Category: Interviews/Press

It was so lovely to reconnect with my Princeton classmate Ara Tucker as a guest on the I’m Here Too Podcast. Ara and I first connected in the summer of 1997 when we somehow found each other in an AOL chatroom (remember those?) as both starting at Princeton in the fall. After college we went our separate ways, and we reunited this past May when I posted about my Princeton Reunions events. The I’m Here Too Podcast explores the intersections of art, culture, commerce, careers, creativity, family, identity, and all that fills the spaces in between. Check out the podcast episode here. Ara also posted two clips from the interview here and here.

It was an honor to join fellow authors and publishing professionals in the Princeton Alumni Weekly panel entitled “How to Make Your Book a Reality”. My fellow panelists included traditionally published authors, a NYT Book Review editor, and a Big 5 publishing strategist. I was happy to bring my perspective as a self-published author to the (literal) table.

I am effusively proud that Mathey Girls is the fall selection for the PAW Book Club, the first time that a self-published book has been chosen. I’m so grateful for the support of PAW and the Princeton Community and hope this can inspire other writers in the future.

PAW has published the recording of the panel into a podcast: check it out here.

I had a great time chatting with author and podcast host Emily Value for the Behind the Bookshelf podcast. I’m so grateful to podcasters like Emily who champion indie authors and their stories! The podcast episode is available on YouTube and Spotify.

Thank you to TV20 Cleveland and Cal Calhoun for inviting me to Conversations with Cal! I met Cal when I did a short segment on TV20 for my January maternal health event, and I was delighted when Cal reached out afterward to do an episode of his show.

We had a great chat about my personal journey, the importance of Cleveland to my identity and my writing, and lots more. I appreciate Cal’s comment at the end: “Melody Chu’s Mathey Girls reminds us that even in life’s most difficult moments, the bonds we build with others can help us grow, endure, and find our way forward.”

The interview is available here. Thanks again to Cal and the amazing team at TV20. 

I had the honor of chatting with Annmarie Kelly-Harbaugh for the Wild Precious Life podcast. Annmarie has interviewed so many great authors on the podcast including Rebecca Makkai, Thrity Umrigar, Kirstin Chen, Celeste Ng, and many more. This was my first writing podcast interview, a personal milestone.

Annmarie asked great questions while making the entire interview process really comfortable and easy. Check out the interview here.

Thank you to Shaker Life Magazine for including me in the winter issue cover story “The Commitment to Write” on writers living in Shaker Heights, Ohio. Zach Lewis did a great job putting our three stories together, and I love the pictures taken by Gus Chan (especially the one with my dog Ozzy).

I grew up on the other side of Cleveland but attended high school here, and am now proud to be a Shaker resident with my kids in Shaker Heights public schools.

Fun fact: two years ago I look a class with D.M. Pulley, another author featured in the article, through Literary Cleveland. During that class, we did a writing exercise, and I read my piece aloud. That scene ended up in Mathey Girls (where Esther searches for her childhood diary when she’s back home).

The full issue of the magazine is available here (shots of the magazine layout below).

It’s an amazing honor to be selected as one of Cleveland Magazine’s Most Interesting People 2026. I’m with some really illustrious (and truly interesting) company, and I’m very grateful to have been selected.

The list can be found here, with my highlight article here.

Thanks to Kate Bigam Kaput for the interview; and the great photoshoot team: Erin Stinard from Cleveland Magazine, photographer Megann Galehouse at Lady Luck Studio assisted by Magan McLaughlin, and makeup/grooming by Liz Cook.

I’m thrilled to be included in Cleveland Magazine’s article highlighting some of their favorite local book releases. I came across when I was scrolling Facebook and saw the below post by Literary Cleveland–what a nice surprise!

Take a look at the latest issue of Cleveland Magazine and you will find Mathey Girls on its list of 20 of 2025’s best local book releases. The novel is among great company; thank you Cleveland Magazine!

It was a pleasure to join Margaret Wong for her video interview series! Margaret is a legend in the Cleveland Asian community for her tireless work as an immigration advocate, supporter of Cleveland, and cultural leader. During our interview we discussed how I went from the law to writing novels, how my family reacted to that transition, and much more.

The full interview is available here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89Hg6tHnZ6s&t=81s

Many thanks to ideastream public media and Kabir Bhatia for featuring Mathey Girls on The Sound of Ideas! It’s such an honor. I’m a huge fan of NPR and it was amazing to hear the interview live on air. You can check out the interview here.

Thank you to FreshWater Cleveland for featuring Mathey Girls, and my writing journey, in an article entitled “Local author turns trauma into triumph in her debut novel.” Read the article by Katie McMenamin here.