Kyoko Mori

Kyoko Mori was raised in Japan and, inspired by her mother and grandfather, began to write in both Japanese and English at an early age.  She moved to the US at the age of 16 to complete secondary school and attend college, receiving her undergraduate degree from Rockford College, and her master’s and PhD from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Her writing explores, among other themes,  a sense of home “when you don‘t live in the place of your childhood anymore” includes novels for young adults (Shizuko’s Daughter and One Bird) and for adults (Stone Field, True Arrow), three non fiction books (The Dream of Water, Polite Lies, and Yarn) and poetry (Fallout).  Her stories and essays have appeared in The American Scholar, The Harvard Review, The Best American Stories and other journals and anthologies.

Mori’s much acclaimed work has received awards from The American Library Association, The Wisconsin Library Association, The Council of Wisconsin Writers, The Prairie Schooner and The Missouri Review Editor’s Prize. Shizuko’s Daughter was named Best Novel in 1993 by the Council of Wisconsin Writers and in 1994 Mori received the Elizabeth Burr Award for this work. One Bird was named Best Novel of 1995 by the Council of Wisconsin Writers and also was awarded the Paterson Prize for Books for Young People and the Young Adult Book of Distinction from the Hungry Mind Review.

Mori has taught at several US universities and is currently Professor of English at George Mason University while also teaching on the Lesley University’s Low-Residency MFA program.  She lives in Washington, DC with Ernest and Algernon, her Siamese cats.