Kao Kalia Yang

State: Minnesota

Born in Ban Vinai Refugee Camp in 1980, Kao Kalia Yang is a Hmong American author, teacher, and speaker. Immigrating to Minnesota with her family at age seven, she later earned a BA from Carleton College and an MFA in Creative Nonfiction from Columbia University. Her debut memoir, The Latehomecomer, recounts her family's refugee experience and won dual Minnesota Book Awards in 2009. She followed with The Song Poet, which also received a Minnesota Book Award and became a finalist for both the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Chautauqua Prize. Yang has authored picture books like A Map into the World and Yang Warriors, multiple adult memoirs including Somewhere in the Unknown World and Where Rivers Part, and an upcoming YA novel. Recognized with NEA, Soros, McKnight, and Guggenheim fellowships, she teaches creative writing and amplifies Hmong voices through her literary and community engagement.

Genres: Contemporary, Memoir, Nonfiction, Picture Book

Audiences: Adult, All Ages, Middle Grade, Young Adult