Booksmith is thrilled to welcome back Kirstin Chen, author of Soy Sauce for Beginners and Bury What We Cannot Take, for the launch of her highly anticipated new novel, Counterfeit. She'll be in conversation with Lauren Markham, author of The Far Away Brothers: Two Young Migrants and the Making of an American Life. Join us for what promises to be a special evening.

*** PLEASE NOTE: advanced sales for this event have ended. We have some seats remaining, which will go on a first-come, first-served basis. Doors are at 7pm PDT. Please note all of the following:

Please note:

• Safety: ID and proof of full vaccination, including booster, will be required at the door. Masks will be required throughout the duration of the event, capacity will be limited to allow indoor distancing, and we'll have extra ventilation in place. 
• Because we’re limiting capacity, we can't guarantee we'll have space for walk-ins. The best way to ensure you’ll get a seat is to order the Book + Seat ticket through this link; any remaining seats will be available to walk-ins on a first-come, first-served basis, with no guarantee of admission.
• We are happy to offer *signed copies* of Counterfeit: order a Book + Seat ticket bundle if you'd like to pick up a signed copy at the event, or order here if you just want a signed copy.
• If we feel it is not safe to gather, as the event gets closer, we will pivot to a virtual event and your registration will remain valid.
• Questions? Write events@booksmith.com.

We'll ship all orders directly to you or hold for pickup at our San Francisco shop. We are happy to fulfill orders anywhere in the world – international postage will be invoiced separately.

About the book

Money can’t buy happiness… but it can buy a decent fake.

Ava Wong has always played it safe. As a strait-laced, rule-abiding Chinese American lawyer with a successful surgeon as a husband, a young son, and a beautiful home—she’s built the perfect life. But beneath this façade, Ava’s world is crumbling: her marriage is falling apart, her expensive law degree hasn’t been used in years, and her toddler’s tantrums are pushing her to the breaking point.

Enter Winnie Fang, Ava’s enigmatic college roommate from Mainland China, who abruptly dropped out under mysterious circumstances. Now, twenty years later, Winnie is looking to reconnect with her old friend. But the shy, awkward girl Ava once knew has been replaced with a confident woman of the world, dripping in luxury goods, including a coveted Birkin in classic orange. The secret to her success? Winnie has developed an ingenious counterfeit scheme that involves importing near-exact replicas of luxury handbags and now she needs someone with a U.S. passport to help manage her business—someone who’d never be suspected of wrongdoing, someone like Ava. But when their spectacular success is threatened and Winnie vanishes once again, Ava is left to face the consequences.

Swift, surprising, and sharply comic, Counterfeit is a stylish and feminist caper with a strong point of view and an axe to grind. Peering behind the curtain of the upscale designer storefronts and the Chinese factories where luxury goods are produced, Kirstin Chen interrogates the myth of the model minority through two unforgettable women determined to demand more from life.

About the authors

Kirstin Chen is the author of Soy Sauce for Beginners and Bury What We Cannot Take. She has received fellowships and awards from the Steinbeck Fellows Program, Sewanee, Hedgebrook, Djerassi, the Napa Valley Writers’ Conference, the Toji Cultural Foundation, and the National Arts Council of Singapore. She teaches creative writing at the University of San Francisco and in Ashland University’s Low-Residency MFA Program. Born and raised in Singapore, she currently lives in San Francisco. Author photo by Sarah Deragon.

Lauren Markham is an author, essayist and fiction writer whose work has appeared in outlets such as The New York Times Magazine, The New York Review of Books, Best American Travel Writing, Freeman's, Lithub, Guernica, Harper's, and VQR, where she is a contributing editor. Lauren is the author of The Far Away Brothers: Two Young Migrants and the Making of an American Life, which was awarded the Northern California Book Award, The California Book Award Silver Medal, and the Ridenhour Prize. She has spent over fifteen years working at the intersection of immigration and education.

This event is free and all ages, but RSVP is required.