Lisa Ko's guest appearances

Lisa Ko

All Of It 

Harper Audio Presents

The Mixed Experience

WMFA

Fully Booked by Kirkus Reviews

Books and Boba

Book Talk

ScribdChat

52weeks52books52women

Short Term Rental Revenue

Coconut Juice Book Club 

LIC Reading Series

The PEN Pod

The Côte Saint-Luc Podcast

Julie Buntin

Celeste Ng

Min Jin Lee

Mohsin Hamid

Viet Thanh Nguyen

Walter Thompson-Hernandez

John Freeman

Matthew Salesses

Matthew Klam

Leslie Jamison

Kazuo Ishiguro

Jason Diamond

Eleanor Henderson

Daryl Gregory

Heather Abel

OwlTail

In this conversation from 2018, Courtney and Lisa Ko, author of The Leavers, discuss complicating the notions of motherhood, why working on your characters is working on yourself, and keeping the faith through seven years of novel drafts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this conversation from 2018, Courtney and Lisa Ko, author of The Leavers, discuss complicating the notions of motherhood, why working on your characters is working on yourself, and keeping the faith through seven years of novel drafts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://megaphone.fm/adchoices" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">megaphone.fm/adchoices</a>

WMFA ARCHIVES: Fictionalizing Real Life w. LISA KO

Deming Guo hates waking up for school, he likes watching TV and hanging out with his best friend, Michael. Born and bred in Manhattan, the 11 year old's life takes a tumultuous turn when his mother, Polly, an undocumented Chinese immigrant, doesn't come back from work one day. Abandoned and alone, he is adopted by a middle-class white American couple and Deming Guo becomes Daniel Wilkinson, the all american boy.Daniel struggles to reconcile his new life with his mother’s disappearance and the memories of the family and community he left behind in this heart wrenching story by Chinese American author, Lisa Ko. Follow us on instagram: https://bit.ly/2IZWIN6Follow us on twitter: https://bit.ly/2EIpXPaFollow us on goodreads: https://bit.ly/2LBIlOT

Deming Guo hates waking up for school, he likes watching TV and hanging out with his best friend, Michael. Born and bred in Manhattan, the 11 year old's life takes a tumultuous turn when his mother, Polly, an undocumented Chinese immigrant, doesn't come back from work one day. Abandoned and alone, he is adopted by a middle-class white American couple and Deming Guo becomes Daniel Wilkinson, the all american boy.Daniel struggles to reconcile his new life with his mother’s disappearance and the memories of the family and community he left behind in this heart wrenching story by Chinese American author, Lisa Ko. Follow us on instagram: <a href="https://bit.ly/2IZWIN6" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://bit.ly/2IZWIN6</a>Follow us on twitter: <a href="https://bit.ly/2EIpXPa" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://bit.ly/2EIpXPa</a>Follow us on goodreads: <a href="https://bit.ly/2LBIlOT" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://bit.ly/2LBIlOT</a>

Episode 7: The Leavers by Lisa Ko, Belonging and Adoption

Courtney and Lisa Ko, author of The Leavers, discuss complicating the notions of motherhood, why working on your characters is working on yourself, and keeping the faith through seven years of novel drafts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Courtney and Lisa Ko, author of The Leavers, discuss complicating the notions of motherhood, why working on your characters is working on yourself, and keeping the faith through seven years of novel drafts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://megaphone.fm/adchoices" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">megaphone.fm/adchoices</a>

Fictionalizing Real Life w. LISA KO

On this episode, we discuss the Books &amp; Boba Book Club pick for May 2018, The Leavers  by Lisa Ko, a story of a Chinese-American boy dealing with his adoption by well-meaning white parents after his mother's deportation. We discuss the parallels between the dual narratives as well as what the title "The Leavers" really means. To help us with the adoptee perspective, we invite book club member and contributor Lily Rugo, who herself is a Chinese adoptee. For additional thoughts and discussion on the monthly pick, visit the Books &amp; Boba Goodreads forums. This Month's Book Club Panelists:  Reera Yoo (@reeraboo) Marvin Yueh (@marvinyueh) Lily Rugo (@Lily_Rugo)  Follow us:  Facebook Twitter Goodreads Group  The Books &amp; Boba May2018 pick is Not Your Sidekick by C.B. Lee This podcast is part of Potluck: An Asian American Podcast Collective Mentioned in this episode:Books &amp; Boba started a Patreon!After 6 and a half years, Books &amp; Boba has started a Patreon! Our little podcast has been a wonderful labor of love and we’ve been proud of the book discussions and author chats that we’ve been able to bring to you all, but we want to do more! We’ve got big dreams for Books &amp; Boba and so we’re asking our community for support. Help us grow the book club so we can support more books written by Asian diaspora authors!  The Books &amp; Boba Patreon has 2 membership tiers, our “Regular Boba” tier at $3 a month which gives you access to the brand new Books &amp; Boba members-only discord server, and the “Honey Boba” premium tier which comes with discord access as well as access to our new “Boba Chat” podcast where Marvin and Reera chat about non-book related things as well as answer member questions.  Check out our patreon at patreon.com/booksandbobaPatreon

On this episode, we discuss the Books &amp; Boba Book Club pick for May 2018, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30753987-the-leavers" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Leavers</a> by Lisa Ko, a story of a Chinese-American boy dealing with his adoption by well-meaning white parents after his mother's deportation. We discuss the parallels between the dual narratives as well as what the title "The Leavers" really means. To help us with the adoptee perspective, we invite book club member and contributor Lily Rugo, who herself is a Chinese adoptee. For additional thoughts and discussion on the monthly pick, visit the <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/197124-books-boba" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Books &amp; Boba Goodreads forums</a>. This Month's Book Club Panelists: <ul> <li>Reera Yoo (<a href="https://twitter.com/reeraboo" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">@reeraboo</a>)</li> <li>Marvin Yueh (<a href="https://twitter.com/MarvinYueh" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">@marvinyueh</a>)</li> <li>Lily Rugo (<a href="https://twitter.com/Lily_Rugo" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">@Lily_Rugo</a>)</li> </ul> Follow us: <ul> <li><a href="https://www.facebook.com/booksandboba" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Facebook</a></li> <li><a href="https://twitter.com/BooksandBoba" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Twitter</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/197124-books-boba" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Goodreads Group</a></li> </ul> The Books &amp; Boba May2018 pick is <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29904219-not-your-sidekick" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Not Your Sidekick</a> by C.B. Lee This podcast is part of <a href="http://podcastpotluck.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Potluck: An Asian American Podcast Collective</a> Mentioned in this episode:Books &amp; Boba started a Patreon!After 6 and a half years, Books &amp; Boba has started a Patreon! Our little podcast has been a wonderful labor of love and we’ve been proud of the book discussions and author chats that we’ve been able to bring to you all, but we want to do more! We’ve got big dreams for Books &amp; Boba and so we’re asking our community for support. Help us grow the book club so we can support more books written by Asian diaspora authors! The Books &amp; Boba Patreon has 2 membership tiers, our “Regular Boba” tier at $3 a month which gives you access to the brand new Books &amp; Boba members-only discord server, and the “Honey Boba” premium tier which comes with discord access as well as access to our new “Boba Chat” podcast where Marvin and Reera chat about non-book related things as well as answer member questions. Check out our patreon at <a href="http://patreon.com/booksandboba" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">patreon.com/booksandboba</a><a href="https://booksandboba.captivate.fm/patreon" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Patreon</a>

#46 - The Leavers by Lisa Ko

In today’s episode, author Lisa Ko discusses her debut novel, “The Leavers,” which chronicles the powerful and intertwining stories of Deming Guo and his mother, Polly, as both embark on their own search for identity. Early on, Polly is separated from Deming, and shortly thereafter Deming is adopted by a couple of loving — if not somewhat misinformed — American professors. He is then forced to navigate the memory of family and culture he left behind in tandem with his adoptive parent’s desire to raise him as a modern, middle-class American. As such, Ko’s novel explores the themes of identity, culture, and the definition of family. “The Leavers” was shortlisted for the National Book Award in addition to winning the Pen/Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction, and also named a one of the best books from 2017 by NPR, Entertainment Weekly, the Los Angeles Times, BuzzFeed, and Bustle. In today’s episode, Ko discusses the real-life stories that inspired “The Leavers,” why she felt the story in her book was worth telling, and what she learned while writing her debut novel. We talk about pacing, prose, the importance of listening to a killer soundtrack while writing, and, of course, the many nicknames that Ko as earned throughout her career. You can read Lisa Ko’s “The Leavers” on Scribd.

In today’s episode, author Lisa Ko discusses her debut novel, “<a href="https://www.scribd.com/book/342233046/The-Leavers-A-Novel?campaign=podcast" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Leavers</a>,” which chronicles the powerful and intertwining stories of Deming Guo and his mother, Polly, as both embark on their own search for identity. Early on, Polly is separated from Deming, and shortly thereafter Deming is adopted by a couple of loving — if not somewhat misinformed — American professors. He is then forced to navigate the memory of family and culture he left behind in tandem with his adoptive parent’s desire to raise him as a modern, middle-class American. As such, Ko’s novel explores the themes of identity, culture, and the definition of family. “The Leavers” was shortlisted for the National Book Award in addition to winning the Pen/Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction, and also named a one of the best books from 2017 by NPR, Entertainment Weekly, the Los Angeles Times, BuzzFeed, and Bustle. In today’s episode, Ko discusses the real-life stories that inspired “The Leavers,” why she felt the story in her book was worth telling, and what she learned while writing her debut novel. We talk about pacing, prose, the importance of listening to a killer soundtrack while writing, and, of course, the many nicknames that Ko as earned throughout her career. <a href="https://www.scribd.com/book/342233046/The-Leavers-A-Novel?campaign=podcast" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">You can read Lisa Ko’s “The Leavers” on Scribd.</a>

Episode 4: Lisa Ko on Her Award-Winning Debut Novel, The Leavers

Peilan Guo leaves China to go to New York, city of dreams, to make a new life for herself as a new person, Polly. Years later, caught in a sweep by immigration authorities, she makes the opposite journey, sent back to where she came from. But this time she leaves behind her 10-year-old son, Deming, who knows only that one day his mother went to her job at a nail salon and never came home. Child welfare delivers him to a white couple, who adopt him, take him out of the city, re-name him Daniel. Told from the perspectives of both mother and son, this is a story of the importance of names, the meaning of home, what it is to leave and what it is to be left. Host Cyd Oppenheimer talks with author Lisa Ko about becoming the person you need to be to write the book you want to write; about trying and failing and trying again; and about how, after you've been working on a book for eight years, you know when it's finally done (winning a prestigious literary award before the book is even under contract is a helpful sign!).Guest readers Emily Moore and Kristopher Jansma join Oppenheimer to discuss mothers and sons, coming of age, and language and its loss.Order today!Available from:AmazonBarnes &amp; NobleIndieBound

Peilan Guo leaves China to go to New York, city of dreams, to make a new life for herself as a new person, Polly. Years later, caught in a sweep by immigration authorities, she makes the opposite journey, sent back to where she came from. But this time she leaves behind her 10-year-old son, Deming, who knows only that one day his mother went to her job at a nail salon and never came home. Child welfare delivers him to a white couple, who adopt him, take him out of the city, re-name him Daniel. Told from the perspectives of both mother and son, this is a story of the importance of names, the meaning of home, what it is to leave and what it is to be left. Host Cyd Oppenheimer talks with author <a href="http://lisa-ko.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Lisa Ko</a> about becoming the person you need to be to write the book you want to write; about trying and failing and trying again; and about how, after you've been working on a book for eight years, you know when it's finally done (winning a prestigious literary award before the book is even under contract is a helpful sign!).Guest readers <a href="http://www.booktalkradio.net/about-our-readers/2016/6/27/emily-moore" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Emily Moore</a> and <a href="http://www.booktalkradio.net/about-our-readers/2017/7/17/kristopher-jansma" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Kristopher Jansma</a> join Oppenheimer to discuss mothers and sons, coming of age, and language and its loss.Order today!Available from: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Leavers-Novel-Lisa-Ko/dp/1616206888" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Amazon</a> <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-leavers-lisa-ko/1124014770?ean=9781616206888" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Barnes &amp; Noble</a> <a href="http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781616206888" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">IndieBound</a>

Episode 44: The Leavers by Lisa Ko

David Grann

Bestselling writer David Grann (THE LOST CITY OF Z) has another new book, KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON, that uncovers a crime (actually, a massacre) that most Americans know nothing about: the murders of Osage Indians in Oklahoma in the 1920's, just as the Osage were accumulating vast wealth from the vast oil reserves under their land. And guess who the perpetrators were? We're not saying in this interview with Grann, although he discloses some fascinating elements of the crime. We also check in with Lisa Ko, whose hotly anticipated debut novel THE LEAVERS has already racked up a big award (from Barbara Kingsolver, no less!). And Kirkus' editors give us the good news/bad news on which bestsellers to seek out and which to skip.

Bestselling writer David Grann (THE LOST CITY OF Z) has another new book, KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON, that uncovers a crime (actually, a massacre) that most Americans know nothing about: the murders of Osage Indians in Oklahoma in the 1920's, just as the Osage were accumulating vast wealth from the vast oil reserves under their land. And guess who the perpetrators were? We're not saying in this interview with Grann, although he discloses some fascinating elements of the crime. We also check in with Lisa Ko, whose hotly anticipated debut novel THE LEAVERS has already racked up a big award (from Barbara Kingsolver, no less!). And Kirkus' editors give us the good news/bad news on which bestsellers to seek out and which to skip.

David Grann and Lisa Ko

Lisa Ko is the author of The Leavers, a novel which won the 2016 PEN/Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction and will be published by Algonquin Books in May 2017. Her writing has appeared in Best American Short Stories 2016, The New York Times, Apogee Journal, Narrative, O. Magazine, Copper Nickel, Storychord, One Teen Story, Brooklyn Review, and elsewhere. A co-founder of Hyphen and a fiction editor at Drunken Boat, Lisa has been awarded fellowships and residencies from the New York Foundation for the Arts, the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, the MacDowell Colony, the Helene Wurlitzer Foundation, Writers OMI at Ledig House, the Jerome Foundation, Blue Mountain Center, the Van Lier Foundation, Hawthornden Castle, the I-Park Foundation, the Anderson Center, the Constance Saltonstall Foundation, and the Kimmel Harding Nelson Center. Born in Queens and raised in Jersey, she lives in Brooklyn.