Heralded as a 'big talent' by the Los Angeles Times and praised by Newsday for '[wrestling] with profound philosophical and social issues' while delivering an 'immensely entertaining story,' Karen Yamashita is the recipient of an American Book Award and the Janet Heidinger Kafka Award. A California native who has also lived in Brazil and Japan, she teaches at the University of California-Santa Cruz, where she received the Chancellor's Award for Diversity in 2009.