Short Bio (185 words)
Jen Soriano (she~they) is a Filipinx writer and movement builder who has long worked at the intersection of grassroots organizing, narrative strategy, and art-driven social change. Jen is the author of Nervous: Essays on Heritage and Healing, which was recognized by TIME, GLAMOUR, The Atlantic, Poets&Writers, and other outlets as a notable book of 2023. Jen is author of the chapbook “Making the Tongue Dry,” and co-editor of Closer to Liberation: A Pina/xy Activist Anthology, and their work has won the International Literary Award for Creative Nonfiction and the Fugue Prose Prize, as well as fellowships from Hugo House, Vermont Studio Center, Artist Trust, and the Jack Jones Literary Arts Retreat. They received a BA in History and Science from Harvard and an MFA in fiction and nonfiction from the Rainier Writing Workshop. Jen is also a co-founder and former board chair of the cultural democracy institutions, MediaJustice and ReFrame, and is a leader in the field of narrative justice. Originally from a landlocked part of the Chicago area, Jen now lives with her family in Seattle, near the Duwamish River and the Salish Sea.
Byline: Jen Soriano is a Filipinx writer based in Seattle. She is the author of Nervous: Essays on Heritage and Healing and co-editor of Closer to Liberation: A Pina/xy Activist Anthology.
Photo Credit: Naomi Ishisaka
Image Description: Headshot of Jen Soriano, a light skinned Filipinx person with asymmetric hair. Their hair is shoulder length on one side and is black with blue highlights. They are slightly smiling to the camera, with their chin propped on their left hand. The backdrop is a pale green wall at the Eastern Cafe in Seattle's Chinatown International District. Jen is wearing red lipstick, a ruffled white shirt, a leather bracelet, two gold rings, and a red, green and gold beaded bracelet from the Steilacoom Indian Tribe.