SUN: Start here

Serialization of my short story collection, Staring into the Sun

My short story collection, Staring into the Sun, links memoir and narrative nonfiction about my Chinese American family history from 1895 to 2015. Look out for a millionaire, a magician, and a model.

I am serializing the full manuscript here on Substack from August to December 2025. You can read it online or sign up below to get it in your inbox every Saturday morning.

The paperback and ebook will be published in May 2026 by Ten16 Press and I will be independently publishing the audio book.

Staring into the Sun is a semifinalist of the 2025 Autumn House Nonfiction Prize.

You can find my family tree at the bottom of this post.

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INDEX (links will be updated as they are published)

1. 2 Aug - Things My Dad Told Me, Part 1

2. 9 Aug - Things My Dad Told Me, Part 2 / Gold Mountain, Part 1

3. 16 Aug - Gold Mountain, Part 2

4. 23 Aug - Gold Mountain, Part 3 / An Upright Man, Part 1

5. 30 Aug - An Upright Man, Part 2

6. 6 Sept - An Upright Man, Part 3

7. 13 Sept - An Upright Man, Part 4 / Belonging, Part 1

8. 20 Sept - Belonging, Part 2

9. 27 Sept - The East Wind, Part 1

10. 4 Oct - The East Wind, Part 2

11. 11 Oct - The East Wind, Part 3 / Gold Mountain Diggers, Part 1

12. 18 Oct - Gold Mountain Diggers, Part 2

13. 25 Oct - Gold Mountain Diggers, Part 3 / Hearts on Fire, Part 1

14. 1 Nov - Hearts on Fire, Part 2

15. 8 Nov - Hearts on Fire, Part 3 / Magic, Part 1

16. 15 Nov - Magic, Part 2

17. 22 Nov - Magic, Part 3

18. 29 Nov - Magic, Part 4

19. 6 Dec - The Outstanding Descendants, Part 1

20. 13 Dec - The Outstanding Descendants, Part 2

21. 20 Dec - The Outstanding Descendants, Part 3

22. 27 Dec - Through These Halls

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The first story, “Things My Dad Told Me,” is published in the inaugural Hope Prize anthology by Simon & Schuster Australia, Tomorrow There Will Be Sun. Another story from the collection, “Gold Mountain Diggers,” features in Issue 10 of Livina Press. My speculative piece “His Bones” is included in the Oxford Flash Fiction Prize anthology, Transformations.

You can find out more about me and my writing at madelynpostman.com and I’m also on Instagram @madelynpostman. If you’re interested in author interviews, reading recommendations, writing tips and resources, and updates on my moseying, subscribe to The Spark monthly newsletter, or listen on your favorite podcast platform.

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