Author Bio
• Birth—1973
• Where—Ninh Bình Province, North Vietnam
• Raised—Bac Lieu Province, South Vietnam
• Education—B.A., from Australia; M.F.A., Lancaster Univiversity (UK)
• Awards—(see below)
• Currently—lives in Jakarta, Indonesia
Nguyen Phan Que Mai (gwen-fawn-kway-my; first name, Que Mai) was born in a small village of war torn Northern Vietnam and grew up witnessing the war’s devastation and its aftermath. When she was six years old, her family moved to the Mekong Delta in the southern part of Vietnam.
She worked as a street seller and rice farmer before winning a scholarship to attend a university in Australia. Returning to her home country, she worked worked for various organizations, including the United Nations, to promote Viet Nam's sustainable development. She has also worked extensively with veterans and war victims.
Nguyen also earned her M.F.A. from Lancaster University in the U.K. Her eight books of poetry, fiction and nonfiction, originally published in Vietnamese, have been translated and published in more than ten countries. Her work has also appeared in the W.W. Norton & Company's anthology, Inheriting the War: Poetry and Prose by Descendants of Vietnam Veterans and Refugees (2017).
Awards and honors
2007 - Story about My Life (youth newspaper) Award: writing competition
2010 - Vietnamese Writers Association: advancement of Vietnamese literature overseas
2010 - Hanoi Writers Association: Poetry of the Year Award
2010 - Vietnam Writers Association, Literature Newspaper, and Hanoi Television: poetry
2010 - Vietnam Writers Association, Literature Newspaper. and Hanoi Television: translation
Married to a European diplomat, Nguyeni is currently living in Jakarta with her two teenage children. (Adapted from online sources, including the author's website.)