Yiyun Li Story Hits New Yorker

Yiyun Li, originally from Beijing, pivoted to a literary career after coming to the United States in 1996 to study immunology. She began writing in English, her second language, and her work often explores the lives of ordinary individuals grappling with historical and political change in China, as well as the immigrant experience in the U.S. Her debut short story collection, "A Thousand Years of Good Prayers," won the PEN/Hemingway Award, the Guardian First Book Award, and the Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award. Two stories from this collection were adapted into films by director Wayne Wang. Li is a decorated author, having received a MacArthur Fellowship, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and the 2023 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction for her novel "The Book of Goose". The New Yorker has previously named her one of its "20 Under 40" writers to watch. She is a professor of creative writing at Princeton University, where she directs the creative writing program. Her work frequently appears in publications such as The New Yorker, The Paris Review, and Granta. Li's writing is known for its spare, understated style that delves into the complex internal landscapes of her characters. Critics have drawn comparisons to the work of Anton Chekhov and Alice Munro. Her recent memoir, "Things in Nature Merely Grow," which explores the loss of her sons, won the 2026 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction. This followed her 2023 short story collection, "Wednesday's Child," which was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.