Registration opens:
October 22nd, 2025

Malibu Library Speaker Series: Amy Tan

In-Person Program

The Malibu Library Speaker Series presents bestselling author Amy Tan at Malibu City Hall.

The Malibu Library Speaker Series presents Amy Tan at Malibu City Hall on Wednesday, November 19, at 7 pm.

Born in the U.S. to immigrant parents from China, Amy Tan rejected her mother’s expectations that she become a doctor and concert pianist. She chose to write fiction instead. Her novels are The Joy Luck Club, The Kitchen God’s Wife, The Hundred Secret Senses, The Bonesetter’s Daughter, Saving Fish from Drowning, and The Valley of Amazement, all New York Times bestsellers. Her other works include a memoir, The Opposite of Fate, and a book about writing titled Where the Past Begins: A Writer’s Memoir. She is also the author of two children’s books, The Moon Lady, and Sagwa, The Chinese Siamese Cat, along with numerous articles for magazines, including the New Yorker, Harper’s Bazaar, and National Geographic, as well as a short story "Rules for Virgins" published as an audiobook. Her work has been translated into 35 languages, from Spanish, French, and Finnish to Chinese, Arabic, and Hebrew.

In keeping with her love of science in the wild and childhood love of doodling, Tan began nature journal sketching leading to her latest book The Backyard Bird Chronicles, which debuted at #1 on both the New York Times and the Indie bestseller lists and has remained on the lists since publication. In his forward David Allen Sibley said, "The drawings and essays in this book do a lot more than just describe the birds. They carry a sense of discovery..., suggest the layers of patterns in the natural world, and emphasize a deep personal connec­tion between the watcher and the watched."

Amy Tan has been nominated for the National Book Award, the National Book Critics Circle Award, and the International Orange Prize. She is also the recipient of the Commonwealth Gold Award, the 2005 Common Wealth Award of Distin­guished Service, the 2021 Carl Sandburg Literary Award, and other honors. In March 2022 she was voted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters. She was also awarded the 2021 National Humanities Medal by President Biden in a ceremony at the White House. She was named a 2024 Library Lion by the New York Public Library. In 2025 she was elected into the American Academy of Arts & Sciences.

Malibu Village Books will sell The Backyard Bird Chronicles at the event, and a book signing will follow the talk.

RSVPs are required.

Malibu City Hall is located at 23825 Stuart Ranch Road, Malibu.