Anthologies#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| Glimmer Train Stories, #54 |
2005 |
Buy |
| Here |
2012 |
Buy |
| Stories Upon Stories |
2014 |
Buy |
Collections#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| A Thousand Years of Good Prayers |
2005 |
Buy |
| Gold Boy, Emerald Girl |
2010 |
Buy |
| Wednesday’s Child |
2023 |
Buy |
Currency Reading Order#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| Me and Carlos |
2020 |
Buy |
| The Tomorrow Box |
2021 |
Buy |
| The Summer House |
2021 |
Buy |
| Crewelwork |
2021 |
Buy |
| Rewards |
2021 |
Buy |
| Simplexity |
2021 |
Buy |
| I Would Be Doing This Anyway |
2021 |
Buy |
| If You Are Lonely and You Know It |
2021 |
Buy |
Non-Fiction#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| The Real Story of Ah-Q and Other Tales of China: The Complete Fiction of Lu Xun |
2009 |
Buy |
| Dear Friend, from My Life I Write to You in Your Life |
2017 |
Buy |
| Tolstoy Together: 85 Days of War and Peace with Yiyun Li |
2021 |
Buy |
| Things in Nature Merely Grow |
2025 |
Buy |
Short Stories/Novellas#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| The Story of Gilgamesh |
2011 |
Buy |
| A Sheltered Woman |
2014 |
Buy |
Standalone Novels#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| The Vagrants |
2009 |
Buy |
| Kinder Than Solitude |
2013 |
Buy |
| Where Reasons End |
2019 |
Buy |
| Must I Go |
2020 |
Buy |
| The Book of Goose |
2022 |
Buy |
Yiyun Li was born in Beijing and moved to the United States in her twenties, eventually choosing to write in English rather than Chinese. A Thousand Years of Good Prayers (2005), her debut collection, won the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award and established her as a major voice in literary fiction.
Her novels include The Vagrants (2009), set during the aftermath of the Cultural Revolution, Kinder Than Solitude (2013), about a poisoning that haunts three friends across decades, and The Book of Goose (2022), about two girls in postwar France whose literary hoax changes their lives. She has also written the memoir Dear Friend, from My Life I Write to You in Your Life (2017) about her struggles with depression.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many books has Yiyun Li written?
Yiyun Li has written 25 books across six series.
What was Yiyun Li's first book?
Yiyun Li’s first book is A Thousand Years of Good Prayers, published in 2005.
What is Yiyun Li known for?
Li is known for her debut collection A Thousand Years of Good Prayers (2005), which won the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award, and for novels including The Vagrants (2009) and The Book of Goose (2022). Born in Beijing, she writes in English and has been called one of the most important contemporary short story writers.