Join UBC Library for a special event featuring Writer-in-Residence Tsering Yangzom Lama as she discusses her work and life as a writer.  Tsering will share insights into her creative journey, the challenges and rewards of writing, and the influences that have shaped her storytelling. Whether you’re an aspiring writer or simply curious about writing life, this event offers an intimate look at the craft, perseverance, and inspiration behind the work of a celebrated contemporary author.   In partnership with Word Vancouver, this event will be moderated by Word Vancouver's festival director, Bonnie Nish.  

Author Profile

Tsering Yangzom Lama’s debut novel, We Measure the Earth With Our Bodies, won the GLCA New Writers Award as well as the Banff Mountain Book Award for Fiction & Poetry. Her novel also received nominations for The Giller Prize, Prix Émile Guimet, The Center for Fiction First Novel Prize, The Carol Shields Prize, The Rakuten Kobo Emerging Writers Prize, The Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize, The Jim Deva Prize for Writing that Provokes, The VCU Cabell First Novel Prize, Valley of Words Book Awards, and The Toronto Book Awards. Tsering holds an MFA in Writing from Columbia University and a BA in Creative Writing and International Relations from the University of British Columbia. WE MEASURE is published in English in Canada, the United States, and India. Translations are available or forthcoming in French, Italian, Dutch, Polish, Bulgarian, Tibetan, and Arabic. 

A recipient of grants from the Canada Council for the Arts and the Barbara Deming Memorial Fund, Tsering has been a resident at the Jan Michalski Foundation, Loghaven Artist Residency, Banff Center for Arts and Creativity, Hedgebrook, Willapa Bay AiR, Marble House, I-Park, Vermont Studio Center, Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Lillian E. Smith Center, Art Omi, Catwalk Institute, WildAcres, and Playa Summerlake. She was selected as a 2018 Tin House Novel Scholar. Tsering’s writing has appeared in The Globe and Mail, The Malahat Review, Grain, Kenyon Review, The Brooklyn Rail, Vela, LaLit, and Himal SouthAsian, as well as the anthologies Old Demons New Deities: 21 Short Stories from Tibet; House of Snow: An Anthology of the Greatest Writing About Nepal; and Brave New Play Rites. She is also a co-founder of LhakarDiaries, a leading English-language blog among Tibetan youth in exile.

The Writer-in-Residence at UBC Library’s Irving K. Barber Learning Centre

The program is designed to support and promote literary excellence within our academic community.  Providing a unique opportunity for a distinguished writer to engage with students, faculty, and the local community through various enriching activities and events, UBC Library aims to foster a vibrant literary culture, encourage creative expression, and offer valuable insights into the writing process.   Learn more about Tsering Yangzom Lama from this Q&A conversation with UBC Library.