Read and Write

Author: Fae Myenne Ng in conversation with Ben Fong-Torres

Orphan Bachelors by Fae Myenne Ng
Sunday, 4/26/2026
3:00 - 4:00
Koret Auditorium
Main Library
Address

100 Larkin Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
United States

Contact Telephone

Explore the immigrant histories woven through Orphan Bachelors as Fae Myenne Ng discusses her acclaimed memoir in conversation with Ben Fong-Torres.

What happens when immigration laws leave generations of men cut off from family, home, and a sense of belonging? In Orphan Bachelors, Ng draws on her childhood in San Francisco’s Chinatown to tell an intimate immigrant story shaped by the Chinese Exclusion era. Through memories of her parents and the isolated men who surrounded them, Ng reveals how policy becomes personal, shaping identity, responsibility, and survival. Blending memoir with social history, she offers a compassionate meditation on inheritance, resilience, and the long emotional afterlife of exclusion.

Books will be available for purchase, and a signing with the author will take place in the lobby following the program.

Fae Meynne Ng

Ben Fong-Torres was an editor and writer at Rolling Stone (and a real-life character in Almost Famous). While at the magazine, he was a Sunday DJ on KSAN-FM. He has published ten books, including his memoirs, The Rice Room: Growing Up Chinese American. He co-anchored telecasts of the Chinese New Year on KTVU for 24 years, winning five Emmys. He earned an honorary doctorate from the California State University Board of Trustees and is the subject of a documentary, Like a Rolling Stone. He is a DJ on www.MoonaliceRadio.com.


On The Same Page is a bimonthly city-wide read.

Programs and workshops, book recommendations and more relating to the Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) heritage.

Weaving Stories is the Library's celebration of the many diverse histories and cultures from AANHPI communities.

Discover new titles, share inspiring works and participate in challenges and contests. 


This program is sponsored by Friends of the San Francisco Public Library.


Attending Programs

All programs are drop-in (no registration necessary) unless otherwise noted. All SFPL locations are wheelchair accessible. For accommodations (such as ASL), call (415) 557-4557 or contact accessibility@sfpl.org. Requesting at least 3 business days in advance will help ensure availability.

This program will be conducted in English unless otherwise noted.

Notice: This event may be filmed or photographed. By participating in this event, you consent to have your likeness used for the Library’s archival purposes and promotional materials. If you do not want to be photographed, please inform a staff person or the photographer. A sticker will be provided to help identify you so that we can avoid capturing your image.


Public Notice and Disclaimer

This program uses a third-party website link. By clicking on the third-party website link, you will leave SFPL's website and enter a website not operated by SFPL. This service may collect personally identifying information about you, such as name, username, email address, and password. This service will treat the information it collects about you pursuant to its own privacy policy. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of each third-party website or service that you visit or use, including those third parties with whom you interact through our Library services. For more information about these third-party links, please see the section of SFPL’s Privacy Policy describing Links to Other Sites.

The views and opinions expressed in programs presented by groups unaffiliated with SFPL do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of SFPL or the City.