Ann Yuan

ORP: Does writing or creating energize or exhaust you? What aspects of your artistic process would you consider the most challenging or rewarding?

Ann Yuan: Writing definitely energizes me, although the process of submission is time-consuming and tedious. People say writing is revising, and I agree with that. I've learned writing from reading other writers and revising my own. The progress is slow but very rewarding.

ORP: Do you know more than one language? How does this influence your art and/or writing?

AY: I was born and raised in China. Chinese culture and history have deeply shaped the way I understand this world and express myself. English is an energetic and bold language, and writing in my second language provides me another angle to observe people, allowing me to explore areas I might feel too intimidated to approach in my mother tongue.

ORP: What does vulnerability mean to you as an artist and/or writer?

AY: Vulnerability doesn't necessarily mean the high likelihood of getting hurt. It goes hand in hand with sensibility. For a writer, vulnerability means opening your mind and exposing yourself to the full range of emotions and feelings, and then putting them on the page for the world to read.

ORP: What do you hope readers (or your audience) will take away from your creative work?

AY: I hope readers find my story to be anything but boring.

Ann Yuan writes from Long Island, NY. She was a finalist for the Oxford Flash Fiction Prize 2025. Her fiction has appeared or is forthcoming in Gone Lawn, Moonpark Review, Oyster River Pages, Hawaii Pacific Review, Eclectica Magazine, Bending Genres, Flash Fiction Magazine, and elsewhere. Her work has also been included in the Overheard Anthology and Iridescence Anthology. You can find more at annyuanwriting.com.

Read Ann’s story “Rain, Book, and potato salad” FROM special ISSUE 8.2 Here.