Lee Lai (born 1993) is a transgender, Asian-Australian cartoonist who presently lives in Canada. In 2021, the National Book Foundation named her an honoree of their 5 Under 35 award for her debut graphic novel, Stone Fruit. The following year, Stone Fruit won the Lambda Literary Award for Graphic Novel/Comics, and was a finalist for the Barbara Gittings Literature Award and Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Graphic Novel/Comics.
Biography
Lai was born in 1993 in Melbourne and has a sister, with whom she is close. She presently lives in Montreal.
Lai became interested in comics because of mild dyslexia, which made reading traditional novels difficult. Her short story comics have been published in The New Yorker, The Lifted Brow, Room Magazine, and Everyday Feminism.
Lai is transgender and homosexual.
Awards and honours
| Year | Title | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Heartwood | Prism Award for Anthology | Winner | |
| 2021 | Stone Fruit | American Library Association's Best Graphic Novels for Adults | Top 10 | |
| National Book Foundation's "5 Under 35" Award | Honoree | |||
| 2022 | Barbara Gittings Literature Award | Honor | ||
| Cartoonist Studio Prize | Winner | |||
| Doug Wright Award for Best Book | Finalist | |||
| Lambda Literary Award for Graphic Novel/Comics | Finalist | |||
| Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Graphic Novel/Comics | Finalist | |||
| American Library Association's Over the Rainbow Book List | Top 10 | |||
| Stella Prize | Shortlist |
Publications
- Stone Fruit (2021)
Contributions
- Heartwood: Non-binary Tales of Sylvan Fantasy, edited by Joamette Gil (2019)
- McSweeney's #62: The Queer Fiction Issue, edited by Patrick Cottrell, Dave Eggers (Editor), and Claire Boyle (Editor) (2020)
Illustrations
- A Head-Heart Start For Life: Creative Mindful Discoveries for Young Children, written by Janet Etty-Leal (2019)
References
- ^ "Lee Lai". National Book Foundation. Retrieved 2022-06-06.
- ^ MacDonald, Heidi (2021-05-18). "Honest and Emotional: Lee Lai's Graphic Novel Debut". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 2022-06-06.
- ^ Gaynor, Jessie (2022-03-16). "Here are the finalists for the 2022 Lambda Literary Awards". Literary Hub. Retrieved 2022-03-17.
- ^ Lewis, LeKesha (2022-03-15). "2022 Lambda Literary Award Finalists Announced". Lambda Literary. Retrieved 2022-03-17.
- ^ Chapman, Monica (2022-02-01). "2022 Barbara Gittings Literature Award and Israel Fishman Non-Fiction Award of the Stonewall Book Awards announced". American Library Association. Retrieved 2022-03-17.
- ^ "L.A Times Book Prizes 2022". Festival of Books. Retrieved 2022-06-06.
- ^ Favreau, Alyssa (2021-09-01). "'No Villains, Only Messes': An Interview with Lee Lai". Hazlitt. Retrieved 2022-06-06.
- "The Prism Awards for Excellence in LGBTQ+ Comics". Prism Comics. Retrieved 2022-06-06.
- "2021 Best Graphic Novels for Adults Reading List". American Library Association. 2022-01-23. Retrieved 2022-03-17.
- "Stone Fruit". Fantagraphics. Retrieved 2022-06-06.
- Tobias, Conan (2022-05-16). "Announcing the nominees of the 18th annual Doug Wright Awards". Doug Wright Awards. Retrieved 2022-06-06.
- Chapman, Monica (2022-02-15). "Over the Rainbow Committee announces 2022 Top 10 Book List". American Library Association. Retrieved 2022-03-17.
- "Announcing the 2022 Stella Prize Shortlist". Stella. 2022-04-14. Retrieved 2022-06-06.
