Debut Novel by Jiaming “Andy” Tang ’18 Coming in 2024

Cinema Love will be published by Dutton Books and John Murray Press in 2024.

Congratulations to Andy Tang ’18 (Literature, Creative Writing), who recently sold his debut novel, Cinema Love, to Dutton Books (US) and John Murray Press (UK), with publishing slated for 2024.

Cinema Love is described by the publisher as “a voice-driven, tender epic, which marks the arrival of a preternaturally gifted new voice in fiction.”

Yassine Belkacemi, editor and publicity director at John Murray, comments, “I was blown away by Cinema Love. Jiaming Tang has written a propulsive, beautiful, and compelling novel with truly memorable characters. With writing full of tenderness and wisdom, Jiaming is an outstanding talent.”

Tang is a queer immigrant writer based in Brooklyn and works in editorial at Marysue Rucci Books, an imprint of Scribner. His writing has appeared in such publications as  AGNI,  LitHub,  Joyland Magazine, the Masters Review, and Epiphany Literary Magazine.


Tang recently answered some questions about Purchase.

PC: What did you most enjoy about your time here?

JAT: The small class sizes. It allowed me to develop relationships with professors—some of whom I worked with, one-on-one, in independent studies. Shout out, especially, to the junior faculty, who took time out of their busy work weeks to indulge me in the books I wanted to read and talk about.

PC: What writing skills/advice that you received here has stayed with you the most?

JAT: More so than any specific skill or piece of advice, I remember the books my professors assigned. Sula, Mrs. Dalloway, Mama Day, Emma… reading those texts at the age that I read them was really important to my development as a reader and writer.

PC: What role did mentorship at Purchase play in your development as a writer?

JAT: It’s hard to articulate this—but I appreciate the patience and generosity with which my professors took my writing. I produced a lot of bad art at Purchase, but they took it seriously; they talked to me about my work like it wasn’t… terrible.

And once again: I think that was really important to me as a developing writer: someone who was trying to understand the work he was trying to produce; the comment(ies) he was trying to join.

It’s also worth mentioning how frank my professors were with conveying professional information to me. Even after I left, Prof. Mehdi Okasi was sending me contests and fellowships he thought would be a good fit for me… I really appreciate that level of generosity.