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Celeste Ng
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Celeste Ng

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Born
The United States
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May 2007

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Celeste Ng is the author of three novels, Everything I Never Told You, Little Fires Everywhere, and Our Missing Hearts.


Her first novel, Everything I Never Told You (2014), was a New York Times bestseller, a
New York Times Notable Book of 2014, Amazon’s #1 Best Book of 2014, and named a best book of the year by over a dozen publications. Everything I Never Told You was also the winner of the Massachusetts Book Award, the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature, and the ALA’s Alex Award. It has been translated into over thirty languages and is being adapted for the screen.


Her second novel, Little Fires Everywhere (2017) was a #1 New York Times bestseller, a #1 Indie Next bestseller, and Amazon's Best Fiction Book of 2017. It was named a be ...more

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Popular Answered Questions

Hi Celeste, I'm currently reading your book, and am enjoying it. Why did you chose to use the word "Oriental" instead of Asian, when describing your characters? As an Asian woman, the term "Oriental" offends me, as it seems more appropriate a description for rugs than it is me.
Celeste Ng Hi Juliana,

This is a great question--I'm glad you asked! I also don't care for the term "Oriental," myself. But I chose to use it in the book delibera…moreHi Juliana,

This is a great question--I'm glad you asked! I also don't care for the term "Oriental," myself. But I chose to use it in the book deliberately for two reasons.

First, it's the term that would have been used at the time, both by the main characters and the people surrounding them. Relatedly, I wanted to startle the reader a little by using a now-outdated term, to remind readers that we were in an earlier and less progressive era, where people weren't seen as "Asian," but "Oriental."

Thank you for asking!(less)
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Did you have the plot and cast of "Everything I Never Told You" in mind when you started writing it, or did you figure most of it out along the way?
Celeste Ng Hi Dawn,

Thanks for your question! I had the basic plot and cast in mind from the start--I knew, for example, that Lydia would be dead and that she'd d…moreHi Dawn,

Thanks for your question! I had the basic plot and cast in mind from the start--I knew, for example, that Lydia would be dead and that she'd drowned in the lake, and I had a basic idea of why. And I knew the major things that had happened in the family's history. Those actually stayed pretty constant throughout all of the drafts and all the writing. But as I wrote, I figured out *why* those events had happened, and learned much more about each of the characters. For me, writing is always a mix of what I know (or think I know) and what I don't know, of exploration and explanation.(less)
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Combine Editions

Average rating: 3.98 · 2,001,362 ratings · 150,377 reviews · 17 distinct works • Similar authors
Little Fires Everywhere
4.07 avg rating — 1,226,681 ratings — published 2017 — 174 editions
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Everything I Never Told You
3.84 avg rating — 574,402 ratings — published 2014 — 63 editions
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Our Missing Hearts
3.80 avg rating — 191,730 ratings — published 2022 — 59 editions
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Everything I Never Told You...
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3.96 avg rating — 1,098 ratings
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Every Little Thing
4.05 avg rating — 212 ratings
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Girls, at Play
3.87 avg rating — 202 ratings
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A Book on the Table: Flash...
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3.77 avg rating — 86 ratings — published 2018
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Nos coeurs disparus
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3.90 avg rating — 10 ratings
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Celeste Ng Bestselling 3 Bo...
4.63 avg rating — 8 ratings — 6 editions
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Pequeños fuegos por todas p...
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Celeste Ng's Blog

Little Fires Everywhere Debuts at #7 on the NYT Bestseller List

I'm thrilled to report that in its first week in print, Little Fires Everywhere debuts at #7 on the New York Times Hardcover Bestseller List! (It's also at #8 on the NYT Combined Print & Ebook List, #10 on the Publishers Weekly Bestseller List, #4 on the Indie National List, and Amazon's #8 most sold book.)

Thank you so much, all of you, for your support!











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Celeste’s Recent Updates

Celeste Ng finished reading
Inciting Joy by Ross Gay
Inciting Joy: Essays
by Ross Gay
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Jun 20, 2023 09:05AM  · 
Celeste Ng is currently reading
Inciting Joy by Ross Gay
Inciting Joy: Essays
by Ross Gay
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Dec 14, 2022 07:22PM  · 
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The Magic Kingdom by Russell Banks
The Magic Kingdom
by Russell Banks
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Dec 14, 2022 07:22PM  · 
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The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O'Farrell
The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox
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Quotes by Celeste Ng  (?)
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“Sometimes you need to scorch everything to the ground, and start over. After the burning the soil is richer, and new things can grow. People are like that, too. They start over. They find a way.”
― Celeste Ng, Little Fires Everywhere
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“Before that she hadn’t realized how fragile happiness was, how if you were careless, you could knock it over and shatter it.”
― Celeste Ng, Everything I Never Told You
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“Most of the time, everyone deserves more than one chance. We all do things we regret now and then. You just have to carry them with you.”
― Celeste Ng, Little Fires Everywhere
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Topics Mentioning This Author

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Black Coffee: March Challenge 29 37 Apr 01, 2014 04:44PM  
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The Seasonal Read...: This topic has been closed to new comments. Completed Tasks: Do Not Delete Posts 2673 595 Aug 31, 2014 08:59PM  
Around the World ...: Beverly 2014 USA Roadtrip Challenge 34 86 Oct 03, 2014 12:46PM  
You'll love this ...: September 2014 - Be my Buddy, Wanna be my Buddy 633 191 Oct 04, 2014 01:28AM  
Goodreads Choice ...: November Additional Read Nomination ***CLOSED*** 29 81 Nov 03, 2014 05:13PM  

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