William Ping

{{Short description|Canadian writer}}

William Ping is a Canadian writer from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador,Andrew Robinson, [https://www.saltwire.com/atlantic-canada/lifestyles/st-johns-writer-and-journalist-william-ping-author-of-hollow-bamboo-answers-20-questions-100837847/ "St. John's writer and journalist William Ping, author of 'Hollow Bamboo,' answers 20 Questions"]. SaltWire Network, March 27, 2023. whose debut novel Hollow Bamboo was a shortlisted finalist for the 2023 Amazon.ca First Novel AwardCassandra Drudi, [https://quillandquire.com/omni/billy-ray-belcourt-jessica-johns-among-2023-amazon-canada-first-novel-finalists/ "Billy-Ray Belcourt, Jessica Johns among 2023 Amazon Canada First Novel finalists"]. Quill & Quire, May 4, 2023. and the 2024 Thomas Head Raddall Award.Cassandra Drudi, [https://quillandquire.com/omni/finalists-for-nova-scotia-book-awards-and-atlantic-book-awards-announced/ "Finalists for Nova Scotia Book Awards and Atlantic Book Awards announced"]. Quill & Quire, April 15, 2024.

Born and raised in St. John's, he is the grandson of William Seto Ping, a Chinese immigrant who became a prominent leader in the city's Chinese-Canadian community.Joan Sullivan, [https://www.saltwire.com/atlantic-canada/lifestyles/joan-sullivan-hollow-bamboo-mixes-fact-and-fiction-in-a-search-for-identity-through-eyes-of-a-chinese-immigrant-to-newfoundland-100829018/ "‘Hollow Bamboo’ mixes fact and fiction in a search for identity through eyes of a Chinese immigrant to Newfoundland"]. SaltWire Network, March 2, 2023. However, his grandfather died when he was only a child, leaving him with few memories of the man for whom he was named; the novel is an autofiction in which a ghost named Mo guides a fictionalized version of himself into the past to learn more about his grandfather's life.[https://www.cbc.ca/books/hollow-bamboo-by-william-ping-1.6736231 "Hollow Bamboo by William Ping"]. CBC Books, February 3, 2023. The novel was written as Ping's master's thesis in creative writing studies at Memorial University of Newfoundland, under the supervision of Lisa Moore, before being published in early 2023 by HarperCollins Canada.

He has also contributed short stories to anthologies, including Us, Now: Stories from the Quilted Collective and Hard Ticket: New Writing Made in Newfoundland.[https://library.torontomu.ca/asianheritage/authors/william-ping/ "William Ping"]. Asian Heritage in Canada''.

Ping works as a newsreader for CBN, the CBC Radio One affiliate in St. John's. He also previously created a radio documentary about his grandfather for CBC's Atlantic Voice documentary program.