Blog — Malinda Lo

Although few people know of Dr. Margaret Chung today, her death was major news when she passed away in January 1959. In its front-page obituary, the San Francisco Chronicle described her as “‘Mom’ to thousands of veterans of World War II and show business celebrities,” but nowhere was it mentioned that Chung was probably gay. Had that been widely known, it’s unlikely that she would have been as publicly beloved.

FeaturesMalinda LoMay 25, 2021Asian American

Identity and Possibility

When did you first see yourself in a book? Ever since diversity and inclusion became a major part of the book world discourse, I’ve been asked this question over and over. I’m often tempted to say Little Women or Anne of Green Gables, but I know that I’m expected to respond with a book about a character that shares my race or sexual orientation.

FeaturesMalinda LoMay 10, 2021Asian American

A Brief History of Male Impersonation

Today we no longer use the term “male impersonator” to describe a woman who performs onstage as a man; today we’d use the term “drag king.” But male impersonation was once a popular and mainstream entertainment, and some male impersonators were famous enough to tour nationally.

Racism and the Chinese American Experience

A major part of the background research for Last Night at the Telegraph Club involved learning how Lily’s Chinese American identity would have been experienced by her and how it would have been perceived by others—not only her family and community, but by whites and other non-Chinese.

A Guide to Lily's San Francisco

In the following maps, I've marked significant locations in Last Night at the Telegraph Club with numbers, and below the maps you'll see additional information about each site. If you're in San Francisco now or sometime in the future, you can visit most of these locations, or see where my fictional landmarks are set.

The Making of Miss Chinatown

Last Night at the Telegraph Club opens on July 4, 1950, at the Chinese American Citizens Alliance Independence Day Picnic, which featured a Miss Chinatown beauty pageant. The scene in the novel was inspired by the real-life beauty pageant that took place on that date in Los Altos, a suburban community south of San Francisco.