“Lisa See excels at mining the intersection of family, friendship and history.”

—Jodi Picoult, New York Times bestselling author of A Spark of Light and Small Great Things

In her many beloved New York Times bestsellers, including Lady Tan’s Circle of Women, The Island of Sea Women , Snow Flower and the Secret Fan and Shanghai Girls, Lisa See illuminates what links women across time and cultures—longing for love, the ability to persevere in the direst of circumstances, and the deep desire for friendship. Influenced by her writer mother and anthropologist father, See’s transportative stories are with rich period details, deeply moving as they are meticulously researched.

Her new novel, Daughters of the Sun and Moon, named a Most Anticipated Book of the Year by Today.com and an instant New York Times bestseller, is the story of three Chinese women whose unexpected friendship helps them survive and, despite the odds, thrive, in the turmoil of post-Civil War Los Angeles. “See excels at the ‘wordless communion of women,’ portraying three disparate personalities drawing strength from and helping each other survive. Moments of beautifully rendered heartbreak will have tremendous appeal” (Booklist).

Drawn to stories that have been lost, forgotten, or deliberately covered up, her New York Times bestseller, Lady Tan’s Circle of Women, is inspired by the true story of Lady Tan Yunxian, a remarkable female physician from 15th-century China who defied convention, becoming so influential that some of her remedies are still used today.  Capturing the disparity between the freedoms of men and women, See’s “strong-willed characters emphasize how women can act as the anchors of society” (Booklist). With a heroine “as captivating and credible as any character in contemporary fiction” (Shelf Awareness), See’s novel deftly spans the interpersonal, emotional, and historical throughout one extraordinary lifetime. Chosen by both Indie Next and Barnes and Noble as a monthly pick, it was also a #1 Los Angeles Times Bestseller.

See’s approach to storytelling starts with years of on-the-ground research.  For her novel, The Island of Sea Women she traveled to the remote Korean island of Jeju to interview the last remaining Haenyo, female free divers, who spoke of a rapidly disappearing matrifocal culture and tradition. “A wonderful ode to a truly singular group of women” (Publishers Weekly), it is a story of family secrets and female friendship from the 1930s to the aftermath of the Korean War. A New York Times bestseller, is was also an Indie Next pick, and the March 2019 Barnes & Noble Book Club selection.

“See’s research feels impeccable, and she [creates] an authentic, visually arresting world.”

—The Washington Post

Similarly, for Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, she traveled to a remote area of China—where she was told she was only the second foreigner ever to visit—to research the secret writing invented and used by women for over a thousand years. Snow Flower was honored by the Southern California Booksellers Association Award (Best Novel) and Asian/American Award for Literature (Honor Book, Adult Literature), among others. It has been translated into 39 languages and was made into a feature film produced by Fox Searchlight.

Growing up in Los Angeles, See spent a lot of time with her father’s family in Chinatown. Her first book, the national bestseller On Gold Mountain: The One Hundred Year Odyssey of My Chinese-American Family, traces the journey of her great-grandfather, Fong See, 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. Adapted by the Los Angeles Opera, See wrote the Libretto for On Gold Mountain, which was remounted in the Chinese Garden of the Huntington Library and Gardens in 2022.

Other beloved titles include The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane, a “deeply emotional and satisfying” (USA Today) story of motherhood and broken generational connection found through tea; China Dolls, the story of Asian-American nightclub performers of the 1930s and 1940s; Shanghai Girls, a “buoyant and lustrous” (Booklist) tale about sisterhood; Dreams of Joy, the #1 bestselling follow-up to Shanghai Girls; and Peony in Love, a story immersed in the richness of the Chinese vision of the afterlife.  She will have a new novel, Daughters of the Sun and Moon out in 2026.

The Publishers Weekly West Coast Correspondent for thirteen years, See’s writing has appeared in Vogue, Self, and More, among other publications. She was named the National Woman of the Year by the Organization of Chinese American Women in 2001. She is also the recipient of the Chinese American Museum’s History Makers Award and the Golden Spike Award from the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California.

A lifelong Angelino, See is also an active member of the Los Angeles arts community, where she served as guest curator for an exhibit on the Chinese-American experience at the Autry Museum of Western Heritage, helped develop and curate their Family Discovery Gallery, an interactive space for children and their families, along with the inaugural exhibition for the grand opening of the Chinese American Museum in Los Angeles.  She will have a new novel, Daughters of the Sun and Moon published in 2026.

For more information on Lisa See, please visit her on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and at www.lisasee.com.