Yan Li

Yan Li was born in Beijing, where she worked as an instructor, a translator, and a journalist before coming to Canada in 1987. She is the director of the Confucius Institute at the University of Waterloo and the coordinator of the Chinese language program at Renison University College. In addition to her teaching, she is also a bilingual author. Her first English novel, Daughters of the Red Land, was a 1996 finalist for the Books in Canada First Novel Award. Her Chinese novels include Married to the West Wind, Red Duckweed, and The Lambs of Mapleton.

Lily in the Snow provides a unique perspective on the universal tale of intergenerational conflict as well as exploring the Chinese immigrant experience in Canada with humour and insight. A story of adjustment, acceptance, and belonging emerges from the settings of Red China and contemporary Mapleton, Ontario. Lily, a young immigrant, is trying to make it on her own—and succeeding in her own way. Then her mother arrives—she’s come to “save” her daughter. Through Lily’s challenging relationship with her mother and with the vibrant and quirky Chinese community in Mapleton, we witness unexpected changes and challenges as she copes with her new environment and the transformation of her spirit and soul.

Appearances at BookFestWindsor:
November 6, 11 a.m. - 11:50 a.m. (Wilkinson)