Viet Thanh Nguyen

Viet was born in {{lang|vi|Ban Mê Thuột|italic=no}}, South Vietnam in 1971.{{cite web|url= https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/authors/profiles/article/65235-first-fiction-spring-2015-viet-thanh-nguyen-a-subversive-debut-adds-a-new-facet-to-an-old-story.html |title= First Fiction Spring 2015: Viet Thanh Nguyen: A Subversive Debut Adds a New Facet to an Old Story |first= Daniel |last= Lefferts |work= Publishers Weekly |date= January 9, 2015 |access-date= December 9, 2023 |archive-date= December 9, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231209181210/https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/authors/profiles/article/65235-first-fiction-spring-2015-viet-thanh-nguyen-a-subversive-debut-adds-a-new-facet-to-an-old-story.html |url-status=live}} He was the son of Linda Thanh Nguyen and Joseph Thanh Nguyen, refugees from North Vietnam who had moved south in 1954.{{cite web|url= https://www.npr.org/2016/05/17/478384200/author-viet-thanh-nguyen-discusses-the-sympathizer-and-his-escape-from-vietnam |title= Author Viet Thanh Nguyen Discusses The Sympathizer And His Escape From Vietnam |first= Terry |last= Gross |work= NPR |date= May 17, 2016 |access-date= December 9, 2023 |archive-date= December 9, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231209183309/https://www.npr.org/2016/05/17/478384200/author-viet-thanh-nguyen-discusses-the-sympathizer-and-his-escape-from-vietnam |url-status=live}}{{cite web|url= https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/author-viet-thanh-nguyens-new-memoir-reflects-on-familys-experience-of-war-and-exile |title= Author Viet Thanh Nguyen's new memoir reflects on family's experience of war and exile |first1= Jeffrey |last1= Brown |first2= Lena |last2= I. Jackson |first3= Madison |last3= Staten |work= PBS |date= October 31, 2023 |access-date= December 9, 2023 |archive-date= December 9, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231209183607/https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/author-viet-thanh-nguyens-new-memoir-reflects-on-familys-experience-of-war-and-exile |url-status=live}} Viet's mother's real name is {{lang|vi|Nguyễn Thị Bảy|italic=no}} and she is a highly influential person in his life. In an excerpt from his book A Man of Two Faces: A Memoir, A History, A Memorial, Viet writes: "People like {{lang|vi|Má}}{{efn|{{lang|vi|Ba}} and {{lang|vi|má}} are Vietnamese words for 'father' and 'mother', respectively, in English. Viet calls his parents by these words.}} who will not be remembered by History are also a part of History, drafted as reluctant players in horrific wars... Unlike soldiers, these civilians, many of them women and children, never get the recognition they deserve. Some endure more terror, see more horror, than some soldiers."{{cite web|url= https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/11/03/san-jose-reared-author-viet-thanh-nguyen-honors-his-late-mothers-epic-life-in-his-new-memoir/ |title= San José-reared author Viet Thanh Nguyen honors his late mother's 'epic' life in his new memoir |first= Martha |last= Ross |work= The Mercury News |date= November 3, 2023 |access-date= December 10, 2023 |archive-date= December 10, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231210093911/https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/11/03/san-jose-reared-author-viet-thanh-nguyen-honors-his-late-mothers-epic-life-in-his-new-memoir/ |url-status=live}}{{cite magazine|url= https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-weekend-essay/a-departure-from-reality-viet-thanh-nguyen |title= A Departure from Reality |first= Viet Thanh |last= Nguyen |magazine= The New Yorker |date= September 9, 2023 |access-date= December 10, 2023 |archive-date= December 10, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231210103112/https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-weekend-essay/a-departure-from-reality-viet-thanh-nguyen |url-status=live}}

After the fall of Saigon in 1975, Viet's family fled to the United States.{{cite web|url= https://www.cbc.ca/radio/writersandcompany/viet-thanh-nguyen-on-redefining-what-it-means-to-be-a-refugee-1.3779480 |title= Viet Thanh Nguyen on redefining what it means to be a refugee |author= CBC Radio |work= CBC.ca |date= October 2, 2016 |access-date= December 10, 2023 |archive-date= December 10, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231210091810/https://www.cbc.ca/radio/writersandcompany/viet-thanh-nguyen-on-redefining-what-it-means-to-be-a-refugee-1.3779480 |url-status=live}} They left behind Viet's 16-year-old adopted sister, whom he did not see again for nearly 30 years. His family first settled in Fort Indiantown Gap, one of four American camps that accommodated refugees from Vietnam,{{cite web|url= https://www.ftig.ng.mil/About-Us/News/Article/3036854/former-vietnamese-refugee-returns-to-fort-indiantown-gap/ |title= Former Vietnamese refugee returns to Fort Indiantown Gap |first= Brad |last= Rhen |work= Fort Indiantown Gap |date= May 19, 2022 |access-date= December 10, 2023 |archive-date= December 10, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231210091021/https://www.ftig.ng.mil/About-Us/News/Article/3036854/former-vietnamese-refugee-returns-to-fort-indiantown-gap/ |url-status=live}} then moved to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, until 1978.{{cite web|url= https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/03/books/viet-thanh-nguyen-man-of-two-faces.html |title= Viet Thanh Nguyen: Spy, Sympathizer, Son |first= Lauren |last= Christensen |work= The New York Times |date= October 3, 2023 |access-date= December 10, 2023 |archive-date= December 9, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231209162402/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/03/books/viet-thanh-nguyen-man-of-two-faces.html |url-status=live}}{{cite web|url= https://therumpus.net/2017/03/08/the-rumpus-interview-with-viet-thanh-nguyen-2/ |title= The Rumpus Interview with Viet Thanh Nguyen |first= Beverly |last= Parayno |work= The Rumpus |date= March 8, 2017 |access-date= December 10, 2023 |archive-date= December 10, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231210093038/https://therumpus.net/2017/03/08/the-rumpus-interview-with-viet-thanh-nguyen-2/ |url-status=live}} San Jose, California was the Nguyen family's next destination, where his parents opened a Vietnamese grocery store called {{lang|vi|SàiGòn Mới}},{{cite magazine|url= https://time.com/subject/vietnam/ |title= I Love America. That's Why I Have to Tell the Truth About It |first= Viet Thanh |last= Nguyen |magazine= Time |date= November 15, 2018 |access-date= December 10, 2023 |archive-date= December 10, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231210093614/https://time.com/subject/vietnam/ |url-status=live}} one of the first of its kind in the area.{{cite web|url= https://www.latimes.com/books/la-et-jc-macarthur-fellows-nguyen-20171010-story.html |title= Viet Thanh Nguyen is a 2017 MacArthur fellow for fiction and nonfiction |first= Agatha |last= French |work= Los Angeles Times |date= October 10, 2017 |access-date= December 10, 2023 |archive-date= December 10, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231210044726/https://www.latimes.com/books/la-et-jc-macarthur-fellows-nguyen-20171010-story.html |url-status=live}} On Christmas Eve, when Viet was nine years old, his parents survived being shot during a robbery at their store.{{cite news|url= https://www.washingtonpost.com/books/2023/10/05/viet-thanh-nguyen-memoir-sympathizer/ |title= An audacious memoir from Viet Thanh Nguyen, author of The Sympathizer |first= Lisa |last= Ko |newspaper= The Washington Post |date= October 5, 2023 |access-date= December 10, 2023 |archive-date= December 10, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231210122631/https://www.washingtonpost.com/books/2023/10/05/viet-thanh-nguyen-memoir-sympathizer/ |url-status=live}}{{cite web|url= https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/writer-viet-thanh-nguyen-says-hes-a-man-of-two-faces/ |title= Writer Viet Thanh Nguyen says he's 'A Man of Two Faces' |first= Carol |last=Memmott |work= The Seattle Times |date= October 9, 2023 |access-date= December 10, 2023 |archive-date= December 10, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231210132026/https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/writer-viet-thanh-nguyen-says-hes-a-man-of-two-faces/ |url-status=live}} When he was 16, a gunman broke into the family's house and threatened them. Viet's mother ran into the street screaming for help and saved everyone's lives.{{cite web|url= https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/apr/03/from-colonialism-to-covid-viet-thanh-nguyen-on-the-rise-of-anti-asian-violence |title= From colonialism to Covid: Viet Thanh Nguyen on the rise of anti-Asian violence |first= Viet Thanh |last= Nguyen |work= The Guardian |date= April 3, 2021 |access-date= December 10, 2023 |archive-date= December 10, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231210135357/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/apr/03/from-colonialism-to-covid-viet-thanh-nguyen-on-the-rise-of-anti-asian-violence |url-status=live}}

Seven years after arriving in America, Viet's older brother, Tung Thanh Nguyen ({{langx|vi|Nguyễn Thanh Tùng}}), whom he calls "the original refugee success story", entered Harvard University.{{cite news|url= https://orangecoast.com/feature/professor-fiction-author-viet-thanh-nguyen |title= Author Viet Thanh Nguyen and How Winning the Pulitzer Prize For Fiction Changed His Life |first= Valerie |last= Takahama |work= Orange Coast |date= December 27, 2016 |access-date= December 18, 2023 |archive-date= December 18, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231218093740/https://orangecoast.com/feature/professor-fiction-author-viet-thanh-nguyen |url-status=live}}{{cite news|url= https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/viet-thanh-nguyens-the-refugees-couldnt-come-at-a-better-time/2017/01/31/675e0e92-e7fb-11e6-b82f-687d6e6a3e7c_story.html |title= Viet Thanh Nguyen's 'The Refugees' couldn't come at a better time |first= Megan |last= Mayhew Bergman |newspaper= The Washington Post |date= February 1, 2017 |access-date= December 18, 2023 |archive-date= December 18, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231218093523/https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/viet-thanh-nguyens-the-refugees-couldnt-come-at-a-better-time/2017/01/31/675e0e92-e7fb-11e6-b82f-687d6e6a3e7c_story.html |url-status=live}} Tung graduated four years later with a B.A. in philosophy,{{cite web|url= https://profiles.ucsf.edu/tung.nguyen |title= Tung Nguyen, MD |work= UCSF Profiles |access-date= December 18, 2023 |archive-date= December 14, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231214191859/https://profiles.ucsf.edu/tung.nguyen |url-status=live}} and earned an M.D. in 1991 from Stanford University.{{cite web|url= https://www.ucsfhealth.org/providers/dr-tung-nguyen |title= Tung Nguyen |work= UCSF Medical Center |access-date= December 18, 2023 |archive-date= December 18, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231218100954/https://www.ucsfhealth.org/providers/dr-tung-nguyen |url-status=live}} Tung is the Stephen J. McPhee, MD Endowed Chair in General Internal Medicine and Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco.{{cite web|url= https://medicine.ucsf.edu/people/tung-nguyen |title= Tung Nguyen, MD |work= Department of Medicine - UCSF |access-date= December 18, 2023 |archive-date= December 18, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231218102700/https://medicine.ucsf.edu/people/tung-nguyen |url-status=live}}{{cite web|url= https://cancer.ucsf.edu/news/2018/11/15/get-to-know-tung-nguyen-md.9272 |title= Get To Know: Tung Nguyen, MD |author= Medicine.UCSF.edu |work= UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center |date= November 15, 2018 |access-date= December 18, 2023 |archive-date= December 18, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231218102505/https://cancer.ucsf.edu/news/2018/11/15/get-to-know-tung-nguyen-md.9272 |url-status=live}} He also served as a Commissioner on President Barack Obama’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (2011–14) and as the Chair of the Commission (2014–17).{{cite web|url= https://medicine.ucsf.edu/about/faculty/faculty-interviews/faculty-interview-tung-nguyen-md |title= Faculty Interview: Tung Nguyen, MD |first= Oralia |last= Schatzman |work= Department of Medicine - UCSF |access-date= December 18, 2023 |archive-date= December 18, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231218101639/https://medicine.ucsf.edu/about/faculty/faculty-interviews/faculty-interview-tung-nguyen-md |url-status=live}}{{cite web|url= https://tobacco.ucsf.edu/people/tung-nguyen-md |title= Tung Nguyen, MD |work= Department of Medicine - UCSF |access-date= December 18, 2023 |archive-date= December 18, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231218110609/https://tobacco.ucsf.edu/people/tung-nguyen-md |url-status=live}}

As a child, Viet often enjoyed reading literature about the Vietnam War, preferably those from the Vietnamese perspectives, which were rather rare at the time in comparison with the overwhelming amount of American narratives.{{cite web|url= https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/02/opinion/vietnam-war-novel-was-not-written-by-an-american.html |title=The Great Vietnam War Novel Was Not Written by an American |first= Viet Thanh |last= Nguyen |work= The New York Times |date= May 2, 2017 |access-date= December 9, 2023 |archive-date= December 9, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231209180836/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/02/opinion/vietnam-war-novel-was-not-written-by-an-american.html |url-status=live |issn=0362-4331}} While growing up in San Jose, Viet attended St. Patrick School, a Catholic elementary school, and Bellarmine College Preparatory.{{cite web|url= https://www.seattleu.edu/commencement/graduate-ceremony/ceremony-speaker/ |title= 2023 Graduate Ceremony Speaker - Viet Thanh Nguyễn, PhD |work= Seattle University |access-date= December 10, 2023 |archive-date= December 10, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231210141521/https://www.seattleu.edu/commencement/graduate-ceremony/ceremony-speaker/ |url-status=live}}

Viet attended UCLA for a quarter and the University of California, Riverside for a year before finishing his studies at the University of California, Berkeley.{{cite web|url= https://wheelercolumn.berkeley.edu/2015/12/04/interview-with-ba-and-ph-d-alum-viet-nguyen/ |title= Interview with BA and Ph.D Alum Viet Thanh Nguyen |work= The Wheeler Column – UC Berkeley |date= December 4, 2015 |access-date= December 10, 2023 |archive-date= December 10, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231210153718/https://wheelercolumn.berkeley.edu/2015/12/04/interview-with-ba-and-ph-d-alum-viet-nguyen/ |url-status=live}}{{cite web|url= https://alumni.berkeley.edu/california-magazine/online/what-sparked-pulitzer-winning-novelist-dual-life-mind-blowing/ |title= What Sparked This Pulitzer-Winning Novelist? Dual Life, 'Mind-Blowing' Berkeley & a Movie |author= M. V. Wood|work= Cal Alumni Association – UC Berkeley |date= April 21, 2016 |access-date= December 10, 2023 |archive-date= December 10, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231210153515/https://alumni.berkeley.edu/california-magazine/online/what-sparked-pulitzer-winning-novelist-dual-life-mind-blowing/ |url-status=live}}{{cite web|url= https://lectures.org/event/viet-thanh-nguyen-2/ |title= Viet Thanh Nguyen |work= Seattle Arts & Lectures |access-date= December 10, 2023 |archive-date= December 10, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231210153112/https://lectures.org/event/viet-thanh-nguyen-2/ |url-status=live}} He graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1992 with a Bachelor of Arts in English and Ethnic Studies.{{cite web|url= https://artsdesign.berkeley.edu/plus/made-at-berkeley/viet-thanh-nguyen |title= Viet Thanh Nguyen |work= Berkeley Arts + Design – UC Berkeley |access-date= December 10, 2023 |archive-date= December 10, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231210151310/https://artsdesign.berkeley.edu/plus/made-at-berkeley/viet-thanh-nguyen |url-status=live}}{{cite web|url= https://www.bustle.com/articles/155416-who-is-viet-thanh-nguyen-the-pulitzer-prize-winner-is-an-author-professor |title= Who Is Viet Thanh Nguyen? |first= Cristina |last= Arreola |work= Bustle |date= April 18, 2016 |access-date= December 9, 2023 |archive-date= December 9, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231209170700/https://www.bustle.com/articles/155416-who-is-viet-thanh-nguyen-the-pulitzer-prize-winner-is-an-author-professor |url-status=live}}{{cite web|url= https://dornsife.usc.edu/profile/viet-nguyen/ |title= Viet Nguyen |work= USC Dornsife |date= |access-date= December 9, 2023 |archive-date= December 9, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231209170716/https://dornsife.usc.edu/profile/viet-nguyen/ |url-status=live}} At the age of 26, he earned a PhD in English from Berkeley in 1997.{{cite web|url= https://light.berkeley.edu/o/viet-thanh-nguyen-on-finding-himself-at-berkeley/ |title= Viet Thanh Nguyen on finding himself at Berkeley |work= University of California, Berkeley |access-date= December 10, 2023 |archive-date= December 10, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231210143531/https://light.berkeley.edu/o/viet-thanh-nguyen-on-finding-himself-at-berkeley/ |url-status=live}}{{cite web|url= https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2023/09/viet-thanh-nguyen-to-deliver-norton-lectures/ |title= Weaving refugee's life into histories of U.S., Vietnam |first= Eileen |last= O’Grady |work= Harvard Gazette |date= September 12, 2023 |access-date= December 10, 2023 |archive-date= December 10, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231210150602/https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2023/09/viet-thanh-nguyen-to-deliver-norton-lectures/ |url-status=live}}

{{Multiple image|image1=Viet Thanh Nguyen BHS.jpg|image2=Viet Thanh Nguyen TET 10.jpg|footer=Viet spoke at Borah High School (above) and The Egyptian Theatre (below) in 2018.|total_width=250|direction=vertical}}

In 1997, Viet moved to Los Angeles for a teaching position as an assistant professor at the University of Southern California in both the English Department, and in the American Studies and Ethnicity Department. In 2003, he became an associate professor in the two departments.{{cite web|url= https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/viet-thanh-nguyen-wins-fiction-pulitzer-prize-debut-novel-sympathizer-n557831 |title= Viet Thanh Nguyen Wins Fiction Pulitzer Prize for Debut Novel, 'The Sympathizer' |first= Charles |last= Lam |work= NBC News |date= April 19, 2016 |access-date= December 10, 2023 |archive-date= December 10, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231210073359/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/viet-thanh-nguyen-wins-fiction-pulitzer-prize-debut-novel-sympathizer-n557831 |url-status=live}} He is currently the Aerol Arnold Chair of English and Professor of English, American Studies and Ethnicity and Comparative Literature.

Viet was appointed the 2023 Charles Eliot Norton Professor of Poetry at Harvard University and presented a series of six lectures titled To Save and to Destroy. His series is the first to be given in person on Harvard’s campus since 2018.{{cite web|url= https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2023/9/28/viet-thanh-nguyen-norton-lecture-other-inauthenticity/ |title= Viet Thanh Nguyen Gives His First Norton Lecture: 'On the Double, or Inauthenticity' |author= Hannah E. Gadway/Crimson Staff Writer |work= The Harvard Crimson |date= September 28, 2023 |access-date= December 19, 2023 |archive-date= December 19, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231219173205/https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2023/9/28/viet-thanh-nguyen-norton-lecture-other-inauthenticity/ |url-status=live}} Viet is also the first Asian American to lead the Charles Eliot Norton Lecture Series, alongside other writers such as Jorge Luis Borges, T. S. Eliot, and Toni Morrison.{{cite web|title= Viet Thanh Nguyen—To Save and to Destroy: On Writing as an Other |author= Editorial Staff |date= April 16, 2024 |work= Harvard University Press |language= en |url= https://www.hup.harvard.edu/features/viet-thanh-nguyen-to-save-and-destroy-on-writing-as-an-other |access-date= December 7, 2024 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20241207194749/https://www.hup.harvard.edu/features/viet-thanh-nguyen-to-save-and-destroy-on-writing-as-an-other |archive-date= December 7, 2024 |url-status=live}}

In addition to teaching and writing, Viet serves as cultural critic-at-large for the Los Angeles Times,{{cite web|url= https://www.latimes.com/books/jacketcopy/la-et-jc-times-critics-at-large-20160330-snap-htmlstory.html |title= Introducing the L.A. Times Critics-at-Large |first= Carolyn |last= Kellogg |work= Los Angeles Times |date= March 30, 2016 |access-date= December 10, 2023 |archive-date= December 9, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231209170717/https://www.latimes.com/books/jacketcopy/la-et-jc-times-critics-at-large-20160330-snap-htmlstory.html |url-status=live}} he is also the founder and editor of diaCRITICS, a blog for the Diasporic Vietnamese Artists Network.{{cite web|title= Viet Thanh Nguyen Wins Acclaim for Explorations of Identity and Displacement |first1= Susan |last1= Bell |first2= Elisa |last2= Huang |date= December 4, 2017 |work= USC Today |language= en |url= https://today.usc.edu/viet-thanh-nguyen-wins-acclaim-for-explorations-of-identity-and-displacement/ |access-date= December 7, 2024 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20241207205647/https://today.usc.edu/viet-thanh-nguyen-wins-acclaim-for-explorations-of-identity-and-displacement/ |archive-date= December 7, 2024 |url-status=live}}{{cite web|title= Viet Thanh Nguyen Episode - The Archive Project Podcast - Literary Arts |location= Portland, Oregon |date= May 8, 2018 |work= Literary Arts, Inc. |language= en |url= https://literary-arts.org/archive/viet-thanh-nguyen/ |access-date= December 7, 2024 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20241207205828/https://literary-arts.org/archive/viet-thanh-nguyen/ |archive-date= December 7, 2024 |url-status=live}}

Viet's debut novel, The Sympathizer was published in 2015 by the Grove Press/Atlantic. The Sympathizer won the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.{{cite web|url= https://www.latimes.com/books/jacketcopy/la-et-jc-viet-thanh-nguyen-pulitzer-prize-fiction-sympathizer-20160418-story.html |title= Viet Thanh Nguyen wins the Pulitzer Prize for fiction for 'The Sympathizer' |first= Carolyn |last= Kellogg |work= Los Angeles Times |date= April 18, 2016 |access-date= December 9, 2023 |archive-date= December 9, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231209165133/https://www.latimes.com/books/jacketcopy/la-et-jc-viet-thanh-nguyen-pulitzer-prize-fiction-sympathizer-20160418-story.html |url-status=live}}{{cite web|url= https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/apr/18/viet-thanh-nguyen-the-sympathizer-pulitzer-overlooked |title= Viet Thanh Nguyen's The Sympathizer: from overlooked to Pulitzer winner |first= Michelle |last= Dean |work= The Guardian |date= April 18, 2016 |access-date= December 9, 2023 |archive-date= October 14, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231014005537/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/apr/18/viet-thanh-nguyen-the-sympathizer-pulitzer-overlooked |url-status=live}} The Sympathizer further won the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize, the Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction from the American Library Association, and the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature in Fiction from the Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association.{{cite web|url= https://pen.org/press-clip/who-is-viet-thanh-nguyen-the-pulitzer-prize-winner-is-an-author-professor/ |title= Who is Viet Thanh Nguyen? The Pulitzer Prize Winner is an Author & Professor |author= Cristina Marie Arreola |work= PEN America |date= April 17, 2016 |access-date= December 10, 2023 |archive-date= December 10, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231210181657/https://pen.org/press-clip/who-is-viet-thanh-nguyen-the-pulitzer-prize-winner-is-an-author-professor/ |url-status=live}}{{cite web|url= https://odi.osu.edu/dr-viet-thanh-nguyen |title= Dr. Viet Thanh Nguyen |work= Ohio State University |date=March 27, 2019 |access-date= December 18, 2023 |archive-date= December 18, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231218042054/https://odi.osu.edu/dr-viet-thanh-nguyen |url-status=live}} The book additionally won the Edgar Award for Best First Novel from an American Author from the Mystery Writers of America,{{cite web|url= https://www.vulture.com/2016/05/sympathizer-heralds-the-literary-convergence.html |title= The Sympathizer Won a Pulitzer and an Edgar, and May Herald the Great Literary Convergence |first= Adam |last= Sternbergh |work= Vulture |date= May 3, 2016 |access-date= December 18, 2023 |archive-date= December 18, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231218044750/https://www.vulture.com/2016/05/sympathizer-heralds-the-literary-convergence.html |url-status=live}} and was a finalist in the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction,{{cite web|url= https://archive.nytimes.com/artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/04/05/james-hannaham-wins-penfaulkner-award-for-fiction/ |title= James Hannaham Wins PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction |first= John |last= Williams |work= The New York Times |date= April 5, 2016 |access-date= December 18, 2023 |archive-date= December 18, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231218045403/https://archive.nytimes.com/artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/04/05/james-hannaham-wins-penfaulkner-award-for-fiction/ |url-status=live}} and the PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize for Debut Fiction.{{cite web|url= https://www.bookweb.org/news/2016-pen-literary-award-winners-make-great-recommendations |title= 2016 PEN Literary Award Winners Make Great Recommendations |first= Liz |last= Button |work= American Booksellers Association |date= March 1, 2016 |access-date= December 18, 2023 |archive-date= December 18, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231218050816/https://www.bookweb.org/news/2016-pen-literary-award-winners-make-great-recommendations |url-status=live}} The novel has also won the Dayton Literary Peace Prize.{{cite web|url= https://www.daytondailynews.com/news/local/marilynn-robinson-honored-dayton-literary-peace-prize-ceremony/CAX1efIu5zXvbyQWfbZVqN/ |title= Authors honored at Dayton Literary Peace Prize ceremony |work= Dayton Daily News |date= November 21, 2016 |access-date= December 13, 2023 |archive-date= December 13, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231213021139/https://www.daytondailynews.com/news/local/marilynn-robinson-honored-dayton-literary-peace-prize-ceremony/CAX1efIu5zXvbyQWfbZVqN/ |url-status=live}} The New York Times included The Sympathizer among the Book Review's "Editors' Choice" selection of new books when the book debuted,{{cite web|url= https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/12/books/review/editors-choice.html |title= Editors' Choice |work= The New York Times |date= April 10, 2015 |access-date= December 9, 2023 |archive-date= December 9, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231209180330/https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/12/books/review/editors-choice.html |url-status=live |issn=0362-4331}} and in its list of "Notable Books of 2015".{{cite web|url= https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/06/books/review/100-notable-books-of-2015.html |title= 100 Notable Books of 2015 |work= The New York Times |date= November 27, 2015 |access-date= December 9, 2023 |archive-date= November 29, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231129031001/https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/06/books/review/100-notable-books-of-2015.html |url-status=live}} The novel also made it onto numerous other "Books of the Year" lists, including those of The Guardian, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post.{{cite web|url= https://bookmarks.reviews/reviews/all/the-sympathizer/ |title= All Book Marks reviews for The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen |work= Book Marks |access-date= December 15, 2023 |archive-date= December 15, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231215181035/https://bookmarks.reviews/reviews/all/the-sympathizer/ |url-status=live}}{{cite web|url= https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-sympathizer-viet-thanh-nguyen/1120338727 |title= The Sympathizer (Pulitzer Prize Winner) |work= Barnes & Noble |access-date= December 15, 2023 |archive-date= December 15, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231215181654/https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-sympathizer-viet-thanh-nguyen/1120338727 |url-status=live}} Viet's second novel, The Committed, which continues the story of The Sympathizer, was published in 2021.{{cite web|url= https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/books/story/2021-03-01/viet-thanh-nguyen-the-committed-the-sympathizer |title= What to expect in Viet Thanh Nguyen's sequel to his Pulitzer Prize-winning 'The Sympathizer' |first= Agatha |last= French |work= Los Angeles Times |date= March 1, 2021 |access-date= December 9, 2023 |archive-date= December 9, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231209164929/https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/books/story/2021-03-01/viet-thanh-nguyen-the-committed-the-sympathizer |url-status=live}}

Viet's short fiction has been published in Best New American Voices 2007 ("A Correct Life"),{{cite book |last1= Sue |first1= Miller |last2= John |first2= Kulka |last3= Natalie |first3= Danford |title= Best New American Voices 2007 |date= 2006 |publisher= Harcourt |pages= 97–117 |isbn= 978-0-15-603155-4 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=B5g1xwGh6UUC |access-date= December 18, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231218055529/https://books.google.com.vn/books?hl=vi&id=B5g1xwGh6UUC&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=Viet+Thanh+Nguyen |archive-date= December 18, 2023 |url-status= live}} Manoa ("Better Homes and Gardens"),{{cite web|url= https://muse.jhu.edu/issue/1196 |title= Manoa-Volume 14, Number 1, 2002 |work= Project Muse |date= July 6, 2022 |access-date= December 16, 2023 |archive-date= July 6, 2022 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220706054342/https://muse.jhu.edu/issue/1196 |url-status=live}}{{cite web|url= https://uhpress.hawaii.edu/manoa-vol-14-no-1-2002-two-rivers/ |title= Manoa, vol. 14, no. 1 (2002): Two Rivers |author= UH Press |work= University of Hawaiʻi Press |date= May 2, 2002 |access-date= December 9, 2023 |archive-date= December 9, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231209160726/https://uhpress.hawaii.edu/manoa-vol-14-no-1-2002-two-rivers/ |url-status=live}} Narrative Magazine ("Someone Else Besides You", "Arthur Arellano", and "Fatherland",{{cite web|url= https://www.narrativemagazine.com/issues/spring-2011 |title= Spring 2011 |work= Narrative Magazine |date= November 6, 2011 |access-date= December 21, 2023 |archive-date= December 21, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231221123347/https://www.narrativemagazine.com/issues/spring-2011 |url-status=live}} which was a prize winner in the 2011 Winter Fiction Contest),{{cite web|url= https://www.narrativemagazine.com/authors/viet-thanh-nguyen |title= Viet Thanh Nguyen |work= Narrative Magazine |date= April 3, 2008 |access-date= December 18, 2023 |archive-date= December 18, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231218052431/https://www.narrativemagazine.com/authors/viet-thanh-nguyen |url-status=live}} TriQuarterly ("The War Years" - Issue 135/136), The Good Men Project ("Look At Me"),{{cite web|url= https://vietnguyen.info/2011/look-at-me |title= Look at Me: A Short Story |date= February 19, 2011 |work= Viet Thanh Nguyen |access-date= December 9, 2023 |archive-date= December 9, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231209133513/https://vietnguyen.info/2011/look-at-me |url-status=live}} the Chicago Tribune ("The Americans", also a 2010 Nelson Algren Short Story Awards finalist),{{cite web|url= https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/books/ct-books-1218-intro-essay-20101217-story.html |title= Why Algren awards matter |first= Elizabeth |last= Taylor |work= Chicago Tribune |date= December 17, 2010 |access-date= December 15, 2023 |archive-date= July 5, 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210705145829/https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/books/ct-books-1218-intro-essay-20101217-story.html |url-status=live}} and Gulf Coast, where his story won the 2007 Fiction Prize.{{cite web|url= https://gulfcoastmag.org/index.php?n=7&sn=15 |title= Gulf Coast Prizewinners of Yesteryear |work= Gulf Coast |access-date= December 11, 2023 |archive-date= August 18, 2010 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100818164223/https://gulfcoastmag.org/index.php?n=7&sn=15 |url-status=dead}}

In May 2008, Viet is one of the contributing authors of A Stranger Among Us: Stories of Cross-Cultural Collision and Connection published by OV Books, Other Voices, Inc.{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fHEbAQAAIAAJ |title = A Stranger Among Us: Stories of Cross Cultural Collision and Connection|isbn = 978-0-9767177-3-7 |last1 = Bierlein|first1 = Stacy|year = 2007| publisher=OV Books }} In February 2017, Viet continued to collaborate with Grove Press to publish a book of short stories entitled The Refugees.{{cite web|url= https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/13/books/review/refugees-viet-thanh-nguyen.html |title= Ghost Stories: Vietnamese Refugees Wrestle With Memory in a New Book by the Author of 'The Sympathizer' |first= Mia |last= Alvar |work= The New York Times |date= February 13, 2017 |access-date= December 9, 2023 |archive-date= October 14, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231014134130/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/13/books/review/refugees-viet-thanh-nguyen.html |url-status=live |issn=0362-4331}}

Viet is the editor of The Displaced: Refugee Writers on Refugee Lives,{{cite web|title= Refugee writers share their stories in new book “The Displaced.” |first= Brandon |last= Yu |date= May 29, 2018 |work= SFGate |issn= 1932-8672 |language= en |url= https://www.sfgate.com/books/article/Refugee-writers-share-their-stories-in-new-book-12952499.php |access-date= December 7, 2024 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20221206192115/https://www.sfgate.com/books/article/Refugee-writers-share-their-stories-in-new-book-12952499.php#photo-15634098 |archive-date= December 6, 2022 |url-status=live}}{{cite web|title= “Good” Refugees, “Bad” Refugees: A Conversation in Paris with Viet Thanh Nguyen |first= Christine |last= Buckley |date= September 24, 2018 |work= Los Angeles Review of Books |language= en |url= https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/good-refugees-bad-refugees-a-conversation-in-paris-with-viet-thanh-nguyen/ |access-date= July 25, 2024 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20240725000453/https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/good-refugees-bad-refugees-a-conversation-in-paris-with-viet-thanh-nguyen/ |archive-date= July 25, 2024 |url-status=live}} which includes essays by 17 fellow refugee writers from Mexico, Bosnia, Iran, Afghanistan, Hungary, Chile, and Ethiopia, among other countries.{{cite web|title= Modern books about refugees you need to know about |first= Darina |last= Rebro |date= April 23, 2020 |work= United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees |language= en |url= https://www.unhcr.org/ua/en/21625-modern-books-about-refugees-you-need-to-know-about.html |access-date= December 7, 2024 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20241207202752/https://www.unhcr.org/ua/en/21625-modern-books-about-refugees-you-need-to-know-about.html |archive-date= December 7, 2024 |url-status=live}}

Viet has also released a non-fiction book published by the Harvard University Press in March 2016 entitled Nothing Ever Dies: Vietnam and the Memory of War, which served as a critical bookend to a creative project whose fictional bookend was The Sympathizer.{{cite web|url= https://www.jfklibrary.org/node/366706 |title= 2019 Pen/Hemingway Award Ceremony |work= John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum |date= April 7, 2019 |access-date= December 18, 2023 |archive-date= December 18, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231218061049/https://www.jfklibrary.org/node/366706 |url-status=live}}{{cn|date=April 2024}} According to Viet's website, the book Nothing Ever Dies "examines how the so-called Vietnam War has been remembered by many countries and people, from the US to Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, and South Korea."{{cite web|url= https://vietnguyen.info/author-viet-thanh-nguyen |title= Bio |work= Viet Thanh Nguyen |access-date= December 9, 2023 |archive-date= December 9, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231209130752/https://vietnguyen.info/author-viet-thanh-nguyen |url-status=live}} Kirkus Reviews has also called the book "a powerful reflection on how we choose to remember and forget."{{cite web|url= https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/viet-thanh-nguyen/nothing-ever-dies/ |title= Nothing Ever Dies {{!}} Kirkus Reviews |work= Kirkus Reviews |access-date= December 9, 2023 |archive-date= December 9, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231209132417/https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/viet-thanh-nguyen/nothing-ever-dies/ |url-status=live}} The book is a National Book Award finalist.{{cite magazine|url= https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/the-2016-national-book-awards-finalists |title= The 2016 National Book Awards Finalists |author= The New Yorker |magazine= The New Yorker |date= October 6, 2016 |access-date= December 18, 2023 |archive-date= December 18, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231218063336/https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/the-2016-national-book-awards-finalists |url-status=live}}

In 2002, Viet published a treatise entitled Race and Resistance: Literature and Politics in Asian America.{{cite book |last=Nguyen |first= Viet Thanh |date= April 18, 2002 |title= Race and Resistance: Literature and Politics in Asian America |location= New York |publisher= Oxford University Press |doi= 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195146998.001.0001 |lccn= 2001035851 |oclc= 318373371 |isbn= 978-0-19-514699-8 |url= https://academic.oup.com/book/10955 |access-date= December 18, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231218064009/https://academic.oup.com/book/10955 |archive-date= December 18, 2023 |url-status= live}} Viet has also co-edited a treatise entitled Transpacific Studies: Framing an Emerging Field along with Janet Hoskins in 2014.{{cite web|title= Viet Thanh Nguyen – The Dan and Maggie Inouye Distinguished Chair in Democratic Ideals |work= University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa |language= en |url= https://manoa.hawaii.edu/inouyechair/portfolio-item/viet-thanh-nguyen/ |access-date= December 7, 2024 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20241207200906/https://manoa.hawaii.edu/inouyechair/portfolio-item/viet-thanh-nguyen/ |archive-date= December 7, 2024 |url-status=dead}}{{cite web|title= Transpacific Studies: Framing an Emerging Field » Asia Research Institute, NUS |work= Asia Research Institute of National University of Singapore |language= en |url= https://ari.nus.edu.sg/publications/transpacific-studies-framing-an-emerging-field/ |access-date= December 7, 2024 |archive-url= https://archive.today/20241207191456/https://ari.nus.edu.sg/publications/transpacific-studies-framing-an-emerging-field/ |archive-date= December 7, 2024 |url-status=live}}

Viet's non-fiction articles and essays have appeared in journals and books, including PMLA, American Literary History, Western American Literature, positions: east asia cultures critique, The New Centennial Review, Postmodern Culture, The Japanese Journal of American Studies, and Asian American Studies After Critical Mass.{{cite web|url= https://www.library.illinois.edu/mortenson/lectures/bios/ |title= Lecture Biographies – Mortenson Center for International Library Programs |work= University of Illinois Library |access-date= December 18, 2023 |archive-date= December 18, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231218065758/https://www.library.illinois.edu/mortenson/lectures/bios/ |url-status=live}} In an opinion column in the New York Times, Viet discussed having been a refugee and characterized refugees as heroic.{{cite web|url= https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/03/opinion/the-hidden-scars-all-refugees-carry.html |title= The Hidden Scars All Refugees Carry |first= Viet Thanh |last= Nguyen |work= The New York Times |date= September 2, 2016 |access-date= December 9, 2023 |archive-date= December 9, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231209132207/https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/03/opinion/the-hidden-scars-all-refugees-carry.html |url-status=live}}

Viet and illustrator Thi Bui, along with their respective children, collaborated on a children's book titled Chicken of the Sea.{{cite web|url= https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/books/story/2020-11-02/natalie-portman-viet-thanh-nguyen-talk-kids-books-la-times-festival-of-books |title= Natalie Portman and Viet Thanh Nguyen talk kids books at L.A. Times Festival of Books |first= Julissa |last= James |work= Los Angeles Times |date= November 2, 2020 |access-date= December 16, 2023 |archive-date= December 16, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231216041657/https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/books/story/2020-11-02/natalie-portman-viet-thanh-nguyen-talk-kids-books-la-times-festival-of-books |url-status=live}}

In 2016, Viet spoke out for Palestinian rights by supporting the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement.{{cite web|url= https://www.salon.com/2016/06/22/backing_bds_another_pulitzer_winner_comes_out_for_palestinian_rights/?source=newsletter |title= Backing BDS: Another Pulitzer winner comes out for Palestinian rights |first= David |last= Palumbo-Liu |work= Salon.com |date= June 22, 2016 |access-date= January 6, 2024 |archive-date= January 6, 2024 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20240106152350/https://www.salon.com/2016/06/22/backing_bds_another_pulitzer_winner_comes_out_for_palestinian_rights/?source=newsletter |url-status=live}} In 2023, after Viet signed an open letter in the London Review of Books urging "an end to violence and destruction in Palestine," a Jewish organization at the 92nd Street Y canceled a scheduled reading by Viet without explanation.{{cite web|url= https://www.reuters.com/world/us/pulitzer-winner-who-backs-palestinians-says-talk-canceled-by-ny-jewish-2023-10-21/ |title= 92nd Street Y cancels talk by Pulitzer-winning author who backs Palestinians |work= Reuters |date= October 22, 2023 |access-date= January 6, 2024 |archive-date= December 5, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231205052516/https://www.reuters.com/world/us/pulitzer-winner-who-backs-palestinians-says-talk-canceled-by-ny-jewish-2023-10-21/ |url-status=live}} After the cancellation, other authors pulled out of the centre's upcoming programming schedule,{{cite web|url= https://www.timesofisrael.com/92ny-in-tumult-after-canceling-israel-critical-author-event-amid-israel-hamas-war/ |title= 92NY in tumult after canceling Israel-critical author event amid Israel-Hamas war |first= Andrew |last= Lapin |work= The Times of Israel |date= October 27, 2023 |access-date= January 6, 2024 |archive-date= January 6, 2024 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20240106153750/https://www.timesofisrael.com/92ny-in-tumult-after-canceling-israel-critical-author-event-amid-israel-hamas-war/ |url-status=live}} and at least two 92NY employees resigned.{{cite web|url= https://www.npr.org/2023/10/24/1208204142/staff-at-nyc-cultural-center-resign-after-acclaimed-authors-event-canceled |title= Staff at NYC cultural center resign after acclaimed author's event canceled |first= Andrew |last= Limbong |work= NPR |date= October 24, 2023 |access-date= January 6, 2024 |archive-date= January 6, 2024 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20240106153859/https://www.npr.org/2023/10/24/1208204142/staff-at-nyc-cultural-center-resign-after-acclaimed-authors-event-canceled |url-status=live}}{{cite web|url= https://www.npr.org/2023/10/27/1208445765/israel-palestine-cultural-fallout |title= Cultural figures find perils to speaking out and staying silent about Mideast crisis |first= Chloe |last= Veltman |work= NPR |date= October 28, 2023 |access-date= January 6, 2024 |archive-date= January 6, 2024 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20240106194655/https://www.npr.org/2023/10/27/1208445765/israel-palestine-cultural-fallout |url-status=live}} On Instagram, Viet wrote: "I have no regrets about anything I have said or done in regards to Palestine, Israel, or the occupation and war".{{cite web|url= https://edition.cnn.com/2023/10/25/business/palestine-writes-literature-festival-what-happened/index.html |title= UPenn donors were furious about the Palestine Writes Literature Festival. What about it made them pull their funds? |first= Ramishah |last= Maruf |work= CNN |date= October 25, 2023 |access-date= January 6, 2024 |archive-date= January 6, 2024 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20240106192340/https://edition.cnn.com/2023/10/25/business/palestine-writes-literature-festival-what-happened/index.html |url-status=live}} During the Gaza war, he supported a boycott of Israeli cultural institutions, including publishers and literary festivals.{{cite web|title= 1,000 signatories in largest boycott of Israeli publishing industry |first= Jonny |last= Walfisz |date= October 30, 2024 |work= Euronews |language= en |url= https://www.euronews.com/culture/2024/10/30/1000-signatories-in-largest-boycott-of-israeli-publishing-industry |access-date= November 4, 2024 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20241104130844/https://www.euronews.com/culture/2024/10/30/1000-signatories-in-largest-boycott-of-israeli-publishing-industry |archive-date= November 4, 2024 |url-status=live}}{{cite web|title= Hundreds of Authors Pledge to Boycott Israeli Cultural Institutions |first= Dan |last= Sheehan |date= October 28, 2024 |work= Literary Hub |language= en |url= https://lithub.com/hundreds-of-authors-pledge-to-boycott-israeli-cultural-institutions/ |access-date= November 4, 2024 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20241104035028/https://lithub.com/hundreds-of-authors-pledge-to-boycott-israeli-cultural-institutions/ |archive-date= November 4, 2024 |url-status=live}}

Viet is married to Lan Duong, a faculty member in cinema and media studies at USC and a poet, who also grew up in San Jose after coming to the United States as a young refugee.{{cite news |first=Martha |last=Ross |url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/06/21/dirty-stories-vietnamese-american-writers-refugee-life-in-1980s-san-jose-becomes-poetry/ |title='Dirty stories': Vietnamese-American writer's refugee life in 1980s San Jose becomes poetry |work=The Mercury News |location= San Jose, California |date=June 22, 2023 |access-date= March 21, 2024 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20240321070538/https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/06/21/dirty-stories-vietnamese-american-writers-refugee-life-in-1980s-san-jose-becomes-poetry/ |archive-date= March 21, 2024 |url-status=live}}{{Cite web |title= Pulitzer Prize winner Viet Thanh Nguyen visits UP to discuss his new memoir and refugee identity |first= Kaylee |last= Monahan |date= October 30, 2024 |url=https://www.upbeacon.com/article/2024/10/pulitzer-prize-winner-viet-thanh-nguyen-visits-up-to-discuss-his-new-memoir-and-refugee-identity |work= The Beacon |language=en-US |access-date= November 7, 2024 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20241107235304/https://www.upbeacon.com/article/2024/10/pulitzer-prize-winner-viet-thanh-nguyen-visits-up-to-discuss-his-new-memoir-and-refugee-identity |archive-date= November 7, 2024 |url-status=live}} They have two children and live in Pasadena, California.{{cite web|url= https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/21/books/viet-thanh-nguyen-the-committed.html |title= He Writes Unreliable Narrators Because He Is One, Too |first= Alexandra |last= Alter |work= The New York Times |date= February 21, 2021 |access-date= December 9, 2023 |archive-date= December 9, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231209131906/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/21/books/viet-thanh-nguyen-the-committed.html |url-status=live}}

Viet has also been a fellow of the American Council of Learned Societies (2011–2012),{{cite web|url= https://www.acls.org/fellow-grantees/viet-thanh-nguyen/ |title= Viet Thanh Nguyen - ACLS |work= American Council of Learned Societies |access-date= December 11, 2023 |archive-date= December 11, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231211115156/https://www.acls.org/fellow-grantees/viet-thanh-nguyen/ |url-status=live}} the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard (2008–2009),{{cite web|url= https://www.radcliffe.harvard.edu/people/viet-thanh-nguyen |title= Viet Thanh Nguyen {{!}} Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University |work= Harvard Radcliffe Institute |access-date= December 10, 2023 |archive-date= December 10, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231210181410/https://www.radcliffe.harvard.edu/people/viet-thanh-nguyen |url-status=live}} and the Fine Arts Work Center (2004–2005).{{cite web|url= https://fawc.org/all-fellows-static/ |title= All Fellows |work= Fine Arts Work Center |access-date= December 11, 2023 |archive-date= December 11, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231211120020/https://fawc.org/all-fellows-static/ |url-status=dead}} He has also received residencies, fellowships, and grants from the Luce Foundation, the Mellon Foundation, the Asian Cultural Council,{{cite web|url= https://www.asianculturalcouncil.org/about-acc/stories/east-west-dialogue-with-viet-thanh-nguyen-tiffany-chung |title= East-West Dialogue with Viet Thanh Nguyen & Tiffany Chung |work= Asian Cultural Council |date= September 1, 2021 |access-date= December 11, 2023 |archive-date= December 11, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231211122415/https://www.asianculturalcouncil.org/about-acc/stories/east-west-dialogue-with-viet-thanh-nguyen-tiffany-chung |url-status=live}} the Djerassi Artists Residency, the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference, the Huntington Library, the James Irvine Foundation, the Warhol Foundation and Creative Capital.{{cite web|url= https://www.pugetsound.edu/office-president/messages-president/messages-president-2021-22/pierce-lecture-viet-thanh-nguyen-november-16-730-pm-102821 |title= Pierce Lecture With Viet Thanh Nguyen - November 16 at 7:30 P.m. 10/28/21 |work= University of Puget Sound |access-date= December 11, 2023 |archive-date= December 11, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231211124257/https://www.pugetsound.edu/office-president/messages-president/messages-president-2021-22/pierce-lecture-viet-thanh-nguyen-november-16-730-pm-102821 |url-status=live}}

His teaching and service awards include the Albert S. Raubenheimer Distinguished Junior Faculty Award for outstanding research, teaching and service, the Mellon Mentoring Award for Faculty Mentoring Graduate Students, the Resident Faculty of the Year Award,{{cite web|url= https://creativewriting.ucsc.edu/news-events/living-writers-series/2017%20Fall%20Living%20Writers%20Series.html |title= Living Writers Series Fall 2017 |work= UC Santa Cruz - Creative Writing |access-date= December 15, 2023 |archive-date= December 15, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231215085320/https://creativewriting.ucsc.edu/news-events/living-writers-series/2017%20Fall%20Living%20Writers%20Series.html |url-status=live}} and the General Education Teaching Award.{{cite web|url= https://www.pulitzer.org/board/2023 |title= Pulitzer Prize Board 2022-2023 |work= Pulitzer Prize |access-date= December 15, 2023 |archive-date= December 15, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231215085058/https://www.pulitzer.org/board/2023 |url-status=live}} Multimedia has also been a key part of his teaching: In a recent course on the American War in Viet Nam, he and his students created An Other War Memorial,{{cite web|url= https://www.historynet.com/how-do-nations-remember-wars-professor-viet-thanh-nguyen-is-trying-to-find-out/ |title= 'How Do Nations Remember Wars?' Professor Viet Thanh Nguyen is Trying to Find Out |first= Claire |last= Barrett |work= World History Group |date= May 28, 2021 |access-date= December 11, 2023 |archive-date= December 11, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231211130114/https://www.historynet.com/how-do-nations-remember-wars-professor-viet-thanh-nguyen-is-trying-to-find-out/ |url-status=live}} which won a grant from the Fund for Innovative Undergraduate Teaching and the USC Provost's Prize for Teaching With Technology.{{cite web|url= https://dornsife.usc.edu/news/stories/teaching-with-technology/ |title= Teaching With Technology |first= Kevin |last= Durkin |work= USC Dornsife |date= May 8, 2013 |access-date= December 11, 2023 |archive-date= December 11, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231211130412/https://dornsife.usc.edu/news/stories/teaching-with-technology/ |url-status=live}}

{{notelist}}

{{reflist}}

{{Commons category|Viet Thanh Nguyen}}

{{Wikiquote|Viet Thanh Nguyen}}

• {{Official website|http://vietnguyen.info}}
• {{C-SPAN|101600}}
• {{URL|https://dvan.org/diacritics/|diaCRITICS}} – The publication of Diasporic Vietnamese Artists Network

{{PulitzerPrize Fiction 2001–2025}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nguyen, Viet Thanh}}

Category:Living people

Category:1971 births

Category:21st-century American novelists

Category:21st-century American short story writers

Category:Academics of Vietnamese descent

Category:American male short story writers

Category:American writers of Vietnamese descent

Category:American children's writers

Category:Vietnamese children's writers

Category:People from Đắk Lắk province

Category:People from Lebanon County, Pennsylvania

Category:Pulitzer Prize for Fiction winners

Category:Refugees in the United States

Category:University of California, Berkeley alumni

Category:University of Southern California faculty

Category:Vietnamese emigrants to the United States

Category:Vietnamese refugees

Category:Writers from San Jose, California

Category:MacArthur Fellows

Category:PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction winners

Category:21st-century American male writers

Category:Novelists from Pennsylvania

Category:Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Category:Bellarmine College Preparatory alumni