Mirinae Lee wins William Saroyan International Prize

Mirinae Lee, author of the novel "8 Lives of a Century-Old Trickster," has become the first Korean writer to win the William Saroyan International Prize.

According to The William Saroyan Foundation on Sunday, the 41-year-old author has won this year's William Saroyan International Prize in Fiction. The novel, the author’s debut, tells the story of a woman who survived the turbulent years of Japanese occupation, liberation, the Korean War, and the division of Korea. “A beautifully complex story of human frailty and strength,” the judges said. “Lee's characters are so fascinating that the need to decipher them and unravel their mysteries generates unexpected suspense, but her lyrical and evocative prose simultaneously demands a slow savoring of each page."

Established in 2003 in honor of American novelist and playwright William Saroyan (1908–1981), the biennial literary award for fiction and nonfiction is co-hosted by the Saroyan Foundation and Stanford University Libraries and recognizes the work of the most promising emerging writers in fiction and nonfiction every two years. Previous winners in the fiction category include Nicole Krauss’s The History of Love and last year’s Pulitzer Prize winner, Hernan Diaz’s In the Distance.

The author, whose native language is Korean, wrote the work in English and first published it in the United Kingdom, followed by the United States. The Korean edition was published last month. “I'm excited and happy to have won one of the few literary awards in the United States that is open to foreigners,” Lee said.


김소민 기자 somin@donga.com