Most Interesting People 2018: Celeste Ng

Why She’s Interesting: The New York Times best-selling novelist returns to her Shaker Heights roots with the release of her second book Little Fires Everywhere, a haunting and critically acclaimed tale of family, community and secrets — all set in the East Side suburb.

Unfamiliar Territory: Ng freely admits that she shies away from the trope of writing what you know. “Those who interest me are the ones I can’t quite wrap my head around. Understanding them is at the root of all of my fiction — that act of empathy and imagining yourself in someone else’s position.”

Embracing Race: Although race serves as a central plot point in her writing, Ng didn’t always run toward the complicated topic. “I shied away from writing about race growing up. It has always been something that’s important to me as a person who is a racial minority, but I finally had to give myself permission to write about it in a way that was comfortable to me.”

Tourism Board: In pondering what makes Shaker Heights so interesting, she had a different take on why people should visit. “There’s this tension between the aggressively inclusive spirit that Shaker puts forth and the blind spots they, like any community, possess. The city really encapsulates that space between being idealistic and being human.”

Off-Beat Advice: Ng has encountered myriad writing advice over the years, but one tip stands out. “Someone recently told me that their process involves printing out what they write, and then retyping it all from scratch. I haven’t had the guts to try it yet … maybe with a short story?”

Odd Job: For a while, Ng had a job as a miniaturist. “[I’d make] 1/12 scale model food for dollhouses and collectors.”