Susanna Kwan
2026
Longlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize
In Susanna Kwan’s “Awake in the Floating City” a submerged San Francisco of the future, ravaged by climate change, becomes the backdrop for a poignant story of connection and resilience. The novel follows Bo, a grieving artist, who chooses to stay and care for Mia, a 130-year-old woman, rather than evacuate. Through their unlikely bond, Bo rediscovers her purpose and finds solace in creating art that honors the past while navigating a world slowly being reclaimed by water. Susanna Kwan is an artist and writer from San Francisco. Her work has been supported by fellowships from Kundiman, Storyknife, Oak Spring Garden Foundation, and Vanderbilt University. She teaches creative writing with The Dream Side.
“The book asks haunting questions about the ability of art to contain or transmit memory.” — The Washington Post.
“[A] tender, speculative novel that imagines [Kwan’s] home city flooded and largely abandoned—and how two of its last remaining residents find unlikely connection in disaster.” — San Francisco Chronicle.
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