Helen Zia is the author of the critically acclaimed book, Asian American Dreams: The Emergence of an American People. Her book was a finalist for the prestigious 2000 Kiriyama Pacific Rim Book Prize, and President Bill Clinton quoted from her book at two separate speeches in the Rose Garden. Her latest book is My Country Versus Me, the story of Wen Ho Lee, the Los Alamos scientist who was falsely accused of being a spy for China in the "worst case since the Rosenbergs." It is being published by Hyperion Books in January 2002.

Ms. Zia is an award-winning journalist and a Contributing Editor to Ms. Magazine, where she was formerly Executive Editor. Her articles, essays and reviews have appeared in numerous publications. In 1999 and 2000, Zia was named one of the most influential Asian Americans of the decade by A. Magazine. Her work has been honored by the National Women's Political Caucus, the American Society of Business Press Editors, and the Asian American Journalists Association. The Organization of Chinese Americans designated her as the Chinese American Journalist of the Year in 1998.

A second generation Chinese American, Helen Zia has been a long-time activist for social justice on issues ranging from civil rights and peace to women's rights and countering hate violence. She testified before the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights on the impact of the campaign finance hearings on Asian Americans. Her work on the Asian American landmark civil rights case of anti-Asian violence is documented in the Academy Award nominated film, "Who Killed Vincent Chin?" She is on the board of trustees of the KQED Public Broadcasting Station.

Ms. Zia is a graduate of Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, where she was a Woodrow Wilson Scholar and a University Scholar. She is also a member of the university's first graduating class of women. She attended medical school for two years, then quit and found work as a construction laborer, an autoworker in Detroit, and a community organizer, after which she discovered her life's work as a writer.