E. J. Koh

E.J. Koh
Born1988 (age 37–38)
San Jose, California
EducationUniversity of California, Irvine (BA)
Columbia University (MFA)
University of Washington (PhD)
OccupationsWriter, translator, poet
AwardsNEA Fellowship (2023)
Young Lions Fiction Award (2024)
Websitewww.ejkoh.com
E. J. Koh
Hangul
고은지
RRGo Eunji
MRKo Ŭnji

E. J. Koh (Korean: 고은지) is an American poet, author, and translator of Korean literature. Her memoir, The Magical Language of Others, received the 2021 Washington State Book Award and the 2021 Pacific Northwest Book Award.[1][2][3] Koh's debut novel, The Liberators, won the 2024 Young Lions Fiction Award.[4]

Early life and education

Koh was born in 1988 in San Jose, California.[5] She holds a BA in English from the University of California, Irvine.[6] She earned an MFA in Creative Writing and Literary Translation at Columbia University and completed her PhD in English Language and Literature at the University of Washington, where she studied Korean American literature, history, and film.[7][8]

Career

Koh's poems, stories, and essays have appeared in AGNI, The Atlantic, Boston Review, The Los Angeles Review of Books, Poetry, Slate, Teen Vogue, World Literature Today, and elsewhere.[7][9][10] She is the co-translator, alongside Marci Calabretta Cancio-Bello, of Yi Won’s poetry collection The World’s Lightest Motorcycle, which won the 2022 Literature Translation Institute of Korea’s Translation Grand Prize.[11]

Koh's memoir, The Magical Language of Others, published in 2020, weaves the stories of four generations of women in Koh's family. Interspersed with letters exchanged between mother and daughter, the text illustrates how language ties them together.[12] It won the 2022 Association for Asian American Studies Book Award and was longlisted for the 2021 PEN/Open Book Award.[13][14]

Her poetry collection, A Lesser Love, was published by LSU Press in 2017 and won the Pleiades Press Editors Prize.[15][16]

Koh is the recipient of 2020 The Virginia Faulkner Award for Excellence in Writing from Prairie Schooner.[17] She has received fellowships from the American Literary Translators Association,[18] Jack Straw Writers Program,[19] Kundiman, MacDowell Colony,[20] Napa Valley Writers' Conference, and Vermont Studio Center.[21]

Koh received a 2023 National Endowment of the Arts Fellowship for Poetry.[22]

Her debut novel, The Liberators, won the 2024 Young Lions Fiction Award from the New York Public Library.[4] It was a finalist for the 2024 Washington State Book Award and shortlisted for the 2025 Pacific Northwest Book Award.[23][24]

Bibliography

Novel

  • The Liberators. Tin House. 2023. ISBN 9780593863794.

Nonfiction

  • The Magical Language of Others. Tin House. 2020. ISBN 9781951142278.

Poetry Collection

Select Poems

  • "Korean War", The Seattle Review of Books (October 2015)[25]
  • "Alki The Town of Dreams", Zócalo Public Square (September 2016)[26]
  • "Icicle Creek", Boston Review (February 2017)[27]
  • "American Han", Poetry (October 2021)[10]
  • "Pondfields", Poetry (October 2021)[28]
  • "This Birthday", Poem-A-Day (October 2024)[29]

References

  1. ↑ "Washington State Book Awards 2021!". 2021-09-10. Retrieved 2021-12-02.
  2. ↑ "Congratulations to the Winners of the 2021 Pacific Northwest Book Awards". NW Book Lovers. Retrieved 2021-05-27.
  3. ↑ "2021 Book Awards". Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association. Retrieved 2026-07-22.
  4. 1 2 "Announcing Winner of the 2024 Young Lions Fiction Award". nypl.org. Retrieved 2026-05-03.
  5. ↑ "E.J. Koh's Memoir The Magical Language of Others Is a Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Korean Genius". Portland Mercury. Retrieved 2021-05-27.
  6. ↑ "E.J. Koh: Ongoing excellence in the literary world". UC Irving, School of Humanities. Retrieved 2026-05-28.
  7. 1 2 "E. J. Koh". Pacific University Oregon. Retrieved 2026-05-28.
  8. ↑ "E. J. Koh, About". ejkoh.com. Retrieved 2026-05-28.
  9. ↑ "E.J. Koh". Air/Light Magazine. Retrieved 2026-05-28.
  10. 1 2 "American Han by E.J. Koh". Poetry Foundation. Retrieved 2026-05-28.
  11. ↑ "The World's Lightest Motorcycle". Zephyr Press. Retrieved 2026-05-28.
  12. ↑ "Briefly Noted Book Reviews". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on 2020-04-03. Retrieved 2021-05-27.
  13. ↑ "Association for Asian American Studies Book Award". aaastudies.org. Retrieved 2026-05-28.
  14. ↑ "2021 PEN America Literary Awards Longlists". pen.org.Retrieved 2026-05-28.
  15. ↑ "The Magical Language of Others with E.J. Koh". koreasociety.org. Retrieved 2021-05-27.
  16. ↑ "E. J. Koh - Artist". MacDowell. Retrieved 2021-05-27.
  17. ↑ "2020 Prairie Schooner Award Winners Announced". Prairie Schooner. Retrieved 2026-05-28.
  18. ↑ "Meet the '17 Mentees: E.J. Koh | The American Literary Translators Association". www.literarytranslators.org. Retrieved 2021-05-27.
  19. ↑ "Jack Straw Writers Program". jackstraw.org. Retrieved 2021-05-27.
  20. ↑ "E. J. Koh - Artist". MacDowell. Retrieved 2021-05-27.
  21. ↑ "Poetry Foundation". 26 May 2021.
  22. ↑ "NEA Fellowship, E.J. Koh". arts.gov. Retrieved 2026-05-28.
  23. ↑ "2024 Washington State Book Award Winners Announced". washingtoncenterforthebook.org. Retrieved 2026-07-22.
  24. ↑ "2025 Book Awards Shortlist". Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association. Retrieved 2026-07-22.
  25. ↑ "Korean War by E.J. Koh". Seattle Review of Books. Retrieved 2026-05-28.
  26. ↑ "Alki the Town of Dreams". Zócalo Public Square. Retrieved 2026-05-28.
  27. ↑ "Icicle Creek by E.J. Koh". Boston Review. Retrieved 2026-05-28.
  28. ↑ "Pondfields by E.J. Koh". Poetry Foundation. Retrieved 2026-05-28.
  29. ↑ "This Birthday, Poem-A-Day". poets.org. Retrieved 2026-05-28.
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