Film Alumna Sandy Tan '00 Publishes Novel 'Lurkers'
Lurkers, a novel written by film alumna, author, and director Sandi Tan '00, will be published by Soho Press on March 30, 2021. On March 31, 2021, Sandi will participate in a free virtual chat with Vroman's Bookstore. The book is available for pre-order from Penguin Random House here, and the live virtual book talk, as well as pre-order, is available at Vroman’s Bookstore here.
Lurkers is a novel about a neighborhood of immigrants, seekers, lovers, and lurkers. The narrative concerns the residents of Santa Claus Lane, who do their best to stay out of each other’s way, but desire, fury and mischief too often propel these suburban neighbors to collide. Precocious Korean American sisters Mira and Rosemary find their world rocked by a suicide, and they must fight to keep their home; a charismatic and creepy drama teacher grooms his students; a sardonic gay horror novelist finds that aging is more terrifying than any monster; and a white hippie mom and her adopted Vietnamese daughter realize that their anger binds them rather than pushes them apart. Lurkers is an homage to the rangy beauty of Los Angeles and the surprising power that we have to change the lives of those around us.
Shirkers, Tan’s most well-known feature length documentary, was featured on the BFI's list of 21 must-see debuts by female directors in the last 10 years, along with And Breathe Normally, written and directed by alumna Ísold Uggadóttir '11, and House of Hummingbird, written and directed by Bora Kim '11.
Sandi Tan is a film critic, writer, and filmmaker. After attending the University of Kent, she wrote as the film critic for The Straits Times from 1995 to 1997 before attending Columbia University's film school and earning an MFA in Screenwriting. Tan has worked as the director for short films Moveable Feast (1996) and Gourmet Baby (2001), but is best known for her full-length 2018 documentary, Shirkers. Shirkers made its debut at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Directing Award: World Cinema Documentary. Her debut novel, The Black Isle, was published by Grand Central Publishing in 2012.
