All the Tears We Didn't Cry
YA modern fantasy novel about collective trauma, love, and navigating expectations for who we are meant to be.
When Karyn Lee abruptly dies and is ressurected by twin gods Life and Death, she finds herself in the winds of a political malestrom among hidden magical nations which broke off from Earth long ago. Trying to evade Triste, the king of shadows, Karyn begins traveling with Death, who has been assigned to guard her. But as Karyn learns more about the world she's entered, she realizes that if she is to return home, she must convince Death to take stronger action—and soon.
The floral prose of His Dark Materials meets the bittersweet reality of They Both Die At The End as queer Asian-American author Void Yuen guides readers through a world that draws magic onto late-2000s Earth, and ongoing dialogues about political inaction onto fantastical worlds beyond.
Currently in revision. A second round of beta reading expected in 2023.
“DO YOU LIKE SEX?” And Other Asexual Questions
A zine of asexual poetics, politics, and theory, after Theresa Cha’s Dictée.
How do current structures of sexual identification cause harm? How do we unlearn harmful sexual expectations around sexuality in our communities? How do we stop drawing false lines among and within ourselves?—These and other questions are explored in this part-memoir, part-analysis, part-theoretical zine which winds through the budding field of queer asexuality studies.
Void Yuen intersperses personal reflection and poetics with quotations from academic research and colorful annotations, challenging the reader to reflect on the politics of citation and linear expression. With points for cross-reference placed within the zine, it is intended that readers take a cyclical approach to reading, reflecting the process of its creation and the winding nature of the politics contained within.
The semi-final draft of “DO YOU LIKE SEX?”, completed in partial fulfillment of the Bachelor of Arts in Writing & Literature, can be found on Void's Portfolium. The completed zine will be released for free download in late Fall 2022.