Embedded Files
Apple loves to talk with her readers directly in person or on Zoom. If you would like to invite her to join a club discussion or an event appearance, email her at Info@AppleAnBooks.com.
Download a one-page author profile.
Brief Bio
Brief Bio
Apple An is a Chinese-American author, historian, and cultural memoirist writing under her pen name. She was a professor at Syracuse University from 1995 to 2025. Her academic achievements include seven doctoral graduates, 24 awards and recognitions, and more than 16,500 citations to her 200+ articles and three books in STEM fields. She was a founding EIC of a prestigious academic journal and a historian in two academic associations.
Apple began her literary journey in 2017, aiming to preserve cultural memory and foster empathy through stories rooted in real life. Her literary work blends deep research with intimate reflection, offering a bridge between past and present. Her debut book is a memoir, Las Crosses, that details her experience of arriving at a small town, Las Cruces, NM, from Beijing at 26. Her first historical novel, Mother of Red Mountains, showcases a mother’s struggles and sacrifices from 1946 to 1966 in China. Her second historical novel, Daughter of Blue City, is about a young girl’s coming of age from 1966 to 1980 in China. All three books achieved the status of #1 New Release and Bestseller on Amazon in their respective categories, and all three books received awards from multiple national and international award platforms in categories including Women's Non-Fiction, Multicultural Non-Fiction, Autobiographics, Historical Fiction, Multicultural Fiction, Family Saga, Women's Historical Fiction, Inspirational Fiction, Multicultural Fiction, and Young Adult Fiction.
She designed the All-in-One Dotted Journal Notebook, a productivity tool based on mindful living. She created and co-edited the Voices Heard Anthology Series, 28 Voices and 37 More Voices, dedicated to emerging and underrepresented writers.
Apple is a USTA-rated tennis player, an award-winning amateur ballroom dancer, and a passionate supporter of the arts.
Media Coverage
Media Coverage
Podcast Interview by Atlas Aultman
Podcast Interview by Atlas Aultman
2006.08.19. Phoenix, AZ.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbPRk2M_28U
https://www.youtube.com/@Podcast_Awards
What would you sacrifice for your children?
In this episode of the International Podcast Awards, host Atlas Aultman sits down with International Award-winning author Apple An, an expert in many fields, to discuss her powerful historical novel Mother of Red Mountains.
Inspired by her own mother's life during China's Cultural Revolution, Apple An shares the remarkable story of a woman who sacrificed an extraordinary engineering career to protect her children during one of history's most difficult periods.
But this conversation goes far beyond history.
Together they discuss:
Motherhood and sacrifice
Growing up during political turmoil
Chinese history and the Cultural Revolution
Healing family trauma
Forgiveness after decades of pain
Why journaling changes your mindset
Reflection as a tool for emotional healing
Historical fiction inspired by true events
Becoming the author of your own story
Building resilience through education and purpose
Apple An also explains how researching her family's past completely changed the way she viewed both of her parents, ultimately helping her forgive and understand experiences that shaped her life.
If you've ever struggled with family relationships, parenting, identity, forgiveness, or finding meaning through adversity, this is an unforgettable conversation.
Eyes On Hollywood Magazine Feature
Eyes On Hollywood Magazine Feature
This article provides a concise summary of my background, reasons for turning to creative writing, my focus on historical stories, my writing approaches, and the award-winning book, Mother of Red Mountains.
"From an accomplished STEM professor to an acclaimed novelist, Apple An is proving that some of history’s most powerful lessons are found through the deeply personal stories of ordinary people."
Here are the headings of the sections.
A Mother's Story that Became Much Bigger
Research Meets Storytelling
History Through the Eyes of Ordinary People
An Award-Winning Voice
Building a Legacy Beyond One Book
Reader's House Magazine Feature
Reader's House Magazine Feature
Reader's House Magazine Feature
Reader's House Magazine Feature
AuthorEssence and Issue 57 of Reader's House Magazine, a global reach in print and online formats within the literary world, featured me and my books.
Here are a few highlights:
The DeepDive Podcast's 13-minute summary of the interview with annotation
Book reviews of Las Crosses, 28 Voices, and All-in-One Dotted Journal Notebook
Featured in MosaicDigest Magazine and Novelist Post Magazine
The magazine is available in over 190 countries:
On Amazon's multiple markets (here is for the U.S.)
In print in stores such as BAM!, Bookshop, Penguin Books
In USA's 50 states and Washington DC
And more
The press release is in many news outlets:
And more
Print release: 2025-08-18
Online release: 2025-08-31
Editor's Choice Award of Literary Excellence
Editor's Choice Award of Literary Excellence
Reader’s House celebrates Apple An, an acclaimed author whose compelling works bridge cultures and inspire global literary appreciation.
As part of its commitment to celebrating literary excellence, Reader’s House proudly presented Apple with the Editor’s Choice Award of Literary Excellence. This prestigious award underscores Apple’s contributions to literature as a medium of empathy and connection across cultures.
The magazine commends Apple’s literary contributions for their ability to illuminate cultural divides, foster understanding, and celebrate human resilience. Her memoir Las Crosses invites readers into a deeply personal journey of courage and perseverance, while Mother of Red Mountains expands horizons through a vibrant portrayal of history and motherhood within Revolutionary China.
In their rave review, Reader’s House celebrated Apple’s skill for “crafting immersive settings and unforgettable characters.” Her narratives profoundly “dismantle stereotypes and foster understanding, one heartfelt story at a time.”
Lengthy Bio
Lengthy Bio
Apple An is a multi-award-winning Chinese-American author and former professor whose life and work bridge continents, disciplines, and generations. Born during China’s Cultural Revolution and immigrating to the United States in 1989, she carries in her writing the echoes of history, the resilience of memory, and the hope of cross-cultural and cross-generational connection.
With over 200 scholarly publications and three academic books to her name, Apple has built a distinguished career in higher education at Syracuse University from 1995 to 2025. She proudly produced seven high-achieving doctoral graduates. Her research has been cited over 16,500 times across disciplines, and she was recognized with 24 national and international honors for research, teaching, and service. She is a founding editor-in-chief of a major academic journal and an inaugural historian for two international academic associations.
But Apple’s most transformative work began outside the academic lecture halls in stories rooted in personal truth and historical depth. In 2017, she turned to creative writing to pass down her cultural legacy to her children, only to discover a broader calling: to preserve what history overlooks and to amplify the voices silenced by time.
Under her pen name, Apple An, she writes literary fiction, memoir, and historical novels that uncover the textured realities of people’s lives through a deeply personal lens.
Her debut memoir, Las Crosses: An Unwavering Journey to a New Life in America, chronicles her first eight months after arriving in Las Cruces, New Mexico, from Beijing. It was a #1 New Release and became an Amazon bestseller in multiple categories such as Biographies and Memoirs of Asian Americans, History of China, and Biographies of Educators, and was named a finalist for the 2023 IAN Book of the Year Awards and 2025 Readers’ Choice Book Awards. It also earned 2nd and 3rd places at the 2023 Outstanding Creator Awards, and was a finalist for the 2025 Readers' Favorite Book Awards.
In 2024, Apple released her first historical novel, Mother of Red Mountains: A Novel of a Woman’s Journey Through Revolutionary China. Based on real lives and historical events, the novel is both a tribute to the unsung strength of Chinese women and a meditation on love, loss, and survival under totalitarian rule. The book achieved the #1 New Release status and Top #1 Bestseller on Amazon, and has since won multiple awards from over ten mainstream and indie award platforms, including:
2026 International Impact Book Awards: Winner in Historical Fiction/Multicultural Fiction
2025 American Fiction Awards: Winner in Multicultural Fiction, Family Saga, and General Fiction
2025 International Book Awards: Winner in Multicultural Fiction
2025 PenCraft Best Book Awards: First Place Winner for Historical Fiction
Additional accolades as a finalist, silver medalist, and top-category honoree in Women’s Historical Fiction, Best Adult Book, Asian American Fiction, and Historical Fiction
In 2025, she published her second historical novel, Daughter of Blue City: A Novel of Coming-of-Age Through Revolutionary China, a coming-of-age novel about a young girl growing up during China's Cultural Revolution who learned that her mind is her only weapon and education is her only hope for a life. It became the #1 New Release on Amazon in Historical Chinese Fiction. It was long-listed for the 2025 Goethe Book Awards for Post-1750 Historical Fiction and a finalist in the multicultural fiction category of the 2025 Best Book Awards presented by American Book Fest. The book went on to become a distinguished favorite of the 2026 Independent Press Award for the Cultural Heritage category and won a bronze medal at the 2026 Independent Publisher Book Awards (IPPY). It is the winner for Inspirational Fiction, winner for Young Adult Fiction, and finalist for Multicultural Fiction at the 2026 International Book Awards.
Beyond her literary books, Apple designs tools for intentional and joyful living. In 2023, she published the All-in-One Dotted Journal Notebook, a self-help productivity system inspired by the Bullet Journal method and her own approach to balancing a demanding life with purpose and peace.
She also created and co-edited the Voices Heard Anthology Series alongside Onondaga County Poet Laureate Georgia A. Popoff, curating work by emerging and underrepresented writers affiliated with The Writer’s Voice literary center. Volume 1, 28 Voices, was released in 2024, and 37 More Voices was published in 2025.
A lifelong learner and lover of movement, Apple is a USTA-rated tennis player, an award-winning amateur ballroom dancer, and an organic gardener. In every facet of life, whether dancing, digging, or drafting prose, she remains grounded by a singular belief: that truth, told with compassion, can change the world.
Apple's Other Interests
Apple's Other Interests
Stay Connected and Informed
Stay Connected and Informed
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