Simon Han

Simon Han was born in Tianjin, China, and raised in various cities in Texas. His stories and essays have appeared in The Atlantic, The Texas Observer, Guernica, The Iowa Review, Electric Literature, and LitHub. Nights When Nothing Happened (Riverhead Books) tell the story of the Chengs. They seem to be model immigrants. Once Patty landed a tech job near Dallas, she and Liang grew secure enough to have a second child, and to send for their first from his grandparents back in China. But then little Annabel begins to sleepwalk at night, putting into motion a string of misunderstandings that set their community against them and bring out secrets that have made them fear one another. How can a man make peace with the terrors of his past? Can a child regain trust in unconditional love? How can a family stop burying its history and forge a way through it, to a more honest intimacy? Kirkus Reviews noted that Han “expertly shifts the ground under the narrative, constantly shaking the snow globe to nudge the reader’s perspective away from the familiar. […] An astutely realized portrait of the collateral damage wrought by the pursuit of the American dream.”