Amy Tan Loves Birds

About Amy Tan

Born in the U.S. in 1952 to immigrant parents from China, Amy Tan grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her first story, “Rules of the Game,” was published in 1986. In 1987, Amy went to China for the first time, accompanied by her mother. When she returned home, she learned that she had received several offers based on her submission of three short stories. The resulting book of connected stories, The Joy Luck Club, was hailed as a novel and became a surprise bestseller. She is also the author of five more New York Times bestselling novels.

Amy appears as herself in the episode “Clown Poppy” in the animated series The Simpsons. She is the subject of a documentary Amy Tan: Unintended Memoir, directed by the late James Redford, which aired on PBS American Masters. The findings of her ancestry will be revealed in 2025 on the PBS show Finding Your Roots.

She has been a finalist for the National Book Award, the National Book Critics Circle Award, and the International Orange Prize, and the recipient of many honors, including being inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters, in 2022, and receiving the National Humanities Medal by President Biden in 2023..

In 2016, Amy began taking nature journaling classes with John Muir Laws. During the pandemic shutdown, she spent long hours observing the behavior of wild birds in her backyard. Her editor, Dan Halpern, suggested she turn those pencil sketches, colored portraits and journal notes into an illustrated book, The Backyard Bird Chronicles, published in April 2024 by Knopf, which became an instant #1 bestseller. Her drawings were on special exhibition at the Roger Torey Peterson Institute.

Amy serves on the board of American Bird Conservancy, the National Poetry Series, and The Community of Writers. She lives with her husband and their dog in California and New York.

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About BirdNote

BirdNote is an independent media production organization that brings joy, inspiration, and hope to millions of people around the world who value birds and the environment we share. By telling vivid, sound-rich stories about birds and the challenges they face, BirdNote inspires listeners to care about the natural world — and take steps to protect it.

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