Andy Quan was born in 1969 in Vancouver, British Columbia, a third-generation Chinese-Canadian and fifth-generation Chinese-American with roots in the villages of Canton. His poetry, fiction and erotica have appeared in many publications in North America, Australia, and the United Kingdom. He studied at Lester B. Pearson College of the Pacific, Trent University and York University and was a participant in Canada World Youth. He is the author of a poetry collection, Slant (Nightwood Editions, 2001), and his short fiction has been collected in his first book of short stories, Calendar Boy (New Star Books, 2001), a reflection of young, Asian and gay Canada. One story "How to Cook Chinese Rice" has been called "the gay Like Water for Chocolate." Quan explains that many stories were written "to tackle not only prejudice within the gay community, but to tackle simplicity in any community." Calendar Boy was published in Australia by Penguin in 2002 and was nominated for a Lambda Literary Award. Six Positions (Green Candy Press, 2005) is his collection of gay erotica and sex writing. From is boyhood experiences in Vancouver to his adulthood in Sydney, Australia, Quan eschews gay erotica in his second poetry collection, Bowling Pin Fire (Signature Editions, 2007) in favour of intensely-felt reflections arising from a formative bilingual schism, Cantonese at home, English at school. Most of the early poems in the book recall first-time experiences of his youth. He has also co-edited and contributed to Swallowing Clouds: An Anthology of Chinese-Canadian Poetry.

Quan is a singer and songwriter who has also acted in Canadian video-maker Richard Fung's Dirty Laundry. After living in Toronto, London, and Brussels, Quan moved to Sydney, Australia to work for the Australian Federation of AIDS Organizations.

BOOKS:

Calendar Boy (New Star Books, 2001) 0-921586-82-5
Slant (Nightwood Editions, 2001)
Six Positions (Green Candy Press, 2005)
Bowling Pin Fire (Signature, 2007) $14.95 1-897109-22-9

CO-EDITOR:

Swallowing Clouds: An Anthology of Chinese-Canadian Poetry (Arsenal Pulp).

[BCBW 2005 / 2008] "Poetry" "Fiction" "Sex" "Chinese"