An Evening With Lisa See

Southern Voices warmly welcomes best-selling novelist, Lisa See, to our conference. After the presentation, we invite you to join Ms. See on the Library Plaza for a book signing and reception. Books will be available for purchase.

Best-selling author, Lisa See, has penned eight books including the critically-acclaimed novels Peony in Love, Snowflower and the Secret Fan and Shanghai Girls. Her most recent novel, Dreams of Joy, debuted at number one on The New York Times Best Sellers List in 2011.

Ms. See's Chinese-American heritage has influenced her writing. Her first book, On Gold Mountain:The One Hundred Year Odyssey of My Chinese-American Family, recounts the story of her great-grandfather who overcame obstacles at every step to become the 100-year-old godfather of Los Angeles's Chinatown and the patriarch of a sprawling family.

Focusing on the lives of women throughout history, her most current novels, Shanghai Girls and Dreams of Joy, tell the story of two beautiful, sophisticated and well-educated sisters, May and Pearl, who live in Shanghai during the 1930s. When they learn that their parents are on the verge of bankruptcy, the two sisters are forced to marry men from Los Angeles.

Intrigued by stories that have been forgotten, Ms. See traveled to a remote area of China to research the secret writing invented, used and kept a secret by women for over a thousand years. The trip resulted in the eloquent, captivating novel, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan.

In addition to writing books, Ms. See was a Publishers Weekly West Coast Correspondent and freelance journalist for Vogue, Self and More. She was honored as National Woman of the Year by the Organization of Chinese American Women in 2001 and was the recipient of the Chinese American Museum's History Makers Award in 2003.

"Achingly beautiful, a marvel of imagination....a story so mesmerizing that the pages float away and the story remains clearly before us from beginning to end." ~Amy Tan on Snowflower and the Secret Fan

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