Julie Otsuka (born May 15, 1962) is an American author.

Biography

Otsuka was born in 1962, in Palo Alto, California. Her father worked as an aerospace engineer and her mother worked as a lab technician before she gave birth to Otsuka. Both of her parents were of Japanese descent, with her father being an issei and her mother being a nisei.^[1] When she was nine, her family moved to Palos Verdes, California. She has two brothers, one of whom, Michael Otsuka, teaches at the London School of Economics.^[2]

After graduating from high school, Otsuka attended Yale University, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in art in 1984. She graduated from Columbia University with a Master of Fine Arts in 1999.^[3][4] Her debut novel, When the Emperor was Divine, deals with Japanese American internment during World War II. It was published in 2002 by Alfred A. Knopf. Her second novel, The Buddha in the Attic (2011), is about Japanese picture brides.

Otsuka's historical fiction novels deal with Japanese Americans and call attention to their plight during World War II. Although she did not live through the Japanese internment period, her mother, uncle, and two grandparents did, giving Otsuka a personal perspective on the matter.^[5] When the Emperor was Divine portrays Japanese internment camps. Otsuka has a background as a painter, and her books have vivid imagery.^[6] She is a recipient of the Albatros Literaturpreis.

Otsuka lives in New York City.^[7]

Awards and honors

In 2004, Otsuka received a Guggenheim Fellowship.^[8]

In 2011, The Buddha in the Attic was a New York Times and San Francisco Chronicle bestseller.

In 2022, Publishers Weekly named The Swimmers one of the top ten works of fiction published that year.^[9]

Works

• When the Emperor was Divine. New York City: Alfred A. Knopf. 2002. ISBN 978-0-385-72181-3.

• The Buddha in the Attic. New York City: Alfred A. Knopf. 2011. ISBN 978-0-307-74442-5. (2013 England: ISBN 978-0-241-95648-9)

• "Diem Perdidi" (2011) is a short story that follows the scattered memories of the protagonist's mother as her mother's dementia progresses.^[20]

• The Swimmers. New York City: Alfred A. Knopf. 2022. ISBN 978-0-5933-2133-1.