Esther Sun is a writer interested in heritage, memory, and the relationship between the personal and the political.

As a poet, she has received an Academy of American Poets Prize from Columbia University, an Oxbelly Foundation fellowship, and multiple Pushcart Prize nominations. Her work is published in The Offing, Half Mystic Journal, and DIALOGIST, among others.

Her journalism has appeared in the Nation, NBC’s TODAY, the New York Amsterdam News, the San Jose Mercury News, the Albany Times Union, and more. She was awarded the Hearst Fellowship in 2025. At the Columbia Daily Spectator, she led metro coverage of Upper Manhattan with a focus on institutional accountability. In particular, her reporting on two local preschool closures sparked national coverage, contributing to the reversal of one closure decision.

Esther graduated from Columbia University and spent a semester living and working in Amman, Jordan. She is based in the Bay Area, where she was born and raised.