Serena Puang is a journalist and cultural critic currently based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. If you’d like to pitch me a book, please read more about my book preferences here. I am open to comissions.
You can get in touch here.
Feature writing:
- Times Picayune/The Advocate: Are dating apps as bad as everyone says? Experts and Baton Rouge users weigh in
- The Boston Globe: Here are five fun ‘Western’ foods to eat on your next trip to South Korea
- Chronicle of Higher Education: As Colleges Strive for a Return to Normal, Students With Disabilities Say, ‘No Thanks’
- NBC Asian America: Asians in U.S. share reasons they’re now looking at opportunities abroad
Opinion
- New York Times: Affirmative Action is in Peril and Model Minority Stories Don’t Help
- Boston Globe Magazine: In High School I Participated in Debate. Then, I Saw its Ugly Side
I also wrote a bi-weekly column about books and culture for the Yale Daily News called “Reading the Room.” It’s found a new home at Rooted (formerly known as SPRHDRS).
Essays/Cultural Criticism:
- Rooted: Love, War and Yuanfen: Karissa Chen’s stunning debut
- Boston Globe: A dystopian America that feels close to home (a review of “Our Missing Hearts” by Celeste Ng)
- Boston Globe: From immigrant son to superhero in ‘We Were Dreamers’ (PDF on pg 2.) globe-may-8Download
Boston Globe
During my 12 weeks in Boston, I wrote over twenty stories ranging from Q&As (I interviewed Chris Evan about “Lightyear” and his viral Boston accent slip) to in depth reported features (my favorites linked below). In addition to pitching over half my own stories, I also pitched, reported, and produced a reported audio feature about English teachers of color in Asia as part of the AAJA Voices program. If you want more information about my time in Boston, you can check out this archive of my work or my Boston Globe author page.
- I tried every mochi doughnut shop in Boston. Here’s what you need to know.
- Theatrely’s stage reviews, news, and TikToks speak Gen Z’s language
- Kirstin Chen’s new novel explores the model minority myth through a counterfeit handbag scheme
IndyStar:
I started my journalism journey at the IndyStar. Here’s what I got up to that first summer in journalism.