Jean Kwok Photo by Sigrid Estrada

about the author

Jean Kwok

Award-winning Author of Girl in Translation

Jean Kwok emigrated from Hong Kong to Brooklyn when she was five and worked in a Chinatown clothing factory for much of her childhood. She won early admission to Harvard where she worked as many as four jobs at a time and graduated with honors in English and American literature before going on to earn an MFA in fiction at Columbia University.

Her debut novel Girl in Translation (Riverhead, 2010) became a New York Times bestseller. It has been published in fifteen countries and chosen as the winner of an American Library Association Alex Award, a John Gardner Fiction Book Award finalist, a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Pick, an Orange New Writers title, an Indie Next Pick, a Quality Paperback Book Club New Voices Award nominee, and the winner of Best Cultural Book in Book Bloggers Appreciation Week 2010. It was featured in The New York Times, USA Today, Entertainment Weekly, Vogue, and O, The Oprah Magazine, among others. The novel was a Blue Ribbon Pick for numerous book clubs including Book of the Month, Doubleday, and Literary Guild.

Jean Kwok lives in the Netherlands with her husband and two sons.

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Jean Kwok at Maryville University

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Featured Book

Girl in Translation Buy Now

Girl in Translation

"Kwok is a natural storyteller who eloquently captures the difficulty of living in two worlds, and the quiet sadness of never feeling quite at home in either. This is an altogether captivating debut shot through with moments of humor and grace."

—Julie Otsuka, author of When the Emperor Was Divine

Speaking Topics

  • Girl in Translation
  • The Immigrant Experience in America
  • Writing Fiction

Testimonials

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  • “Jean was great! The students really enjoyed her. She was so personable. Since they all had books, they were able to talk to her for a few minutes while she signed their books. The luncheon with the students went well, too. The students were very impressed with her and she had a good rapport with them. Both audiences loved her candor. The conversation just flowed…Jean Kwok was a very good match for Maryville. Her visit was quite an experience for our students, making Girl in Translation come alive! Girl in Translation is the closest we’ve come to a common read for the entire community.” - Genie McKee, Dean, Maryville University Library

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