About Malinda Lo
Malinda Lo is the New York Times bestselling author of seven novels and the forthcoming memoir Something Inside Me Knows (March 2027).
Her novel Last Night at the Telegraph Club won the National Book Award, the Stonewall Book Award, the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature, a Michael L. Printz Honor, and was an LA Times Book Prize finalist. Kirkus Reviews hailed it as one of the best books of the 21st century so far.
In addition to her work as an author, Malinda advocates for the First Amendment rights of her fellow writers. She was a leading member of the Mass Freedom to Read coalition, which successfully supported the passage of An Act Regarding Free Expression in Massachusetts, and she has been a co-plaintiff in federal lawsuits in Iowa and Idaho that challenge statewide laws that lead to censorship. She was a recipient of the Eleanor Roosevelt Award for Bravery in Literature in 2025.
Born in Guangzhou, China, Malinda immigrated to the United States as a child with her family, and grew up near Boulder, Colorado. She now lives in Massachusetts with her wife and their dog.
“Malinda Lo is my favorite kind of writer, one who can bring a scene to life with exquisite detail and nuance.”
MARIE RUTKOSKI
New York Times bestselling author
Select Press
BBC World Service: The Cultural Frontline
Inside the Rise of LGBTQ+ Fiction
Feb. 4, 2023
San Francisco Chronicle
After racking up awards, queer coming-of-age novel set in 1950s Chinatown launches tour in S.F.
March 11, 2022
NPR’s Morning Edition
Lo makes National Book Award history with 'Last Night at the Telegraph Club'
Dec. 15, 2021
WGBH: Under the Radar With Callie Crossley
Young Adult Fiction: The Expanding Genre Attracts More Than Just Teens To Its Pages
July 30, 2021
Kirkus Reviews: Changemakers Special Issue
The award-winning YA author breaks new ground with her lesbian fiction—and in opening up the publishing industry.
March 17, 2021
Lambda Literary
Malinda Lo on Writing a Coming-of-Age Love Story
Dec. 23, 2020
School Library Journal
Malinda Lo and Stephanie Perkins On Genre Hopping, Slasher Films, and More
Oct. 24, 2017
The Horn Book
Five questions for Malinda Lo
Nov. 7, 2017
“Lo is one of the greatest voices in YA fiction, consistently ahead of her time.”
KIERSTEN WHITE
New York Times bestselling author
Short and Long Bios
Short Bio (93 Words)
Malinda Lo is the New York Times bestselling author of seven novels and the forthcoming memoir Something Inside Me Knows (March 2027). Her novel Last Night at the Telegraph Club won the National Book Award, the Stonewall Book Award, the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature, a Michael L. Printz Honor, and was an LA Times Book Prize finalist. In addition, Malinda advocates for the First Amendment rights of her fellow writers, and has received the Eleanor Roosevelt Award for Bravery in Literature. Find her on Instagram or at her website malindalo.com.
Long Bio
Malinda Lo is the New York Times bestselling author of seven novels and the forthcoming memoir Something Inside Me Knows (March 2027). Her novel Last Night at the Telegraph Club won the National Book Award, the Stonewall Book Award, the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature, Michael L. Printz and Walter Dean Myers honors, and was a finalist for the LA Times Book Prize. Her debut novel Ash, a Sapphic retelling of Cinderella, was a finalist for the William C. Morris YA Debut Award, the Andre Norton Award for YA Science Fiction and Fantasy, the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award, and the Lambda Literary Award.
Malinda’s novels have been selected for many best-of lists, including the American Library Association’s Best Fiction for Young Adults, the ALA’s Rainbow List, Bank Street College’s Best Children’s Books, the Locus Recommended Reading List, and the James Tiptree Jr. Longlist. Malinda’s short fiction and nonfiction has been published by The New York Times, Autostraddle, Foreshadow, NPR, The Toast, The Horn Book, and multiple anthologies.
In addition to her work as an author, Malinda advocates for the First Amendment rights of her fellow writers. She was a leading member of the Mass Freedom to Read coalition, which successfully supported the passage of An Act Regarding Free Expression in Massachusetts, and she has been a co-plaintiff in federal lawsuits in Iowa and Idaho that challenge statewide laws that lead to censorship. She was a recipient of the Eleanor Roosevelt Award for Bravery in Literature in 2025.
Born in Guangzhou, China, Malinda immigrated to the United States as a child with her family, and grew up near Boulder, Colorado. Although she always wanted to be a writer, she studied Economics and Chinese Studies at Wellesley College, where she earned her B.A. She went on to earn a master’s degree in East Asian Studies from Harvard University and a master’s degree in cultural anthropology from Stanford University. For several years she worked in LGBT media, writing about lesbians and bisexual women in entertainment, and was awarded the Sarah Pettit Memorial Award for Excellence in LGBT Journalism by the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association in 2006. She is a recipient of the Alice B Award, and has been honored by the Carnegie Corporation as a Great Immigrant.
Currently, Malinda lives in Massachusetts with her wife and their dog. Find her on Instagram or at her website malindalo.com.