Canwen Xu: I Never Thought I Could Write a Novel
In this interview, author Canwen Xu discusses becoming a better writer after getting a book deal with her debut thriller, Boring Asian Female.
Canwen Xu is a writer living in New York City, but she grew up in North Dakota, South Dakota, and Idaho, three of the nine American states where cows outnumber people. Her TEDx talk from her senior year of high school, titled “I Am Not Your Asian Stereotype,” has been watched over three million times. She graduated from Columbia College, Columbia University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and computer science. Follow her on Instagram.
In this interview, Canwen discusses becoming a better writer after getting a book deal with her debut thriller, Boring Asian Female, how finding one writing process isn’t as easy as it may seem, and more.
Name: Canwen Xu
Literary agent: Rachel Yeoh
Book title: Boring Asian Female
Publisher: Berkley
Release date: April 28, 2026
Genre/category: Thriller / literary
Elevator pitch: Boring Asian Female is a literary thriller about Elizabeth Zhang, a senior at Columbia University, whose life falls apart when she gets rejected by Harvard Law School for not standing out. Devastated by the rejection, she slowly becomes obsessed with a classmate, Laura Kim, who she believes took her rightful spot.
What prompted you to write this book?
Even though I’ve always loved to read and write, I never thought I could write a novel. That was because for some reason, I thought that all novels had to be atmospheric, and I’m just not really into writing imagery. But then I started reading more contemporary fiction, particularly “millennial fiction,” and I found that many of these novels focused more on social critique and psychological insights rather than placing the reader at a specific place and time. That was when I thought, Huh, maybe I could do this.
How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?
It took about four years. The first two years consisted of writing the novel and landing a literary agent, and the next two years consisted of everything that happened after landing the book deal.
The idea definitely changed; when I first started writing it, I envisioned it as a coming-of-age novel in the style of Sally Rooney or Lily King. There was no obsession plot and no character named Laura Kim. And that was actually how my agent positioned it when we took it on submission. But when I met with Angela Kim, my now-editor, for the first time, she brought up potentially shifting it to a suspense novel. After thinking about it, I loved the idea. There were already some suspenseful tidbits in it, it was just about playing up those moments and heightening all of the plot points.
Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?
Something that not many people talk about is that you actually become a better writer after getting the book deal, because you get the opportunity to work with editors (and your agent) whose feedback really helps you hone your craft. I was getting paid to write but I was also getting all of this incredible, tailored writing advice in the process, almost like getting paid to learn.
Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?
I thought I’d eventually figure out a good “process” but that’s never happened. Sometimes, it’s giving myself a set word count to hit each day. But other times, too much focus on just generating can cause me to hit a wall. Sometimes, I find it helpful to go back and edit. Other times, it just makes me spiral into thinking I’m the worst writer to have ever lived. And it doesn’t really ever get easier.
What do you hope readers will get out of your book?
I hope they’ll find themselves surprised at just how much they’re able to root for and relate to the protagonist’s unhinged decision-making process.
If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?
Read as much as possible!
