Born in Saigon and raised on Boston’s northshore, Quan Barry is the Lorraine Hansberry Professor of English at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Barry is the author of eight books of fiction and poetry, including When I’m Gone, Look for Me in the East, which follows a group of Buddhist monks as they search for a reincarnation in the vast Mongolian landscape. O: Oprah Magazine described her second novel, We Ride Upon Sticks, as, “Spellbinding, wickedly fun.” Her play, The Mytilenean Debate, had its world premiere in spring of 2022. Barry is a member of the Dramatists Guild. Samples of her plays can be found at New Play Exchange. In addition to several awards including a 2021 Alex Award from the American Library Association, Barry is one of a select group of writers who have received NEA fellowships in both poetry and fiction. Her fourth novel, The Unveiling, a work of literary horror set in Antarctica, will be released October 14, 2025 by Grove Press. You can read the starred Kirkus Review here.