Nam Le is a Vietnamese-Australian writer. Le's parents immigrated to Australia from Vietnam as boat refugees when Le was less than one year old. He grew up in Australia and attended the University of Melbourne, where he earned a BA and an LLB. Following university, he worked as a lawyer.
In 2004, Le decided to change careers and pursue writing. He attended the well-respected Iowa Writers' Workshop where he earned a Masters in Creative Writing. His first short story was published in 2006 in a fiction and art magazine. Le lived in the United States until 2008, when he returned to Australia.
Le published his first collection of short stories, The Boat, in 2008. The collection has been acclaimed for its variety of perspectives. Three of the seven stories include characters who are either from Vietnam or Australia, but the remaining four stories take readers to Colombia, Japan, the United States, and Iran. The stories are connected by themes of family, identity, and trauma. Le won many awards for his first collection, including the Prime Minister's Literary Award and the National Book Foundation's "5 Under 35" Award.
The Boat is a collection of short stories heavily influenced by the author’s background and childhood experiences. Born in Vietnam, Nam Le fled to Australia with his parents while still a baby. The family was one of the many families of “boat...
