I’m the author of Hey Taipei, the first English-language picture book about Taipei.
Hey Taipei was successfully crowdfunded in 2019, receiving pre-orders for 1,000-plus copies from around the world. This is the story behind the making of the book, and here’s where you can pick up a copy. Hey Taipei is published by Garlic Crush Studios. Illustrations by Weiting Zhou.
Through the making of Hey Taipei, I started writing about parenting in Taiwan. Here’s my post about pregnancy and giving birth in Taipei. And this is an interview with me about What It’s Like to Parent in Taiwan on the blog, Cup of Jo.
I also translate picture books for the Taiwan Ministry of Culture’s “Books From Taiwan” initiative. As an author, I’m represented by Frances Goldin Literary Agency in New York.
Follow @heytaipeibook on Instagram.
I started writing my blog, Tricky Taipei, in 2014 with a focus on the local design and food scene.
It soon grew to cover broader issues in Taiwanese society and culture, and sometimes features guest writers. Popular posts include: Will Taiwan Finally Figure Out How to Make Babies, Taiwan’s Unexpectedly Crazy Dating App Scene and Something Very Wrong Is Happening at Taiwan Tourism Bureau.
Discussions that began on Tricky Taipei have made it to local Taiwanese media via SETN, The News Lens, TVBS, Taipei Times, ETToday, LTN, and CommonWealth Crossings. And also international media including The Guardian, The Diplomat and The New Statesman.
I’ve been lucky to appear in a couple of TV programs: the Taipei episode of Au pays du bonheur on TV5 in Canada (January 2021). And the Taipei episode of Midnight Asia on Netflix (January 2022).
Over the years I’ve been featured in Airbnb Magazine’s “The Insider’s Guide to Taipei” (2019) and National Geographic Travel’s “Taipei in 72 Hours” (2016). I’ve also written for Taipei City Government’s flagship tourism magazine (2020) as well as Saveur magazine about Taipei’s coffee scene (2015).
A few years ago, I produced two posters in collaboration with Taiwanese artist, Tai Pera.
The inspiration for these was to create imagery that’s instantly recognizable as Taiwanese, and would be loved by both kids and adults. The posters are printed on premium 140g matte poster paper so they can be framed. Proudly printed in New Taipei City. See Tai Pera’s website or click below to order a poster directly from me. Shipping within Taiwan is free.
While working in New York City, I founded Thankful Registry.
Thankful is positioned as a kinder, feel-good gift registry. It’s been covered by TechCrunch (in 2013 and 2024), Fast Company, New York Magazine’s Summer 2014 Weddings Issue, and was mentioned in The New York Times in January 2017.
Thankful has expanded beyond wedding registries into the baby category, and also supports many non-profit organizations in their fundraising efforts. Thankful’s users are mostly located in the US, Canada and Australia. I run Thankful from here in Taipei.
Lastly, I’m a communications strategist.
My last US-based job was at Smart Design in New York City. One of my highlights there was appearing as a background extra in this SNL skit. Before that, I worked on corporate websites and annual reports at VSA Partners in Chicago.
From time to time, I take on consulting projects. If you’d like to chat about working together, please get in touch.