Changing the World
Through Storytelling
Changing the world, one story at a time.
Qilin Press is a 501(c)(3) non-profit focused on changing the world one story at a time. With a focus on the untold narratives of community voices, our books seek to improve the outcome of all communities through storytelling and narrative plenitude. With your help, we are committed to supporting impactful storytelling and publishing stories of survival and resilience that would be lost or forgotten otherwise.
Our press is run by volunteers and donations. All profits from book sales fund education and training opportunities for the communities we publish, especially those who still reside in refugee camps or struggle to be seen and supported.
Coming October 2024
A Tree of My Own
Preserving Culture
Celebrating Diversity
Inspiring Change
Our first project is a children’s picture book featuring the resettlement experience of the Karen refugee community in Portland, Oregon.
Portland is home to a vibrant Karen refugee community that unfortunately struggles to maintain its culture, language, and history due to displacement and war in Burma, now Myanmar. There are almost no books about the Karen people.
To our knowledge, the children's picture book will be the first children's book that touches upon these experiences from the perspective of a child.
This book will be the first in a series that explores how communities preserve and adapt their language, culture, tradition, and heritage when faced with displacement and migration.
Discover
our mission
Share our journey of uplifting community voices. Let's build a community where every story counts. You're a part of this positive change. Changing the world, one story at a time.
Our Team
Art Director
Gigi Little is the creative force in all things books. Writer, illustrator, book designer, graphic artist, and incomparable book whisperer are common titles she’s been given.
She resides in Portland with her husband, and she spends her days dreaming and making magical things for us to read.
Project Lead Karen Community
Nui Wilson is a Karen woman who was born and raised in Western Thailand. She studied Law and Psychology at Chiang Mai University. In 2007 she moved to the US. At that time, many Karen refugees from Burma were resettling in the US, and Nui volunteered with several non-profit organizations to help with their transition and resettlement. She has worked with the Karen community in Utah, Oregon, and Thailand for almost 20 years.
She currently lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband and two children. This is her first book.
Founder of Qilin Press.
Frances Lu-Pai Ippolito (she/her) is a Chinese American judge, mom, writer, and publisher in Portland, Oregon. She is also the founder of game and book publisher Demagogue Press. Frances works with many non-profits including Young Willamette Writers, which provides free writing classes for high school and middle school students.
You can find her on IG @francespaippolito, FB Frances Pai, and at www.demagoguepress.com/about
Illustrator
Jakkapong keereesurawongsakon is a Thai-Karen illustrator living in the Tak Province of Thailand, which borders Burma. He is passionate about art and always conveys Karen culture in the form of art. Most people know him as Kayor.
IG @kayor_art