The short story is a thing of beauty. Compressed, yet it holds within it a universe; expansive-- but only in a few lines. Vietnamese American author, Andrew Lam, has been in love with this art form since his early days as a young refugee kid devouring books in public libraries in San Francisco. Come and join us on Nov 06, 2025 at The Old Compass Cafe, to celebrate and read from his latest work, Stories from the Edge of the Sea, and hear him discuss this art form, and how he uses them to chronicle stories of love and heartbreaks among Vietnamese in America.

Andrew Lam was born in Vietnam and moved to the United States at the age of 11 at the end of the Vietnam War. He was an editor of New America Media, an association of over two thousand ethnic media outlets in America, for 15 years. His essays have appeared in dozens of newspapers and magazines across the country, and his short stories are anthologised widely. Followed by a film crew back to his homeland, Vietnam, he was featured in the documentary My Journey Home, which aired nationwide on PBS in 2004.

His book Perfume Dreams: Reflections on the Vietnamese Diaspora won a PEN American Beyond Margins award in 2006. His second book, East Eats West: Writing in Two Hemispheres (2010) about Asian immigration changing American culture, was nominated as top 10 best indies by Shelf Unbound.

His third book, Birds of Paradise Lost (2013), a collection of short stories about Vietnamese refugees in America’s West Coast, has received the UC Irvine Medal of Distinction for contribution to the Humanities and the Oakland Pen’s Josephine Miles Literary Award. It is currently nominated for the Story Prize and the Faulkner Prize.

Lam’s awards include the Society of Professional Journalist Outstanding Young Journalist Award, The World Affairs Council's Excellence in International Journalism Award, the Asian American Journalist Association National Award, the Pen Open Book Award 2006 and many others. Lam was a John S. Knight Fellow at Stanford University during the academic year 2001-02.

He is also a member of the World Academy of Art and Science. His articles have appeared in many newspapers and magazines, including Mother Jones, The Nation, LA Times Magazine, The New York Times, San Francisco Article, California Magazine, Baltimore Sun, South China Morning Postand dozens of other publications.

Lam was a regular commentator on National Public Radio’s "All Things Considered" for eight years. He currently blogs for the Huffington Post and has a regular column with the Shanghai Daily and is working on another book of short stories and a novel.

Join us for a special Saigon evening.

Limited tickets available – 30 seats only.

Entrance tickets can be purchased in advance directly from The Old Compass Cafe only:

• Combo ticket – 650,000 VND (includes Vietnamese set dinner and a glass of red or white house wine)
• Ticket only – 300,000 VND
• Entrance tickets at the door (if available): 350,000 VND.

Please note that this is an intimate venue and most talks sell out.

Children under 12 years old are not permitted.

Group requests will be handled based on availability.

Tickets available at The Old Compass Cafe.

Online tickers available here.