R. O. Kwon Explained

R. O. Kwon
Birth Name:Okyong Kwon
Birth Place:Seoul, South Korea
Years Active:2017–present
Color:khaki
Korean name
Hangul:권오경[1]
Rr:Gwon Ogyeong
Mr:Kwŏn Okyŏng

R. O. Kwon, also known as Reese Okyong Kwon, is a South Korean–born American author. In 2018, she published her nationally bestselling[2] debut novel The Incendiaries with Riverhead Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House. Her second novel, Exhibit, was published in 2024 with Riverhead Books.[3]

Early life

Kwon was born in Seoul, South Korea, and moved to Los Angeles with her family when she was three.[4] She was raised in a Christian household but at the age of 17 experienced a crisis of faith and stopped believing in God.

She attended Yale University.[5] She has a Master of Fine Arts from Brooklyn College.[6]

Career

Kwon's work has appeared in publications including The New York Times,[7] The Guardian,[8] The Paris Review,[9] BuzzFeed,[10] Vice,[11] New York Magazine's The Cut,[12] and elsewhere. She has received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts,[13] Yaddo,[14] and MacDowell.[15]

In 2018, Kwon published her debut novel, The Incendiaries, about a woman who becomes involved with a cult of extremist Christians. The novel was inspired by Kwon's own loss of faith in God, and took 10 years to finish.[16] [17] [18] The Incendiaries was named a best book of the year by over 40 publications and organizations,[19] [20] including the Today Show, NPR, BuzzFeed, The Atlantic, PBS Books, Entertainment Weekly, Vulture, and elsewhere, and is being translated into seven languages.[21] Before the book's release, Kwon was called one of "4 writers to watch" by The New York Times.[22] The Incendiaries is an American Booksellers Association Indie Next #1 Great Read[23] and an American Booksellers Association Indies Introduce Pick.[24] The novel received the Housatonic Book Prize,[25] and was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle John Leonard Award for Best First Book,[26] Los Angeles Times First Book Prize,[27] and Northern California Independent Booksellers Association Fiction Prize.[28] In addition, the book has been nominated for the American Library Association Carnegie Medal[29] and Aspen Prize.[30]

Kink,[31] a nationally bestselling anthology Kwon co-edited with Garth Greenwell, was released in 2021. Her second novel, Exhibit, was published in 2024.

Personal life

In November 2018 Kwon revealed that she is bisexual.[32] The initials in her name stand for Reese, her English name, and Okyong, her Korean name. She publishes as R. O. Kwon.[33] Kwon lives in San Francisco and “the long-term plan is to be here until climate change chases us out”.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: R. O. Kwon in Twitter .
  2. Web site: The Indie Bestseller List. Authorlink. en-US. 2018-12-06.
  3. Web site: Weir . Keziah . 2024-05-09 . R.O. Kwon Is Writing Into Desire . 2024-05-19 . Vanity Fair . en-US.
  4. Web site: The Mistake I Made at 'Crazy Rich Asians'. Kwon. R.O.. A Cup Of Jo. 23 August 2018. 12 December 2018.
  5. Web site: Interview with R.O. Kwon, Author of The Incendiaries. Han. Jimin. 6 June 2018. 10 November 2018.
  6. Web site: We're All Unreliable Narrators: Talking with R.O. Kwon. Thomas. Monet Patrice. 18 July 2018. The Rumpus. 27 July 2019.
  7. News: Opinion Stop Calling Asian Women Adorable. Kwon. R. O.. 2019-03-23. The New York Times. 2019-04-06. en-US. 0362-4331.
  8. News: Blind Spot by Teju Cole review – a writer's photographs. Kwon. R. O.. 2017-06-29. The Guardian. 2018-12-06. en-GB. 0261-3077.
  9. Web site: On Being a Woman in America While Trying to Avoid Being Assaulted. Kwon. R. O.. 2019-01-07. The Paris Review. en. 2019-03-16.
  10. Web site: I'm Korean American, And I Can't Watch The Pyeongchang Olympics. Kwon. R.O.. BuzzFeed News. en. 2018-12-06.
  11. Web site: The Clown from 'IT' Reminded Me of God, and I Loved Him. Kwon. R. O.. 2017-09-25. Vice. en-US. 2018-12-06.
  12. Web site: "Why I Always Wear Black Eyeshadow". Kwon. R.O.. 6 April 2018. The Cut.
  13. Web site: R. O. Kwon. 2018-05-30. NEA. en. 2018-12-06.
  14. Web site: Writers. 2016-09-11. Yaddo. en-US. 2018-12-06.
  15. Web site: 2017 MacDowell Fellows Announced. PublishersWeekly.com. en. 2018-12-06.
  16. Web site: Fassler . Joe . A Writer's Fixation on Sound . . 24 July 2018 . 16 October 2018.
  17. Web site: Beckley . Sarah . Novelist R.O. Kwon on Losing Her Religion . 31 July 2018 . 16 October 2018.
  18. Web site: Grief That Drives: R.O. Kwon by Colin Winnette - BOMB Magazine. Winnette. Colin. bombmagazine.org. 2018-12-06.
  19. Web site: The Incendiaries by R. O. Kwon PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books. PenguinRandomhouse.com. en-US. 2019-03-16.
  20. Web site: "At the Center": Interview with R.O. Kwon. 2019-03-02. Indiana Review. en-US. 2019-03-16.
  21. Web site: Foreign Editions. R.O. Kwon. en-US. 2020-01-27.
  22. News: 4 Writers to Watch This Summer. de León. Concepción. 2018-06-09. The New York Times. 2018-12-06. en-US. 0362-4331.
  23. Web site: A Q&A With R.O. Kwon, Author of August's #1 Indie Next List Pick. Button. Liz. 2018-07-16. the American Booksellers Association. 2018-12-06.
  24. Web site: Indies Introduce Summer Fall 2018. the American Booksellers Association. 2018-12-29.
  25. Web site: Housatonic Book Awards. Housatonic Book Awards. en. 2020-01-27.
  26. Web site: National Book Critics Circle: Announcing the Finalists for the John Leonard Award for Best First Book - Critical Mass Blog. https://web.archive.org/web/20181212171821/http://www.bookcritics.org/blog/archive/announcing-the-finalists-for-the-john-leonard-award-for-best-first-book. dead. December 12, 2018. www.bookcritics.org. 2018-12-29.
  27. Web site: L.A. Times Book Prize finalists include Michelle Obama and Susan Orlean; Terry Tempest Williams receives lifetime achievement award. Schaub. Michael. Los Angeles Times. 20 February 2019 . 2019-03-16.
  28. Web site: Book Awards. Northern California Independent Booksellers Association. en. 2019-03-16. 2019-11-11. https://web.archive.org/web/20191111081617/https://www.nciba.com/book-awards.html. dead.
  29. Web site: Andrew Carnegie Medals Longlist Awards & Grants. www.ala.org. 2018-12-29.
  30. Web site: Exclusive: 'Friday Black,' 'There There' And More Longlisted For Aspen Words Prize. NPR.org. 19 November 2018 . en. 2018-12-29. Mayer . Petra .
  31. Book: Kink. 2021-02-09. 978-1-9821-1021-5. en. Kwon. R. O.. Greenwell. Garth.
  32. Web site: Korean-American Bestselling Author R.O. Kwon Is Bisexual, Has Flawless Signature Eyeshadow. Rich. Kaelyn. Autostraddle. 9 November 2018 . 10 November 2018.
  33. Web site: Writer R. O. Kwon putting her anguish into words. Ho. Olivia. The Straits Times. 25 September 2018 . 18 January 2020.

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