Oakland, CA - Yiyun Li, assistant professor of English at Mills College, has been named a contributing author in the Best American Short Stories of 2006 for her short story “After a Life.” Edited by Ann Patchett and published by Houghton Mifflin, the collection highlights significant artistry in the short story genre each year. Among the previous authors recently honored in this series are: Alice Munro, Edward P. Jones, Joyce Carol Oates, and Thomas McGuane.

Published in A Thousand Years of Good Prayers, the first book of short stories by Li, a Chinese émigré and Oakland resident, “After a Life” illuminates the vagaries of marriage, parenthood, and gender, unfolding the story of a couple that hide a daughter from the world for 28 years.

The San Francisco Chronicle recently honored A Thousand Years of Good Prayers (Random House) in their “Best Books of 2005” selections. According to Publishers Weekly, the book is “A beautifully executed debut collection of ten stories exploring the ravages of the Cultural Revolution on modern Chinese, both in China and America.”

Li grew up in Beijing, came to America to study medicine, and entered the Iowa Writers' Workshop after earning a master's degree in immunology from the University of Iowa.

Mills College is a nationally renowned, independent liberal arts college offering innovative degree programs for undergraduate women, and graduate degree and certificate programs for women and men. Consistently ranked among the top 75 liberal arts colleges in the nation by U.S. News & World Report, Mills is also recognized as one of the country’s 20 most diverse liberal arts colleges. The Princeton Review selected Mills as one of 11 colleges for first-time inclusion in its Best 361 Colleges–2005. Nestled in the foothills of Oakland, California on 135 lush acres, Mills provides a dynamic liberal arts education fostering women’s leadership, social responsibility, and creativity.

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