"I was moved beyond words from the first pages of this book and by every essay that followed. Required reading for anyone who has ever been asked what are you? I want everyone to read this."
Mixed Roots: An Interactive Reading
Medicine For Nightmares
San Francisco CA, United States
Description
In celebration of the launch of Mixed Roots, you're invited to join us for an interactive reading and collaborative afternoon exploring multiracial and interwoven identities.
Co-hosted by Anne Liu Kellor (editor) and Interwoven, we'll gather with four of the book's contributors to read from snippets from the anthology and offer discussion prompts for attendees to explore together in small groups.
Mixed Roots collects 29 personal narratives that explore themes of race, identity, privilege, language, ancestry, nonbinary belonging, intergenerational trauma, and collective healing. This anthology was born out of a community of writers who took part in editor Anne Liu Kellor's Both/And workshop, and has been called "a gift to anyone who lives within the both/and" and "an existential homecoming for the soul."
This free, interactive event centers the voices of mixed race/ethnicity/roots people and our extended communities. All are welcome! We'll have books for sale, and you can get your copy signed by the editor and four contributing writers all at once.
Facilitators and Readers
Faith Adiele
Faith Adiele is a memoirist, essayist, and travel writer. She is the author of four mixed-genre chapbooks exploring her Nigerian/Nordic/American identity, and Meeting Faith, a memoir about becoming Thailand's first Black Buddhist nun that won a PEN award. Her media credits include My Journey Home, a PBS documentary about finding her Nigerian father and siblings, stories for HBO and the Calm app, and articles in OkayAfrica, Smithsonian, Oprah Magazine, and Essence. Named one of Marie Claire magazine's "Five Women to Learn From," Faith speaks and teaches writing around the world.
Joemy Ito-Gates
Joemy Ito-Gates (she/her) is a mother and Ethnic Studies educator based in the Bay Area on unceded Ohlone land. She has been a public educator for over twenty years and helped to co-found a summer program in 2004 called Fusion Camp, for multiracial and transracially raised children of color. She has writing included in Britt Hawthorne's book, Raising Antiracist Children: A Practical Parenting Guide.
Anne Liu Kellor
Anne Liu Kellor is a mixed-race Chinese American writer, mother, and teacher based in Seattle. She is the editor of Mixed Roots: Writers on Multiracial Identity & Both/And Belonging (Beacon, 10.13.26), and her memoir, Heart Radical: A Search for Language, Love, and Belonging, was a 2022 IPPY Winner and Washington State Book Award finalist. Anne has received fellowships from Hedgebrook, The Whiteley Center, The Seventh Wave, and more. She loves supporting others through her work as a facilitator of online creative nonfiction workshops, including her Both/And workshop for mixed-race people.
Michaela Nee
Michaela is the co-founder of Interwoven, a cultural home for people living across racial and cultural identities. She is a gatherer to her core, deeply believes in the magic that can happen when people thoughtfully come together, and loves to nerd out on designing experiences and community structures for belonging and connection. Michaela's background in the nonprofit sector has spanned community building, event planning, and communications in many worlds, including storytelling, environmental coalition building, immigration, and financial security programs. Growing up in the dance between Chinese and white heritage while moving every couple years in a military family, Michaela has pondered the question “where are you from” a whole lot. Rather than picking sides or trying to prove identity, she embraces the ambiguity and joy of being woven of many things.
Leslie Nguyen-Okwu
Leslie Nguyen-Okwu is a Vietnamese Nigerian American writer and journalist with bylines in The New York Times, BBC, National Geographic, The Economist, and Harper's Bazaar. She has received fellowships from the Aspen Institute's Summer Words, Hedgebrook, Tin House, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, Disquiet International Literary Program, Mesa Refuge, and VONA. She holds a BA in International Relations from Stanford University and is pursuing an MFA in Creative Nonfiction at Saint Mary's College of California. Leslie is at work on a memoir called American Hyphen about belonging between Asian America and Black America.
Savala Nolan
Savala Nolan is a celebrated essayist. Her new book, Good Woman: A Reckoning, was named a Most Anticipated Feminist Book of 2026 by Ms. Magazine and was a finalist for the 2026 California Golden Poppy Award. Her first book, Don’t Let It Get You Down: Essays on Race, Gender and the Body, was shortlisted for the William Saroyan Prize and celebrated as a “standout collection” by the New York Times. Savala's writing has been featured in Vogue, Harper’s Magazine, the New York Times, NPR, Essence, TIME, Poets & Writers and more, and Nolan was part of the Peabody Award-winning team that created the NPR podcast The Promise.
FAQs
- Do I need a ticket for this event?
Yes! Space is limited, and this isn't your average book reading - a blended event format of readings and discussion prompts with your fellow attendees means that knowing the anticipated headcount is so very helpful for the organizers.
Walk-ins will be welcomed day-of, but please know that seating may be limited.
- Where can I buy a copy of "Mixed Roots?"
We'll have copies in-person available for purchase and signing by the editor and several contributors of the book! If you'd like to get your copy sooner or delivered to home, you can pre-order your copy here.
Testimonials for "Mixed Roots"
A gift for anyone who lives within the both/and.
An existential homecoming for the soul.
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