Ryka Aoki

Ryka Aoki is an American[2] author of novels, poetry, and essays. She teaches English at Santa Monica College and gender studies at Antioch University.[3]

Ryka Aoki
OccupationWriter, teacher and composer[1]
NationalityAmerican
EducationCornell University (MFA)
Website
rykaryka.com

Aoki's work includes the poetry collections Seasonal Velocities and Why Dust Shall Never Settle Upon This Soul, along with the novels He Mele a Hilo and Light From Uncommon Stars.[4][5] Her work, Seasonal Velocities, was a finalist for the award for transgender nonfiction in the 25th Lambda Literary Awards in 2013.[6] Her poetry Why Dust Shall Never Settle Upon This Soul was a finalist for the 28th Lambda Literary Awards in 2016.[7] Light From Uncommon Stars was nominated for a 2022 Hugo Award for Best Novel,[8] and a 2022 Los Angeles Times Ray Bradbury Prize for Science Fiction, Fantasy & Speculative Fiction[9] and was awarded the 2021 Otherwise Award,[10] presented at WisCon 46 in May of 2023.

Biography

Born to Japanese American parents, Aoki grew up in Southern California in the San Gabriel Valley.[11] Aoki studied chemistry at the University of California, Los Angeles, after her parents initially discouraged her from becoming a writer. She is a first-generation college graduate.[11] After graduating, Aoki spent a year working as an environmental lab technician.[11]

Aoki earned her Master of Fine Arts degree in creative writing from Cornell University, and won the Academy of American Poets' University Award.[12] She was honored by the California State Senate for her work with Trans/Giving, a Los Angeles performance series for trans and genderqueer individuals.[13]

Aoki, who is a trans woman, has said that she strives not to write just for other transgender readers, but for their family, and other people in general. Her book He Mele a Hilo was meant to chronicle the common Hawaiian experience. In addition to her book, Aoki also wrote a piece for Publishers Weekly.[5] She hopes that through writing for a general audience instead of only trans people, that she can help others see transgender people as human, she wrote: "If a trans musician can make the audience cry by playing Chopin, how else, but as a human, can she be regarded? And if a book written by a queer trans Asian American can make you think of your own beaches, your own sunsets, or the dear departed grandmother you loved so much and even now find yourself speaking to, then what more powerful statement of our common humanity can there be?"[5]

In 2009, Aoki appeared in the documentary, Diagnosing Difference, directed by filmmaker Annalise Ophelian.[14] The following year, she appeared in Angelo Madsen Minax's Riot Acts: Flaunting Gender Deviance in Music Performance.[15] Aoki was credited as a writer in the 2019 sci-fi film, Transfinite.[16]

An interview with Aoki was featured in the 2014 book, Queer and Trans Artists of Color: Stories of Some of Our Lives, by Nia King, which was named one of The Advocate's Best Transgender Non-Fiction Books of 2014.[17] Aoki toured with the Tranny Roadshow[18][19] and the Fully Functional Cabaret,[20] creating visible performance space for trans people across the country.

In 2021, Aoki released Light from Uncommon Stars. She has described the book as being in part influenced by the story of Ted Ngoy, the Cambodian American entrepreneur known as the "Donut King", stating that she wanted "to open my own literary donut shop".[21] Kirkus Reviews described the book as "filled with mouthwatering descriptions of food and heart-swelling meditations on music".[22] Writing for Tor.com, Maya Gittelman described Light from Uncommon Stars as "often a joy to read ... also often painful to read", and being "written with profound catharsis, forgiveness when it’s due, and so, so much hope";[23] likewise, Alana Joli Abbott described the book as "an incredibly powerful story of hope and redemption" for Den of Geek.[24]

In 2023, she was also awarded the 2023 Jim Duggins, PhD Outstanding Mid-Career Novelist Prize by Lambda Literary Foundation and was given a $5000 prize.[25]

Personal life

Aoki holds a black belt in judo, which she began training in at age 9.[11] She is a former judo junior national champion and served as head judo coach at both Cornell University and UCLA.[13] As of 2021, Aoki led Supernova Martial Arts, a self-defense and martial arts program, and taught self-defense seminars in Southern California.[11] On teaching self-defense, Aoki explained:

“I feel that everybody deserves as much safety as possible, but a lot of self-defense classes when I started out had been taught by cisgender people who didn’t understand the various issues that a trans woman will face, even the type of violence, which is completely different.”[11]

Selected works

Works by Aoki include the following:

  • Seasonal Velocities, Ryka Aoki, 2012, ISBN 978-0-9851105-0-5
  • He Mele a Hilo, Topside Press, 2014, ISBN 978-1-62729-007-4
  • Why Dust Shall Never Settle Upon This Soul, biyuti publishing, 2015, ISBN 978-0-9919008-5-5
  • Light From Uncommon Stars, Tor Books, 2021, ISBN 978-1-250-78906-8

References
  1. "Bio". Ryka Aoki. Retrieved June 13, 2021.
  2. Lee, Elizabeth (April 23, 2012). "Front Row: Ryka Aoki". ALINE Magazine (2012–04–23).
  3. Reyes, Gabrielle (November 11, 2014). "Ryka Aoki speaks as part of Trans Week". The Brown Daily Herald. Retrieved October 9, 2015.
  4. Jax, TT (January 6, 2013). "The Fruits of Winter: Ryka Aoki's Seasonal Velocities". Lambda Literary Foundation. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
  5. Aoki, Ryka (May 22, 2015). "Why I Write: Ryka Aoki". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
  6. Griffith, Nicola (March 6, 2013). "25th Annual Lambda Literary Awards Shortlist". Retrieved October 2, 2015.
  7. "28th Annual Lambda Literary Award Finalists". Lambda Literary. April 11, 2016. Archived from the original on March 22, 2019. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  8. "2022 Hugo Awards". The Hugo Awards. April 7, 2022. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  9. PINEDA, DORANY (February 23, 2022). "Mariana Enriquez, Michael Connelly, S.A. Cosby among L.A. Times Book Prize finalists". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 25, 2023.
  10. Lothian, Alexis. "Ryka Aoki and Rivers Solomon win 2021 Otherwise Award! Honor List announced" Otherwise Award website
  11. "Author on pain of trans Asian Americans, joyfully queer stories". NBC News. September 14, 2021. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
  12. "Ryka Aoki". Topside Press. Archived from the original on October 5, 2015. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
  13. "Ryka Aoki". Trans-Genre. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
  14. Diagnosing Difference (2009) - IMDb, retrieved May 4, 2023
  15. Riot Acts: Flaunting Gender Deviance in Music Performance (2010) - IMDb, retrieved May 4, 2023
  16. Transfinite (2019) - IMDb, retrieved May 4, 2023
  17. Kellaway, Mitch (November 5, 2014). "The Year's 10 Best Transgender Non-Fiction Books". The Advocate. Retrieved October 9, 2015.
  18. Feil, Megan. "Tranny Roadshow: laughs and learning about defying gender norms". The Guilfordian. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
  19. "The Tranny Roadshow". WUNC. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
  20. "The Fully Functional Cabaret". Barnard College. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
  21. Aoki, Ryka (August 17, 2021). "Of Galaxies, Sprinkles, and Glazes: Lessons from the Donut King and Science Fiction's Golden Age". The Mary Sue. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
  22. "Light from Uncommon Stars". Kirkus Reviews. July 10, 2021. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
  23. Gittelman, Maya (October 7, 2021). "The Wild and Tender Magic of Ryka Aoki's Light from Uncommon Stars". Tor.com. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
  24. Abbott, Alana Joli (September 28, 2021). "Donuts & Demons: Ryka Aoki's Light from Uncommon Stars". Retrieved November 13, 2021.
  25. locusmag (June 13, 2023). "35th Lambda Awards Winners". Locus Online. Retrieved October 24, 2023.

Further reading
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