Silvia Leung
Silvia Leung has written and edited a wide spectrum of pieces in the non-profit, private, and public sectors, from academic to creative, business to multimedia, technical to policy writing. Ricepaper interviews Silvia as part of its profile of the magazine’s talented team of literary editors.
Ricepaper: What is your favourite book? Who’s your favourite author? And why?
As a book lover, I cannot identify a favourite book or author among the many that I’ve read. However, George Orwell’s Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four are two books that have stood out to me. Both have a consistent reality from beginning to end, and are enthralling, unpredictable, and impactful. I admire skill, and his way of writing in these two books demonstrates skill.
Ricepaper: Tell us about your background as an Asian Canadian. How has that informed your writing and editing?
Personally I have always identified myself as a Canadian, never an Asian Canadian. And I also don’t like to use the generic word “Asian” to label anyone because there are so many differences and political sensitivities amongst “Asians,” not to mention within each individual country, city, area, etc. My political awareness helps me pick out inaccurate nuances and ideas that come up in writing about different groups of people.
Ricepaper: What’s your philosophy or approach to editing a submission?
Submissions should adhere to the form they are being submitted as. So if it is submitted as a personal essay, it needs to adhere to the form of a personal essay and contain elements of what great personal essays have. Having said that, even more important than that is the piece of writing needs to work as a whole.
Ricepaper: Tell us about your experience at Ricepaper? How long have you been part of the team? What’s a highlight that you can share?
I have been a part of the Ricepaper team since September 2020, and it has been an excellent experience because of the excellent leadership. The passionate readers and writers who submit to the magazine, and the passionate people I get to work with are all very inspiring. One of the best highlights is being in community with people who are self-motivated to do good in this world and make the world a better place.