The Asian American Writers’ Workshop is proud to host lactose intolerant (@lactoseintolerantnyc), an anti-clout monthly reading series featuring writers of color in NYC.
Join us for readings by Izzy Ampil, Gerardo Sámano Córdova, Danya Issawi, Kamelya Omayma Youssef, and Karen Yuan, hosted and curated by Ruth Minah Buchwald.
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Izzy Ampil is an editor at Blank Forms and a writer of fiction and criticism. Her work has been supported by the Asian American Writers Workshop, where she is a 2024–25 Margins Fellow; Millay Arts, where she was a September 2024 Writer-in-Residence; BuzzFeed News, where she was a 2022–23 Culture & Criticism Fellow; and Stanford University, where she earned a BA in English Literature with Honors in the Arts. She has worked as a fact-checker for The Paris Review and The American Scholar, a freelance culture journalist for The Daily Beast and The Wall Street Journal, and a hiking guide in Tahoe’s Desolation Wilderness. Her fiction and criticism appear or are forthcoming in Harper’s, The Drift, Notch magazine, Reboot, and elsewhere.
Gerardo Sámano Córdova is a writer and artist from Mexico City living in Brooklyn. He is the author of Monstrilio, winner of the Balcones Fiction Prize, finalist for the VCU Cabell First Novelist Award, and named a Book of the Year by NPR, Elle, Goodreads and others. He holds an MFA in Fiction from the University of Michigan and is the current Writer in Residence at Fordham University. Gerardo has also been known to draw little creatures.
Danya Issawi is The Cut’s fashion news writer. She previously worked across the newsroom at The New York Times, including on the “Style” desk and the Pulitzer Prize-winning COVID-tracking team.
Kamelya Omayma Youssef is the author of A book with a hole on it (Wendy’s Subway, 2022). Her work has been published by 1080Press, Mizna, Sukoon, The Margins, Poem-a-day and elsewhere, including upon the theater stage. Her homes are Dearborn, Baalbek, South Lebanon and Brooklyn, and she currently adjuncts at the New School. She and you will see a free Palestine in this lifetime.
Karen Yuan is a writer and magazine editor who has previously worked at Bon Appétit and The Atlantic. Her writing is published or forthcoming in Cleveland Review of Books, Catapult, Guernica, The Drift, The Atlantic, The Daily Beast, and elsewhere. She’s currently working on a collection of short stories.
Ruth Minah Buchwald is a Seoul-born writer, comedian, and performer from New Jersey. Her writing has been featured in ELLE, The Creative Independent, Autostraddle, Electric Literature, Los Angeles Review of Books, The Margins, and CRAFT, and supported by Ma-Yi Theater Company. She curates and hosts lactose intolerant (@lactoseintolerantnyc on Instagram), an anti-clout monthly reading series featuring writers of color in NYC. She has a BA in Critical and Visual Studies from Pratt Institute and lives in Brooklyn. Find her online ruthminahbuchwald.com
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COMMUNITY CARE & ACCESSIBILITY
At AAWW, the safety and comfort of our community is our top priority. We invite you to practice intentionality and care in your behavior and language when engaging with our programs and with each other. Violence of any kind, including but not limited to racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, ageism, class or casteism, bigotry or bias toward religion or faith, or any action or assault against marginalized identities, is not tolerated. Those who bring harm to our community in person or online are not welcome, and will be asked to exit the space. We are located on the 6th floor of 112 W 27th Street (between 6th and 7th Avenues), there is an elevator that will take you directly to our office. To protect our friends with chemical sensitivities, AAWW is a fragrance-free space. Masks are required for audience members for all AAWW events; if you forget yours, one will be provided for you. We have three commercial grade air purifiers, and a quiet room in the back should you need some space from the crowd. We highly encourage all in person guests to take a COVID test at home prior to the event. Please reach out to msaleh@aaww.org for additional accessibility requests, including ADA accessible bathrooms, chairs with added back support, and beyond. This space is for YOU!
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