Lillian Li

Lillian Li is a Chinese American author. Her novel Number One Chinese Restaurant was an NPR Best Book of 2018 and was longlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction and the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize. She lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Early life Li was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and grew up in Maryland. She received her Bachelor of Arts from Princeton University and her Master of Fine Arts in fiction from the University of Michigan's Helen Zell Writers’ Program.

Career Li has taught at the University of Michigan. She writes for the Michigan Quarterly Review. Granta, One Story, Bon Appétit, Travel + Leisure, The Guardian, Glimmer Train, and Jezebel.

Number One Chinese Restaurant was her first novel. The inspiration for writing Number One Chinese Restaurant came from a summer Li spent working twelve-hour shifts at a Peking duck restaurant outside of Washington, D.C.

Published works

Awards Hopwood Award in Short Fiction Glimmer Train New Writer Award