Janice Y. K. Lee (born 1972), is a

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

-born American author, known for her best-selling

debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to pu ...

'' The Piano Teacher''.

Career

After graduating from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate education, undergraduate college of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Part of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Scienc ...

with a degree in English and American Literature and Language, Lee moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, where she worked as an editor at ''

Elle Elle may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Elle (magazine), ''Elle'' (magazine), a fashion publication ** Elle Style Awards * Elle (India), ''Elle'' (India), the Indian edition * Elle (film), ''Elle'' (film), a 2016 French film * ''Elle: ...

'' and '' Mirabella'' magazines. After several years, she enrolled in

Hunter College Hunter College is a public university in New York City, United States. It is one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York and offers studies in more than one hundred undergraduate and postgraduate fields across five schools ...

's MFA program and began writing her first novel. Lee initially wrote ''The Piano Teacher'' as a short story and decided to expand the story into a novel length work. Once published, ''The Piano Teacher'', published in November 2009, was on the New York Times bestseller list for 19 weeks and was translated into 26 languages worldwide. The novel tells a sweeping tale of love and betrayal, set in Hong Kong during and after World War II. In July 2015 Lee announced that her follow-up novel would be titled ''The Expatriates'' and follow three American expats living in Hong Kong. The novel was published in January 2016. In February 2017 it was announced that

Nicole Kidman Nicole Mary Kidman (born 20 June 1967) is an Australian and American actress and producer. Known for Nicole Kidman on screen and stage, her work in film and television productions across many genres, she has consistently ranked among the world ...

and her production company

Blossom Films Blossom Films is a production company founded by American-born Australian actress Nicole Kidman in 2010. The first production by the company was the film '' Rabbit Hole'', based on the play of the same name by David Lindsay-Abaire. Their logo fea ...

had optioned the book to be adapted as a miniseries. Alice Bell is attached to write the adaptation and Lulu Wang will direct while Kidman stars. Both of Lee's novels have been published to critical acclaim. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' Book Review called Lee " female, funny Henry James in Asia," and the ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. ...

'' praised her "talent for infusing much-needed moments of reflection into what could otherwise devolve into maudlin melodrama".

Personal life

Lee is of

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, people from the Korean peninsula or of Korean descent * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Korean **Korean dialects **See also: North–South differences in t ...

descent. She was born and raised in Hong Kong before moving to the United States for school. She married fellow Korean-American Joseph Bae in 1996. They live in New York City with their four children.

Selected works

* '' The Piano Teacher'' (2009) * '' The Expatriates'' (2016)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Janice Y. K. American women writers American writers of Korean descent Living people Harvard University alumni Hunter College alumni 1972 births 21st-century American women