Bio
Jenny Liao was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. She is a proud child of immigrants and her writing focuses on inspiring readers to find pride in every part of their identity. Jenny's writing has been featured in the New Yorker and Bon Appétit.
When Jenny isn't writing, she’s eating. No matter where she is in the world, she’s always searching for the local form of fried potato or Chinese food. Jenny currently lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two calico cats, Donut and Beignet. She is the author of Everyone Loves Lunchtime but Zia and Everyone Loves Career Day but Zia.
You can find her on Instagram and Twitter @jeliao or jeliao.com.
Download a headshot here.
Photo credit: Joshua Nuñez Photography
About my work
Growing up, I didn't see myself reflected in the books and magazines I read or the TV and movies I watched. It had a profound effect on the way I felt about my place in the world as an Asian American, like somehow I was less than, which I now know wasn't true.
After a decade of building a career in advertising, I shifted from identifying brand motivations to character motivations. Everyone is deserving of seeing themselves in the stories they read and watch. Not as caricatures. Not as cliches. But as strong characters with multifaceted personalities and values. From books to screens, relatable stories that find joy and laughter through pain is a focus of my writing. My work spans children's literature, editorial, adult fiction, and screenwriting.
My children's book journey began when a 2018 report by the Cooperative Children's Book Center confirmed that there were more children's books about animal characters (27%) than Asian and Pacific Islander characters (7%). In fact, there were more books with animal characters than all POC characters combined (23%). As a result, I set out to increase Asian representation in children's literature.