Lydia Kang, author portrait
© Chelsea Donoho

Lydia Kang

Lydia Kang is an author of adult and young adult fiction, poetry, and nonfiction. She is also a doctor and practices internal medicine in Omaha, Nebraska. She became a Star Wars author with the inclusion of the short story Right-Hand Man in the 2020 anthology From a Certain Point of View: The Empire Strikes Back, which describes the critical scene in which 2-1B attaches Luke Skywalker’s prosthetic hand. Her historical fiction includes the bestselling titles Opium and Absinthe, A Beautiful Poison, The Impossible Girl, and The Half-Life of Ruby Fielding. She is the co-author of Quackery: A Brief History of the Worst Ways to Cure Everything, an NPR Science Friday best science book of the year, as well as Patient Zero: A Curious History of the World’s Worst Diseases. She lives with her three kids, physician husband, and two very co-dependent dogs, one of which looks uncannily like an Ewok.

Books

Star Wars: Cataclysm (The High Republic)
Star Wars: The High Republic: Tales of Light and Life

Three Penguin Random House Authors Win Pulitzer Prizes

On Monday, May 5, three Penguin Random House authors were honored with a Pulitzer Prize. Established in 1917, the Pulitzer Prizes are the most prestigious awards in American letters. To date, PRH has 143 Pulitzer Prize winners, including William Faulkner, Eudora Welty, Josh Steinbeck, Ron Chernow, Anne Applebaum, Colson Whitehead, and many more. Take a look at our 2025 Pulitzer Prize

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Books for LGBTQIA+ Pride Month

In June we celebrate Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, and Asexual + (LGBTQIA+) Pride Month, which honors the 1969 Stonewall riots in Manhattan. Pride Month is a time to both celebrate the accomplishments of those in the LGBTQ+ community and recognize the ongoing struggles faced by many across the world who wish to live

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