A woman with long black hair, wearing earrings, a white turtleneck, and a tan coat, sitting outdoors on a bench with a brick wall background.

Tiffany Chu

Tiffany Chu is a Taiwanese American literary fantasy author of stories that aim to stab your heart out with a spoon. She has been called “the queen of angsty beauty,” and writes on evergreen themes of grief, belonging, and what it means to be human.

Her work has been published by The Publishing Room, The Cultivation Project, and Renewal Missions. She is obsessed with J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings and reads it religiously every year. She lives in San Diego with her husband and two surviving children.

I am a deep feeler who likes to pretend I feel nothing. I am a lover of books, particularly those written by authors dead at least twenty years. I am more at home among a grove of trees than a crowd of people. I live far too much in my own head. I have been described as reserved, intense, and heartless. While the facets making up a whole person change from time to time, certain core things remain the same.

I have always been fairly resilient to tides that tell me what I ought to be, but I am still a person with feelings. I am not immune to the opinions and criticisms of others. But I am also learning to treasure my own voice. I would rather have a hundred readers in whom I have found a kindred spirit, than a thousand who don’t really care about me.

AI Policy

I occasionally use Claude AI as a sounding board and personal cheerleader for motivation. I explicitly instruct it not to write anything for me or make further suggestions. All words, revisions, and rephrases are my own.

What People Say

  • Tiffany writes from a deeply personal perspective on literature, parenting, and mental health. She also occasionally shares her original fiction. A wonderful, heartfelt, and giving publication. Not to be missed.

    Matthew Long, Beyond the Bookshelf

  • Poignant, honest and enchanting. Tiffany's writing is world-class and has a powerful way of speaking to my heart.

    Heidi Tai, Letters from Heidi

  • Whether you’re a reflective writer, a thoughtful reader, or someone who yearns for heart-filled, resonant content, Tiffany’s Substack is a true haven.

    Esmé Weijun Wang, bestselling author of The Collected Schizophrenias

  • Tiffany always me feel something with her writing, and I leave feeling emotionally satisfied and reflecting on my life.

    Sarah Li-Cain, Searching for Enough

  • I love Tiffany's writings because they are vulnerable, authentic, and speak to the human condition. She knows how to tug at my heart strings and I feel less alone.

    Alyssa Francine, Timely Tarot

  • Tiffany’s writing is like the gift of a warm fire on a winter’s night. A poignant alchemy of all layers of the experiences and emotions that make up the human condition, her words will continue to resound in your heart long after your first encounter with them.

    Suyin Tan, A Tangerine Moon

  • Tiffany has a raw and honest way of cutting through to the root of so many emotions ... I love the ways she explores the why's, doesn't shy away from difficult conversations and presents her perspective straight from the heart. I sit with her words ... they make me feel, and isn't that what great writing is supposed to do?

    Mansi, The Ripple Maker

  • I want you to know that every time I read what you share, it's like I'm looking up at a perfectly clear night sky at billions of stars. That's the awe I feel from what you write.

    Jeannie Ewing, speaker and author of I Grow Strong Again

  • There's something very ancient about the way you write. These stories combine the mundane and the fantastic, the literal and the figurative without the need to clarify which is which. Probably because everything in life is both.

    Jennifer James, Adventure to a Quiet Place