Frances Kai-Hwa Wang

Frances Kai-Hwa Wang is an American writer and educator based in Michigan and Hawai‘i.

She was a 2019 Knight Arts Challenge winner receiving $25,000 for her project "Beyond Vincent Chin: Legacies in Action and Art" addressing a key case in Asian American history and its impacts since his murder in 1982. The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation created the award as part of its efforts to foster "informed and engaged communities" which the foundation believes are "essential for a healthy democracy."

She is the author of the books "Imaginary Affairs-Postcards from an Imagined Life," "Where the Lava Meets the Sea," and "Dreams of Diaspora." Her poetry is featured extensively in international publications including Cha: An Asian Literary Journal, Kartika Review, Ricepaper, and Drunken Boat, in addition to part of the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center Indian American Heritage Project exhibition. She has written for NBC News Asian America, PRI Global Nation, IMDiversity.com, Asian American Village, the Ann Arbor Chronicle and Michigan History Magazine and her reporting has covered Asian American poets such as Bao Phi, Đỗ Nguyên Mai, Jenna Lê, Monica Sok, Janice Lobo Sapigao, and Khaty Xiong. Her writing has received over 24 awards and fellowships since 2006.

Her professional experience includes serving as the Executive Director of American Citizens for Justice and Asian Pacific American Chamber of Commerce. As a teacher she has focused on topics of Asian/ Pacific Islander American civil rights, history, film, and media at the University of Michigan. Wang also teaches creative writing at University of Hawaii Hilo and Washtenaw Community College.

Awards and distinctions

Knight Arts Challenge for "Beyond Vincent Chin: Legacies in Action and Art," 2019 Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights Detroit Equity Action Lab Race and Justice Reporting Initiative Fellow on Arts, 2019 Marguerite Casey Foundation Equal Voice Journalism on Poverty Fellow, 2019 2nd Place Dwarf Star Award, Science Fiction and Fantasy Poetry Association, 2019 Michigan Historical Society State History Award for Best Article in Michigan History Magazine, "Vincent Chin: A Catalyst for the Asian-American Civil Rights Movement," 2017 Education Writers Assn. National Seminar fellowship, "A New Era for Education and the Press," Washington DC, 2017 Education Writers Association and Poynter fellowship, “Separate -- And Still Unequal,” Poynter, 2017 Columbia Univ Grad School of Journalism Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma Midwest Reporting Institute fellowship on Gun Violence, 2017 Education Writers Association fellowship, "Doing More with Higher Ed Data," Univ of Penn School of Education, 2017 Association of Opinion Journalists (AOJ) and Poynter Institute Minority Writers Seminar Fellowship, 2015 Council for the Advancement of Science Writing Diversity Travel Fellowship, 2015 National Association of Science Writers Diversity Fellowship, 2015 University of Michigan Literature, Science and the Arts (LSA) Diversity Institute Fellow, 2015 Kellogg Foundation sponsorship to attend and report on America Healing conference, 2015 Rotary International reporting sponsorship to embed Rotaplast medical mission to Philippines, 2014 Angry Asian Man Blog Angry Reader of the Week, 2010 Community Media Workshop Making Media Connections Conf. Scholarship, Chicago, 2010, 2011 Online News Association Training Fellowship, Ann Arbor, 2010 New America Media Ethnic Media Expo & Awards Fellowship, Atlanta, 2009 Michigan Chinese Women's Association Who's Who Awards, 2008 Ann Arbor YMCA Best Original Essay, 2008 Council of Asian Pacific Americans Best Original Essay, 2006 University of Michigan Minority Merit Fellowship and Rackham Merit Fellowship, 1988-1991