Award-winning writer. Friend of ambitious people living with limitations.

My name is Esmé (pronounced EZ-may). I’m a writer. My debut novel, The Border of Paradise, has received accolades and kind words from places such as LitHub, NPR Books, and the Chicago Review of Books; I was selected by Granta for their once-a-decade Best of Young American Novelists list of 21 authors under 40; in 2018 I received the prestigious Whiting Award. I write essays that have been published in the Believer, Catapult, The New Inquiry, Lenny, Hazlitt, and Salon, and am working on a collection of essays about schizophrenia for Graywolf Press, which is the result of having won the 2016 Graywolf Nonfiction Prize. I write short stories, one of which was selected for Best American Short Stories 2018. And I create work here that I hope will help you on your creative journey, including a workbook-and-audio program about creating from one’s obsessions and themes (find that in the Shop).

This website is the place to be if you want to know more about my literary life—links to pieces I’ve published, information about my novel and forthcoming essay collection, dates for forthcoming literary events, press clips, and so forth. Dig in.

But… you can also find me at The Unexpected Shape, where I provide resources for ambitious people living with limitations to build resilience, excellence, and legacy. I offer a free series of emails called Encouragement Notes, as well as entry into a supportive, thriving Facebook group made up of fascinating and resilient people of all sorts. A popular workshop has become a short, sweet, and effective email course, A**-Kicking with Limitations. My signature online course, Rawness of Remembering, is a much-loved program that teaches the skills needed for restorative journaling through difficult times.

Hop on over to The Unexpected Shape, or stay a while here. Do both! Either way: welcome.

 

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P.S. To find links to articles about me and podcasts I’ve been on, as well as media-ready photographs and contact information, please visit the Press page.

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I’d love to stay in touch with you.

For from-the-heart letters about life, resilience, and creativity, sign up for With Love & Squalor. Each letter also contains links to excellent writing from around the web, a collection of Five [Extraordinary] Words, and occasional discounts and previews of upcoming works and creations. Signing up will also nab you the Productivity Journaling with Limitations e-book, a nifty tool to help you dive into analogue planning while living with limitations.

Instagram

  • A good night at @therubysf in which @nicolesoojung was the star. (L-R: @rrrrrrrachelkhong, @ro.kwon, me, @nicolesoojung, @sulagnamisra, @atticuswench, 📷 by @melissahungtx)
  • (Image & caption by the lovely & ultra-talented @mccalmanco) // Under apocalyptic and hazy skies from the Northern California fires, we gathered last night at @books_inc for five incredible women recording the latest @goodcompanyzine podcast on the subject of being fear(less) and embracing failure. @designsponge set the tone for the open conversation in revealing the highs and lows of running her own business, @esmewwang discussed her medical obstacles and the challenges of writing under real life duress, @windychien talked about her third chapter of life and how it had sharpened her (self) value and confidence, @shak_simley preached about self-care and resilience, and @reem.assil was real about being a new mother while running a business and being an activist leader. Something in cosmos this week allowed me have several instances of being a minority among women, and let me tell you something: I took lots of notes. I learned a ton. This is the lesson of this week, nationally and personally, we (and I) need more women leading, and showing by examples, how shit can get done while being a human being. Thank you. #ObservedSF
  • A basil-and-pineapple donut for C at @douglasonsanchez. 💜
  • Good morning, friends. I’m heading off in a bit to cowork with @lkoturner & then to be interviewed (the promotional stuff for The Collected Schizophrenias is starting!). Here I’m wearing my new favorite makeup—Kosås tinted oil for my face—and Fenty Stunna in Uncensored. The sun is up, but it feels like autumn. May we be well; may we be safe; may we love & be loved. May we be kind.
  • (Photo by @jacquelyntierney) If you can, please vote today. It’s not the only civic responsibility we have—far from it—but it is an important one.
  • I’m in an interesting place with the new novel: mainly, we are getting to know one another, & I have no idea where this relationship is going.⠀ ⠀ As I mentioned earlier, my words for the remainder of 2018 are QUIET CREATION. I plan to make the most of this as possible.⠀ ⠀ I’m deep into a mastermind program with @courageandclarity for business-building.⠀ ⠀ I’m wrapping up my new website redesign and cannot wait to share it with y’all.⠀ ⠀ I have a new short story coming out in a magazine I love this winter. ⠀ ⠀ Promotional stuff is starting for The Collected Schizophrenias.⠀ ⠀ What is the rest of the year looking like for you? Do you have words or phrases to guide you through November and December? & do you have a Word ready for 2019?⠀ ⠀ #livemoremagic #finditliveit #communityovercompetition #heartandhustle #nothingisordinary #flashesofdelight #thehappynow #risingtidesociety #theartofslowliving #creativepreneur #savvybusinessowner #calledtobecreative #mycreativebiz #creativeentrepreneur #theeverygirl #gritandvirtue #creativityfound #creativelifehappylife #encouragerssociety
  • Design*Sponge founder and bestselling author Grace Bonney (@designsponge) discusses Good Company (Issue 2): The Fear(less) Issue. Joining Grace for this special event are Good Company (Issue 2) contributors Windy Chien, artist and creator of The Year of Knots exhibition; Shakirah Simley , San Francisco-based writer, educator, and community organizer; Reem Assil, founder and owner of the bakery Reem’s California... and me!⠀ ⠀ Inspired by her New York Times bestseller In the Company of Women, Grace Bonney's Good Company is the innovative and supportive journal for women and nonbinary creatives at every stage of life, founded on the power of inclusivity, diversity, and celebrating the differences that unite. Its mission is to provide motivation, inspiration, advice, and a vital sense of connection and community. ⠀ ⠀ The Fear(less) Issue continues Good Company's mission to provide an energetic and highly stimulating place to connect, learn, grow, and work through the challenges that women across the spectrum experience in pursuing their passions and dreams. The Fear(less) Issue focuses on the subject at the heart of any kind of ambition: failure. We all fail--but it's how we fail, and how we recover, that separates a positive experience from a negative one. This issue shares words, stories, life lessons, and more as it explores something we all shun, yet which has a power unlike any other to help us succeed.⠀ ⠀ ✨Location: Books Inc, 601 Van Ness Ave.⠀ ✨Date and Time: November 9th, 7 PM ✨Tickets: designsponge.com/tour
  • (Photo by Shay Cochrane) Silk, chiffon, more silk. Scarves tied in bows atop the head. Low-cut dresses, bare feet, stocking feet, a distaste for shoes, a love for heat. Songs. Books and more books, more often than not dissatisfied with said books, the giving-up of even the 50-page rule, four bags of books discarded from a marriage’s collection over years and years. Esmu, the old Finnish nickname. Dirty hair. Haphazard unkemptness with prickly legs. Words like dapple, wept, cervine; favorite words, the glory of words. A love for reading and being read to, tell me a story, listen to my voice. A love for whiskey. A constant fear.
  • (Photo by @jacquelyntierney) I’m finally getting deeper into the second novel—at least, I think I might not toss this one. Who knows! And we’re three months away from The Collected Schizophrenias coming out, which is nervous-making and exciting. ⠀ ⠀ My phrase for the remaining months of 2018 is Quiet Creation. I want to go down my rabbit hole & write & make & do my pet portrait commissions & write, write, write. I have a beloved story coming out this winter with a literary magazine I’ve been reading since I was in high school (!). ⠀ ⠀ I look forward to 2019, however tentatively. Tonight I will see Mitski perform! Quiet, quiet, & quieter still.

follow me @esmewwang

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