Vaddey Ratner

Vaddey Ratner was born in Cambodia in 1970. She was five years old when the Khmer Rouge came to power in 1975. In 1982, she arrived in the United States as a refugee child without knowledge of English. She graduated as valedictorian of her high-school class in 1990 and studied Southeast Asian history and art. Her debut novel, “In the Shadow of the Banyan,” was among the finalists for the PEN/Hemingway Foundation Award.