Edward Gunawan is a queer Indonesian-born Chinese writer and literary translator who authored two chapbooks—most recently, the Start a Riot! Prize-winning The Way Back(Foglifter Press, 2022).

Now residing on Ohlone land in the Bay Area, CA, Edward earned their MFA in Creative Writing from San Francisco State University and was recognized with the Gabo Prize in Literary Translation and Multilingual Texts by the journal Lunch Ticket. Their work has also appeared in TriQuarterly, Asymptote, and West Branch. Visit addword.com for more.

Edward Gunawan is an Indonesian-born Chinese writer & literary translator whose interdisciplinary projects explore displacement, (be)longing, and queer home-making through the lens of postcolonial transnationalism.

After starting out as a theater practitioner, Edward worked in the film industry for over a decade, completing over 25 feature and short films as writer, producer, actor, and/or director. Their last two producing projects—How to Win at Checkers (Every Time) and By the Time It Gets Dark—premiered in Berlin and Locarno respectively, and were both honored as Thailand's Best Foreign Language Film entries for the Academy Awards. In 2021, Edward served as the Featured Film Artist at Kearny Street Workshop’s APAture multi-disciplinary arts festival.

They have since authored two chapbooks—The Way Back (winner of Start a Riot! Prize, Foglifter Press, 2022) and Press Play (Sweet Lit, 2020). Their writing has been published in TriQuarterly, Aquifer, and The Town anthology (Nomadic Press, 2023), and translations in Asymptote, West Branch, and MAYDAY, among others.

Edward also founded and organizes for HOME MADE @ ARTogether that hosts free community literary gathering to connect, cultivate & celebrate the stories and storytellers from immigrant and refugee communities. They also facilitate workshops and curate community gatherings such as storytelling workshops for National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI) Marin County and PRESS PLAY: Exhibition, and frequently collaborate with fellow writers and artists on literary translations and multimedia projects.

An MFA in Creative Writing graduate from San Francisco State University where they earned a Distinguished Graduate Achievement Award, they now reside on Ohlone land in the Bay Area, CA with their husband and child.

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• M.F.A. in Creative Writing (2023): San Francisco State University

  • Distinguished Graduate Achievement Award

  • New Voice Award, SFSU Poetry Center

  • Edward B. Kaufmann Scholarship & Marcus Recruitment Award

  • Leonard Isaacson Monologue Award: “The Way Back”

  • Gita Specker Monologue Award: “I Dream of Water”

  • James Milton Highsmith Drama Award: COMRADES (full-length play)

• M.B.A. in Marketing & Entrepreneurship (2007): Loyola Marymount University

• B.A. Political Science & Communications, Honors (2004): Univ. of Southern California

• A.A. Political Science & Speech Communications (2002): Foothill Community College

[ Fellowships ]

• Larry Sommers Fellowship (2024-2025): Seattle Print Arts

• Creative Corps Fellowship (2023-2024): California Arts Council x Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (YBCA)

• Emerging Arts Professionals Fellowship (2023): Emerging SF

• Project:Involve Fellowship (2007): Film Independent

[ Workshops ]

• Tin House (2025): Fiction with Shruti Swamy

• Roots. Wounds. Words. (2025): Speculative Fiction with Andrea Hairston

• Rooted & Written (2024): Fiction with Vanessa Hua

• Lambda Literary Writers Retreat (2024): Poetry with Chen Chen

• Napa Valley Writer’s Conference (2024): Translation with Emily Wilson

• Community of Writers (2022): Poetry

• VONA // Voices of Our Nations Arts (2021): Eco-Poetry with Craig Santos Perez

• Torino Film Lab, Script Lab (2017): Torino Film Festival

• Southeast Asian Film Lab (2015): Singapore Film Festival 

• Hawai'i Creative Lab (2014): Writers Immersive

• Berlinale Talents (2013): Berlin Film Festival

• Talents Tokyo (2013): TOKYO FILMeX

• Asian Film Academy (2013): Busan Film Festival

The Way Back:

• Start a Riot! Prize (2022): Foglifter Press

• Silver Medal for Collections (2023): Northern California Publishers and Authors Book Awards

Press Play:

• Mind HK Media Award (2020)

• Nominated for Webby and Shorty Social Good Awards (2020)

[ Poetry & Translations ]

• Gabo Prize (2024): Lunch Ticket

• Poetry Prize Finalist (2023): Dawn Review

[ Artist Grants ]

• United States of Asian America Festival (2024): Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Center

• Neighborhood Voices Grant (2021-2023): City of Oakland’s Cultural Funding Program

• Artist Quick Grant (2023): Center for Cultural Innovation

• East Bay Funds for Artists (2021-2022): East Bay Community Foundation

• Artist Mini-Grant (2021): ARTogether