CONGRATULATIONS! 2 major awards for West Seattle writer E.J. Koh

One of West Seattle’s literary luminaries has won two major awards.

E.J. Koh is the winner of the 2021 Washington State Book Award for her memoir, The Magical Language of Others.” The book is described on the publisher’s website as “a powerful and aching love story in letters, from mother to daughter,” letters written after Koh’s parents returned to South Korea for work after more than a decade in the U.S., leaving the then-15-year-old author and her brother in California. “The Magical Language of Others” has also won the Pacific Northwest Book Award and was longlisted for the PEN Open Book Award.

Koh has also published a poetry collection, A Lesser Love.’ And she is curating the Jack Straw Cultural Center Writers’ Program this year.

3 Replies to "CONGRATULATIONS! 2 major awards for West Seattle writer E.J. Koh"

  • Desirae @ Paper Boat Booksellers November 8, 2021 (11:11 am)

    Congratulations E.J.! The Magical Language Of Others is a beautiful book-one of the top 5 on my list of books read this past couple of years. Not only is she a wonderful writer, she’s a wonderful person as well!

  • Michelle November 8, 2021 (12:01 pm)

    I read that book a few months ago — it was very beautiful. Congratulations on your award!!!

  • R2 November 8, 2021 (2:05 pm)

    I really enjoyed The Magical Language of Others! Just thinking about it takes me back to the early days of the pandemic, when it seemed like reading was my whole world.

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