Anthologies

Filipinos and Chinese authors have a rich, vibrant literature when it comes to speculative fiction, the realms of the strange and fantastical. But what about the fiction of the Filipino-Chinese, who draw their roots from the folklore of both cultures? This is what Lauriat attempts to answer. Featuring stories that deal with voyeur ghosts, taboo lovers, a town that cannot sleep, the Chinese zodiac, and an exile that finally comes home, Lauriat covers a diverse selection of narratives from fresh, Southest Asian voices.

“A briliant multicultual collection that reminds readers that stories about food are rarely just about the food alone.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review) A stunning collection of short stories about the intersection of family, culture, and food in the lives in teens, from bestselling and critically acclaimed authors, including Sandhya Menon, Anna-Marie McLemore, and Rin Chupeco. A shy teenager attempts to express how she really feels through the pastries she makes at her family’s pasteleria. A tourist from Montenegro desperately seeks a magic soup dumpling that can cure his fear of death. An aspiring chef realizes that butter and soul are the key ingredients to win a cooking competition that could win him the money to save his mother’s life. Welcome to Hungry Hearts Row, where the answers to most of life’s hard questions are kneaded, rolled, baked. Where a typical greeting is, “Have you had anything to eat?” Where magic and food and love are sometimes one in the same. Told in interconnected short stories, Hungry Hearts explores the many meanings food can take on beyond mere nourishment. It can symbolize love and despair, family and culture, belonging and home.