Yiyun Li
Yiyun Li | |
---|---|
Native name | 李翊雲 |
Born | Beijing, China | November 4, 1972
Occupation | Author, professor |
Language | English |
Nationality | Chinese |
Education | Peking University (BS) University of Iowa (MS, MFA) |
Notable works | |
Notable awards | MacArthur Fellow Guggenheim Fellowship |
Children | 2 |
Website | |
yiyunli |
Yiyun Li (born November 4, 1972) is a Chinese-born writer and professor in the United States. Her short stories and novels have won several awards, including the PEN/Hemingway Award and Guardian First Book Award for A Thousand Years of Good Prayers,[1][2] the 2020 PEN/Jean Stein Book Award for Where Reasons End,[3] and the 2023 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction for The Book of Goose.[4] Her short story collection Wednesday's Child was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.[5] She is an editor of the Brooklyn-based literary magazine A Public Space.[6]
Biography
Li was born and raised in Beijing, China.[7][8] Her mother was a teacher and her father worked as a nuclear physicist.[9] In Dear Friend, from My Life I Write to You in Your Life, Li recounts moments from her early life, including the abuse she received from her mother.[10]
Following a compulsory year of service in the People's Liberation Army,[7] she went on to earn a Bachelor of Science at Peking University in 1996. In the same year she moved to the US.[1] In 2000, she earned an Master of Science in immunology at the University of Iowa.[11] In 2005, she earned an Master of Fine Arts in creative nonfiction and fiction from The Nonfiction Writing Program and the Writers' Workshop at the University of Iowa.[11]
Li's stories and essays have been published in The New Yorker,[12] The Paris Review, and Zoetrope: All-Story. Two of the stories from A Thousand Years of Good Prayers were adapted into 2007 films directed by Wayne Wang: The Princess of Nebraska and the title story, which Li adapted herself.
Yiyun Li lived in Oakland, California from 2005-2008 with her husband and their two sons. During that time, she taught at Mills College.[13] From 2008-2017, she moved out of Oakland to assume a faculty position at the Department of English at the University of California, Davis.[13] Since 2017, she has taught creative writing at Princeton University.[13]
Li had a breakdown in 2012 and attempted suicide twice.[14][10] After recuperating and leaving the hospital, she lost interest in writing fiction, and for a whole year, she focused on reading several biographies, memoirs, diaries and journals. According to her, reading about other people's lives "was a comfort."[14] Her experiences with depression resulted in her 2017 memoir Dear Friend.[14] A few months after the book was published, her sixteen-year-old son, Vincent, killed himself,[10][11] which she explored in her 2019 novel Where Reasons End.[15][16]
In September 2022, Li published The Book of Goose, a tale of a literary hoax spun by two thirteen-year-old girls in post-war France. The New York Times described it as "an existential fable that illuminates the tangle of motives behind our writing of stories."[17] In April 2023, the novel won the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction.[18]
Li has taught fiction at the University of California, Davis and is a professor of creative writing at the Lewis Center for the Arts at Princeton University.[19]
On 16 February 2024, her nineteen-year-old son, James, was fatally hit by a train in the Princeton township.[20] His death was ruled a suicide by the Middlesex County Medical Examiner’s Office.[21]
Award and honours
Li has received several notable fellowships, including the Lannan Foundation residency in Marfa, Texas; a MacArthur Foundation fellowship (2010),[22][23] and a Guggenheim Fellowship (2020).[24]
In 2007, Granta named Li in their list of the 21 best young American novelists.[25] In 2010, she was listed among The New Yorker's "20 Under 40."
In 2012, Li was selected as a judge for The Story Prize after having been a finalist for the award in 2010,[26] and in 2013, she judged the Man Booker International Prize.[27]
In 2014, she won The American Academy of Arts and Letters's Benjamin H. Danks Award. In 2020, she won the Windham-Campbell Literature Prize for Fiction,[28][29][30] and in 2022, she won the PEN/Malamud Award, which "recognizes writers who have demonstrated exceptional achievement in the short story form."[31][32]
In 2023, she was elected as a Royal Society of Literature International Writer.[33]
In 2024, she was named a finalist for The Story Prize.[34]
Year | Title | Award | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2005 | A Thousand Years of Good Prayers | Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award | Winner | [35] |
2006 | Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award | Winner | [1] | |
Guardian First Book Award | Winner | [36] | ||
Whiting Award for Fiction | Winner | [37][38] | ||
California Book Award for Fiction | Winner | |||
2010 | Gold Boy, Emerald Girl | The Story Prize | Finalist | [39][40] |
The Vagrants | RUSA Notable Books for Adults | Selection | [41][42] | |
2011 | Gold Boy, Emerald Girl | Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award | Shortlist | [43][44] |
NCIBA Book of the Year Award for Fiction | Winner | [45] | ||
St. Francis College Literary Prize | Finalist | [46] | ||
The Vagrants | International Dublin Literary Award | Finalist | [47][48] | |
2015 | "A Sheltered Woman" | Sunday Times Short Story Award | Winner | [49][50] |
2020 | Where Reasons End | PEN/Jean Stein Book Award | Winner | [3][51][52] |
2023 | The Book of Goose | PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction | Winner | [53][54] |
Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction | Longlist | [55] |
Publications
Novels
- — (2009). The Vagrants. New York: Random House. ISBN 978-1-4000-6313-0. LCCN 2008023467. OCLC 229028064.
- — (2014). Kinder Than Solitude. New York: Random House. ISBN 978-1-4000-6814-2. LCCN 2013017307. OCLC 842323189.
- — (2019). Where Reasons End. New York: Random House. ISBN 978-1-984817-37-2. LCCN 2018013429. OCLC 1030447783.
- — (2020). Must I Go. New York: Random House. ISBN 978-0-399-58912-6. LCCN 2019048747. OCLC 1125306132.
- — (2022). The Book of Goose. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN 978-0-374-60634-3. LCCN 2022022703. OCLC 1289234580.
Memoir
- Li, Yiyun (2017). Dear Friend, from My Life I Write to You in Your Life. Random House.
Short fiction
Collections
- Li, Yiyun (2005). A Thousand Years of Good Prayers. Random House.
- — (2010). Gold boy, emerald girl. Random House.
- — (2023). Wednesday's Child. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Short stories
Title | Year | First published | Reprinted/collected |
---|---|---|---|
Extra | 2003 | "Extra". New Yorker. December 14, 2003. | |
The Proprietress | 2005 | "The Proprietress". Zoetrope: All-Story. 9 (4). Fall 2005. | |
House Fire | 2007 | "House Fire". Granta. 97: Best of Young American Novelists 2. Spring 2007. | |
Prison | 2006 | "Prison". Tin House (28). Summer 2006. | Li, Yiyun (2008). "Prison". In Furman, Laura (ed.). The O. Henry Prize stories 2008. New York: Anchor Books. |
A Man Like Him | 2008 | "A Man Like Him". New Yorker. May 12, 2008. | Li, Yiyun (2009). "A man like him". In Sebold, Alice (ed.). The best American short stories 2009. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. |
Alone | 2009 | "Alone". New Yorker. November 16, 2009. | |
The Science Of Flight | 2010 | "The Science Of Flight". New Yorker. August 30, 2010. | |
A Small Sacrifice | 2010 | "A Small Sacrifice". The Threepenny Review. 123. Fall 2010. | |
A Sheltered Woman | 2014 | "A Sheltered Woman". New Yorker. March 10, 2014. | Li, Yiyun (2015). A Sheltered Woman. HarperCollins. |
On The Street Where You Live | 2017 | "On The Street Where You Live". New Yorker. January 9, 2017. | |
A Small Flame | 2017 | "A Small Flame". The New Yorker. 93 (12): 54–61. May 8, 2017. | |
A Flawless Silence | 2018 | A Flawless Silence. New Yorker. April 23, 2018 | |
When We Were Happy We Had Other Names | 2018 | When We Were Happy We Had Other Names. New Yorker. September 24, 2019 | |
All Will Be Well | 2019 | All Will Be Well. New Yorker. March 11, 2019 | |
The Ability to Cry | 2020 | The Ability to Cry. New Yorker. November 16, 2020 | |
If You Are Lonely and You Know It | 2021 | If You Are Lonely and You Know It. Amazon Original Stories. February 25, 2021 | |
Hello, Goodbye | 2021 | Hello, Goodbye. New Yorker. November 8, 2021 | |
Wednesday's Child | 2023 | Wednesday's Child. New Yorker. January 23, 2023 |
Essays and reporting
- Li, Yiyun (December 22–29, 2014). "Listening is believing". Inner Worlds. The New Yorker. Vol. 90, no. 41. p. 88.
- — (January 2, 2017). "To speak is to blunder : choosing to renounce a mother tongue". Personal History. The New Yorker. Vol. 92, no. 43. pp. 30–33.
References
- ^ a b c "Interview with Yiyun Li, 2006 PEN/Hemingway Award Winner". The Hemingway Society. Retrieved 2019-05-05.
- ^ Guardian Staff (2006-12-06). "Interview with Guardian First Book Award winner Yiyun Li". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-05-05.
- ^ a b "Yiyun Li receives PEN/Jean Stein Book Award for originality, merit and impact". Princeton University. 2020-03-03. Retrieved 2020-03-09.
- ^ "Yiyun Li's 'The Book of Goose' wins PEN/Faulkner award". AP News. April 4, 2023. Retrieved October 23, 2023.
- ^ admin (2024-05-07). "2024 Pulitzer Prize Finalists include Yiyun Li and Ed Park". Lewis Center for the Arts. Retrieved 2024-07-04.
- ^ A Public Space.
- ^ a b Altmann, Jennifer. "Creative Writing: Life, By the Book". Princeton Alumni Weekly (June 6, 2018 ed.). Retrieved 31 July 2020.
- ^ Thompson, Bob (28 December 2005). "Proving the extraordinary". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
- ^ Laity, Paul (24 February 2017). "Yiyun Li: 'I used to say that I was not an autobiographical writer – that was a lie'". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
- ^ a b c Armitstead, Claire (2022-09-18). "Yiyun Li: 'I'm not that nice friendly Chinese lady who writes… Being subversive is important to me'". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
- ^ a b c Strong, Lynn Steger (2022-09-20). "How novelist Yiyun Li learned to capture shadows". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
- ^ "Yiyun Li". The New Yorker. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
- ^ a b c "Yiyun Li – The Oakland Artists Project". Retrieved 2024-01-15.
- ^ a b c Laity, Paul (2017-02-24). "Yiyun Li: 'I used to say that I was not an autobiographical writer – that was a lie'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2017-07-12.
- ^ "Yiyun Li navigates the loss of a child in her heartbreaking new novel". CBC Radio. 2019-10-18. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
- ^ Sehgal, Parul (2019-01-22). "A Mother Loses a Son to Suicide, but Their Dialogue Continues". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
- ^ O'Grady, Megan (18 September 2022). "Why Write? Yiyun Li's New Novel Explores Our Urge to Invent". The New York Times. Retrieved January 15, 2024.
- ^ "Announcing the Winner of the 2023 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction". PEN/Faulkner. Retrieved January 15, 2024.
- ^ "Yiyun Li". Lewis Center for the Arts. Retrieved 2018-05-12.
- ^ The Office of Communications of Princeton University (20 Feb 2024). "The University community mourns the loss of undergraduate James Li". Princeton University. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
- ^ "Princeton Student Struck by Train Was Creative Writing Director's Son". Princeton Alumni Weekly. Retrieved 2024-05-22.
- ^ "Awards: MacArthur Fellows; Independent Booksellers Book Prize". Shelf Awareness. 2010-09-28. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
- ^ "Yiyun Li - Professor of English". University of California, Davis. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
- ^ "Yiyun Li". John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
- ^ Lea, Richard (2007-03-05). "Granta nominates best young US novelists". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
- ^ "Story Prize Judges Named". Shelf Awareness. 2012-10-17. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
- ^ "2013 Man Booker International Prize Finalists Announced". Publishers Weekly. 2013-01-24. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
- ^ "Citation for Yiyun Li". Windham–Campbell Literature Prizes. Archived from the original on 2022-12-01. Retrieved 2023-01-06.
- ^ "Awards: Rathbones Folio, Windham Campbell Winners". Shelf Awareness. 2020-03-24. Archived from the original on 2022-10-27. Retrieved 2023-03-14.
- ^ Nawotka, Ed (2020-03-19). "Eight Writers Awarded $165,000 Windham-Campbell Prizes". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
- ^ "Yiyun Li Wins the 2022 PEN/Malamud Award for Excellence in the Short Story". PEN/Faulkner. 2022-05-16. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
- ^ "Awards: PEN/Malamud, Helen & Kurt Wolff Translator Winners". Shelf Awareness. 2022-05-17. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
- ^ "RSL International Writers | 2023 International Writers". Royal Society of Literature. 3 September 2023. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
- ^ "Here are this year's finalists for The Story Prize". LitHub. 9 January 2024. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
- ^ Crown, Sarah (26 September 2005). "Inaugural short story award goes to debut author". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 September 2011.
- ^ "Guardian first book award: all the winners". The Guardian. 2016-04-07. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
- ^ "Awards: The Whiting Writers' Awards". Shelf Awareness. 2006-10-26. Retrieved 2022-03-26.
- ^ "Awards: The Whiting Writers' Awards". Shelf Awareness. 2006-10-26. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
- ^ "TSP: Anthony Doerr's Memory Wall Wins The Story Prize". The Story Prize. 2011-03-03. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
- ^ "Awards: Story Prize; American History Book; Believer Shortlist". Shelf Awareness. 2011-03-04. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
- ^ "The Vagrants: A Novel | Awards & Grants". American Library Association. 2010-01-18. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
- ^ Markel, Liz (2010-01-17). "Outstanding fiction, non-fiction and poetry titles named to 2010 Notable Books List for adult readers". American Library Association. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
- ^ Flood, Alison (2011-07-12). "Strong showing for Irish writers on Frank O'Connor shortlist". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
- ^ "Awards: Frank O'Connor Shortlist; COVR Visionary Winners". Shelf Awareness. 2011-07-13. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
- ^ "Awards: NCIBA Books of the Year; Griffin Poetry Prize". Shelf Awareness. 2011-04-06. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
- ^ "Awards: St. Francis College Literary Prize". Shelf Awareness. 2011-09-23. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
- ^ Taylor, Charlie (15 June 2011). "Colum McCann wins Impac award". The Irish Times. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
- ^ "Awards: Orange; Impac Dublin; Wodehouse Prize". Shelf Awareness. 2011-04-13. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
- ^ "Yiyun Li Wins Sunday Times Short Story Award". Department of English. University of California Davis. 2015-05-26. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
- ^ "Awards: Sunday Times EFG Short Story; James Beard; Encore". Shelf Awareness. 2015-04-28. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
- ^ "PEN America Literary Award Winners Honored". Shelf Awareness. 2020-03-04. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
- ^ Reid, Calvin (2020-03-04). "Writers Li, Lok, de Waal Win Big at PEN Lit Awards". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
- ^ Schaub, Michael (2023-04-05). "Yiyun Li Wins the PEN/Faulkner Award for 2023". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
- ^ "Awards: PEN/Faulkner for Fiction, Anisfield-Wolf, Windham-Campbell Winners". Shelf Awareness. 2023-04-05. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
- ^ "2023 Winners". Reference and User Services Association (RUSA). 2022-10-03. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
External links
- Profile at The Whiting Foundation
- "The Rumpus Interview with Yiyun Li", January 14, 2009
- January 2009 interview with Yiyun Li
- "Executioner Songs", The Wall Street Journal, JANUARY 30, 2009
- "Interviews: Yiyun Li", Identity Theory
- Articles by Yuyun Li on her UK publisher's blog, 5th Estate
- Yiyun Li speaks about Gold Boy, Emerald Girl on KRUI's The Lit Show
- Video: The Story Prize reading with Anthony Doerr and Suzanne Rivecca. March 2, 2011.
- 1972 births
- Living people
- 21st-century Chinese novelists
- 21st-century Chinese short story writers
- 21st-century Chinese women writers
- Chinese emigrants to the United States
- Exophonic writers
- University of Iowa alumni
- Iowa Writers' Workshop alumni
- Peking University alumni
- MacArthur Fellows
- University of California, Davis faculty
- Princeton University faculty
- Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award winners
- The New Yorker people
- Writers from Beijing
- O. Henry Award winners