Kalia Yang

Kao Kalia Yang is a Hmong American writer. She is the author of the memoirs The Latehomecomer: A Hmong Family Memoir, The Song Poet, and Somewhere in the Unknown World. Yang wrote the children’s books A Map Into the World, The Shared Room, The Most Beautiful Thing, Yang Warriors, and From the Tops of the Trees. She co-edited the ground-breaking collection What God is Honored Here?: Writings on Miscarriage and Infant Loss By and For Native Women and Women of Color. Her libretto for the MN Opera will premiere in spring of 2023. Yang’s work has been recognized by the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Book Critics Circle Award, the Chautauqua Prize, the PEN USA literary awards, the Dayton’s Literary Peace Prize, as Notable Books by the American Library Association, Kirkus Best Books of the Year, Bank Street College of Education, Midland Authors Association, the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature, and garnered four Minnesota Book Awards. Yang is a recipient of the Sally Award from the Ordway Center for Performing Arts for Social Impact and the A.P. Anderson Award for her significant contributions to the cultural and artistic life of Minnesota. Kao Kalia Yang is also a teacher and public speaker.