Lisa Ko is an

American writer American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry ...

. Her

debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to p ...

, ''

The Leavers ''The Leavers'' is Lisa Ko's first novel, published on May 2, 2017. Background Ko’s novel was inspired by a 2009 ''New York Times'' article describing an undocumented immigrant from Fuzhou, China, who was arrested at a Greyhound station in F ...

'', won the 2016

PEN/Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction The PEN/Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction, formerly known as the Bellwether Prize for Fiction is a biennial award given by the PEN America (formerly PEN American Center) and Barbara Kingsolver to a U.S. citizen for a previously unpubli ...

and was a finalist for the 2017

National Book Award for Fiction The National Book Award for Fiction is one of five annual National Book Awards, which recognize outstanding literary work by United States citizens. Since 1987 the awards have been administered and presented by the National Book Foundation, but ...

. She has written for the ''New York Times.''Ko, Lisa, "Opinions: the Myth of the Interchangeable Asian," ''The New York Times,'' October 14, 2018

Early life

Born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, Ko grew up as the daughter of

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

immigrants from the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

in a predominantly white area of suburban

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

. She began writing stories and keeping a journal at the age of five, though she only shared the work with others in high school. She then attended

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a private liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Episcopal Church and with the support of prominent residents of Middletown, the col ...

, majoring in English.

Career

Ko participated in the founding of ''Hyphen'' magazine, serving as books editor. Ko published her debut novel, ''The Leavers'', with Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill in 2017 after winning the 2016 PEN/Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction. Established by Barbara Kingsolver, the prize awards $25,000 as well as a book contract for a work of previously unpublished fiction engaging social justice topics. The book follows Polly, an undocumented immigrant from China to the United States, and her son Deming, who is adopted by a white couple when Polly goes missing. ''The Leavers'' was inspired by a 2009 ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' story about an undocumented immigrant woman who was held, largely in solitary confinement, for more than a year and a half. Reviewing the book in ''The New York Times'',

Gish Jen Gish Jen (born Lillian Jen; () August 12, 1955) is a contemporary American writer and speaker.Matsukawa, Yuko"MELUS interview: Gish Jen" '' MELUS'', Vol. 18, 1993 Early life and education Gish Jen is a second-generation Chinese American. Her p ...

said Ko's book "has taken the headlines and reminded us that beyond them lie messy, brave, extraordinary, ordinary lives." ''The Leavers'' was a 2017 finalist for the

National Book Award for fiction The National Book Award for Fiction is one of five annual National Book Awards, which recognize outstanding literary work by United States citizens. Since 1987 the awards have been administered and presented by the National Book Foundation, but ...

Personal life

Ko lives in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ko, Lisa Living people 21st-century American novelists American women novelists Wesleyan University alumni Writers from Brooklyn American people of Chinese descent Novelists from New York (state) Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American women writers