Ada Zhang is the author of the short story collection The Sorrows of Others published by A Public Space Books in 2023. The collection centers around themes of loss, loneliness, grief, and joy in characters from the Chinese-American immigrant experience. In its starred review of the collection, BOOKLIST wrote: "Writers with virtually perfect debuts are certainly rare; Zhang joins that short list with a magnificent ten-story collection filled with lost souls aching for connection on both sides of the world."

In addition to ALASKA QUARTERLY REVIEW, Ada’s short stories have appeared in A Public Space, McSweeney’s, American Short Fiction, and elsewhere. She is a 2023 National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 honoree and a 2024 Whiting Award recipient. In announcing its award, Whiting Foundation wrote that Ada’s “graceful, crystalline stories explore the paradox that historical silences and legacies of the past—in particular, the impact of the Cultural Revolution on Chinese Americans—can lead to new openings and new voices.”