, forums
**Please note:
*If English is not your first language and you’re nervous about being quoted, no problem! I will never misquote you and we can work together to make sure your words represent your perspective.
Email me at shirley@shirl.wang even if you only have an inkling of an idea for collaboration!
Thanks for your time and energy put into this.
