Short Bio:
Patricia Park is the author of award-winning novels for adults and teens, including Re Jane, Imposter Syndrome & Other Confessions of Alejandra Kim, What’s Eating Jackie Oh?, and Ambrosia Lee Drops the Mic. She is a professor of creative writing at American University and has written for The New York Times, New Yorker, Guardian, and others. Patricia was born & raised in Queens, NY. Her novels are all linked in the “Queens multiverse.”
Fun Fact: Patricia went “method” and performed stand-up comedy to research her novel, Ambrosia Lee Drops the Mic. Follow her journey on Instagram.
Long Bio:
Patricia Park is a tenured Associate Professor in the MFA Program in Creative Writing at American University, a Fulbright scholar in Creative Arts, an Edith Wharton Writer-in-Residence, a Jerome Hill Artist Fellow, and author of award-winning adult and young adult novels.
Her acclaimed adult novel, RE JANE (Viking, 2015), a Korean American reimagining of Brontë's JANE EYRE, was named Editors' Choice by The New York Times Book Review; Best Books of 2015 by American Library Association; O, The Oprah Magazine pick; NPR "Fresh Air" pick; and others.
Her debut YA novel, IMPOSTER SYNDROME & OTHER CONFESSIONS OF ALEJANDRA KIM (Random House Children’s, Feb 2023), was a finalist for the Gotham Book Prize, an NPR Best Books of 2023, and garnered starred reviews in Kirkus Reviews and School Library Journal.
Her middle grade/YA novel, WHAT’S EATING JACKIE OH? , was named Kirkus Reviews Best YA Books of the Year, a finalist for Vermont’s Green Mountain Book Award, and garnered starred reviews in Kirkus and School Library Journal.
Her new YA novel, AMBROSIA LEE DROPS THE MIC, about a failed child actor who finds her voice doing stand-up comedy, garnered four starred reviews in Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, Booklist, and The Bulletin.
She is also working on an adult novel about the Koreans in Buenos Aires.
Her novels, with overlapping characters, are all part of the “Queens Multiverse.”
Park has written for The New Yorker, The New York Times, Guardian, Salon, and others. She graduated from the Bronx High School of Science, Swarthmore College, and received her MFA from Boston University.
She was born and raised in Queens and lives in NY.
Patricia Park has spoken at over 100 schools, bookstores, and institutions including: Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gotham Comedy Club, Stuyvesant H.S., Colegio Nacional de Buenos Aires, Seattle Arts & Lectures, and many others. To invite her to your school/institution, please visit the Contact page.