Lisa Ko

Lisa Ko is an acclaimed American novelist and essayist whose work explores immigration, identity, family separation, and systemic injustice. Born in Queens, New York, she graduated from Wesleyan University and received numerous prestigious writing fellowships.

She achieved international literary acclaim with her debut novel The Leavers, which won the prestigious PEN/Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction and was a finalist for the National Book Award. Her essays have appeared in major anthologies and literary journals.

Ko’s empathetic storytelling, complex character dynamics, and sharp social commentary have established her as an important voice in contemporary American literature. She continues to write and mentor emerging writers.