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]
R. O. Kwon | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Kwon in 2019 | |
| Born | Okyong Kwon Seoul, South Korea |
| Education | |
| Years active | 2017–present |
| Korean name | |
| Hangul | 권오경[1] |
|---|---|
| Revised Romanization | Gwon Ogyeong |
| McCune–Reischauer | Kwŏn Okyŏng |
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”.[3]