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We are proud to announce that Marie Myung-Ok Lee is the winner of the inaugural Conjunctions Residency, Writers Helping Writers. As a multi-genre writer and literary community activist, Lee’s work stood out in a large, extremely competitive field of applicants from across the country.
In his judge’s citation, award-winning writer Rick Moody states, “Marie Myung-Ok Lee’s The Evening Hero is one of the truly rewarding novels of the 2020s, one that manages to combine a poignant domestic story about life for Asian Americans in the desolate northern Midwest with an impeccably researched historical novel about the Japanese occupation of Korea and with some near-future speculation thrown in. That Lee succeeds at the same time on all three fronts will surprise no one who has followed her work, from her successful young adult books to her adult novel about Korean adoptees, Somebody’s Daughter, Lee’s writing has always ranged widely across literary forms.”
Lee’s dynamic, dedicated service to the writing community, in combination with the quality of her writing, was what elevated her application for the residency. Moody notes that “She has also generously made time to co-found the Asian American Writers Workshop, a foremost support mechanism for writers of color both in New York City and nationally, and thereby to support an entire generation of Asian American writing; to found the Asian American Diasporic Writers’ Series that brings to campuses emerging AAPI writers/poets; and to serve as vice president of the National Book Critics Circle’s DEI initiative.
Moody concludes, “Marie Myung-Ok Lee’s commitment both to great writing and to giving back to the writing community is the quintessence of a model life in the literary arts, making her a perfect winner of the first annual Conjunctions Residency.”
Upon learning that she had been selected from an impressive group of finalists, Lee wrote to Bradford Morrow, editor of Conjunctions and founding director of The Conjunctions Residency, “I experienced a moment of awe to find myself amongst an august, big-hearted finalist group of fellow artists, tinged with a pang over the vast sea of writers who are selfless, generous literary citizens and work like this every day in anonymity.
“My gratitude to judge Rick Moody, a brilliant writer who models literary citizenship and generosity, as well as to the amazing Conjunctions staff who took time away from their own writing to read and appraise so many applications. Thank you from the bottom of my writer’s heart. And most essentially: to Conjunctions’ editor, Bradford Morrow, for not only dreaming up this residency, which is coming at such a pivotal time for me, but also doing all the things to make it a reality—basically designing his ideal residency that someone else gets. I am receiving this generous gift with joy and anticipatory gratitude to those who will be hosting me.
Lee elegantly sums up, “Conjunctions' motto is ‘Write fearlessly. Read dangerously.’ Conditions may seem bleak at this time. But creating and supporting art is a radical act of resistance. Generosity compounds forever.”
The residency will take place in May 2026 in the vicinity of Conjunctions' upstate New York office in Livingston Manor at the foot of the Catskill Mountains. Our resident will receive full room and board for the length of her stay at the beautiful Hemlock Neversink hotel. Surrounded by a 230-acre campus of hiking trails, woods, and wildflower meadows, Lee will be provided a serene, private place in which to work without distraction. All meals will be provided by one of Foster Supply Hospitality's award-winning chefs, and Lee will have access to a spa facility, indoor swimming pool, and other amenities. An honorarium of $1000 to help facilitate travel will also be provided.
Marie Myung-Ok Lee will be lead a single-session workshop for local aspiring writers at the Livingston Manor–Roscoe Library midway through her residency and give a public reading at Catskill Art Space in downtown Livingston Manor. She will also have a selection of her writing published as a featured work in Conjunctions online at the end of her residency.
Your donations help support The Conjunctions Residency. For further information please contact managingeditor@conjunctions.com.
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