Novelist, Essayist, and Short Story Writer
E. Lily Yu
author of
On Fragile Waves; Jewel Box; and Break, Blow, Burn, and Make
in conversation with series host
Michael N. McGregor
author of The Last Grand Tour and the forthcoming memoir
An Island to Myself: The Place of Solitude in an Active Life
6 p.m., Wednesday, April 16
Cascadia Art Museum, 190 Sunset Ave, Edmonds, WA 98020
(To order tickets through the Cascadia website, click here)
When E. Lily Yu’s first novel, On Fragile Waves, appeared in 2021, it received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, Booklist, Library Journal, and Foreword Reviews. In a rave review in the New York Times Book Review, author Amal El-Mohtar called it “devastating and perfect.” It went on to win the Washington State Book Award in Fiction and was named one of the best books of the year by NPR. The book weaves elements of fantasy and magic realism into the harrowing and often heartbreaking story of a family emigrating from Afghanistan, hoping to reach Australia. With compassion and flashes of humor, it takes us deeply into the human side of what we see in the news every day.
Yu’s second book, Jewel Box, a collection of fantasy-centered stories, appeared two years later and became a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, the World Fantasy Award, and a Washington State Book Award. It received starred reviews from Kirkus Reviews, Library Journal, and Foreword Review. “Each story here is a gem,” wrote the Kirkus reviewer. “A trove of fantastical treasures.” The Library Journal said, “Run, don’t walk, to get a hold of this transformative text.”
Yu, who lives in Seattle, has received the Artist Trust LaSalle Storyteller Award and the Astounding Award for Best New Writer. Individual stories of hers have appeared in venues from McSweeney’s to Tor.com, as well as fourteen best-of-the-year anthologies. They’ve also been finalists for the Hugo, Nebula, Locus, Sturgeon, and World Fantasy Awards.
This past year, she released her third book, Break, Blow, Burn, & Make:A Writer’s Thoughts on Creation, a collection of essays in which she argues for the writing and reading of a deeper, richer kind of literature, rooted more consciously in craft, language, wisdom, and love.
You can read more about her and her work at elilyyu.com.
You can purchase E. Lily Yu’s books online at the Edmonds Bookshop.
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About the Cascadia Writers-in-Conversation Series
On the second Thursday of each month, host Michael N. McGregor will bring one Northwest writer in front of an enthusiastic audience for a brief reading, a discussion of the author’s work, and a question-and-answer session with engaged literature lovers.
The series is intended to showcase the wealth of writing talent in the Pacific Northwest. To that end, it will feature writers from different genres at different stages of their careers who may have been overlooked rather than those readers already know.
Writers who appear in the series will be featured on WritingtheNorthwest.com.
This is a unique chance to hear talented writers speak in-depth about what it means to be an author in the Northwest and why and how they create their works of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. The conversations will all take place in one of Cascadia’s beautiful galleries, with Northwest art lining the walls.
Cascadia Art Museum is the only museum dedicated to artists and their works from the Pacific Northwest. Focused on visual art and design from 1860 to 1970, it is committed to the belief that recognizing previously neglected artists who made significant contributions to the region’s cultural identity gives us a fuller and more comprehensive understanding of Northwest art history. The Writers-in-Conversation series signals the museum’s desire to highlight underappreciated Northwest artists in literature as well. The series is sponsored by the Edmonds Bookshop and Holman.
Michael N. McGregor is Seattle-based author whose book Pure Act: The Uncommon Life of Robert Lax was a finalist for a Washington State Book Award. After living his early life in Seattle, he spent 17 years as an award-winning professor of creative writing at Portland State University, where he helped found the MFA in Creative Writing program. A former member of the Advisory Committee for the Oregon Book Awards and Fellowships, he holds a BA in Journalism from the University of Oregon and an MFA in Creative Writing from Columbia University in New York. His first novel, The Last Grand Tour, was published earlier this year by Portland publisher Korza Books. His next book is: An Island to Myself: The Place of Solitude in an Active Life, coming May 13 from Monkfish Publishing.
Note: I’m an affiliate of Bookshop.org, where your purchases support local bookstores. If you buy a book through a click on this website, I’ll earn a small commission that helps defray the costs of maintaining WritingtheNorthwest.com.