Mary Jean Chan books

Complete list of books by Mary Jean Chan, Hong Kong-born poet and Costa Award winner, including Fleche and Bright Fear.

Anthologies

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Islands Are But Mountains 2019 Buy
100 Queer Poems 2022 Buy

Collections

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Flèche 2019 Buy
Bright Fear 2023 Buy

Mary Jean Chan is a Hong Kong-born poet who now teaches poetry at the University of Oxford. Her debut collection, Fleche (2019), published by Faber and Faber, won the Costa Book Award for Poetry and was shortlisted for the International Dylan Thomas Prize, the Lambda Literary Award, and the Seamus Heaney Centre First Collection Poetry Prize. The title refers to a fencing move, and the collection draws on Chan’s experiences with identity, family, queerness, and her Hong Kong upbringing.

Her second collection, Bright Fear, was published by Faber in 2023. Chan also co-edited the anthology 100 Queer Poems (2022) with Andrew McMillan, published by Vintage. She served as a judge for the 2023 Booker Prize and the 2025 Dylan Thomas Prize.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many books has Mary Jean Chan written?

Mary Jean Chan has written four books across two series.

What was Mary Jean Chan's first book?

Mary Jean Chan’s first book is Flèche, published in 2019.

What awards has Mary Jean Chan won?

Mary Jean Chan won the 2019 Costa Book Award for Poetry with her debut collection Fleche. She was also shortlisted for the International Dylan Thomas Prize, the Lambda Literary Award, and the Jhalak Prize. She served as a judge for the 2023 Booker Prize.

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