{{Short description|Chinese Scottish poet and writer}}
{{Infobox writer | name = Jay Gao | image = | image_size = | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1994}} | birth_place = Preston | resting_place = | occupation = Poet | language = | nationality = British | citizenship = | education = University of Edinburgh <br> Brown University <br> Columbia University | alma_mater = | period = | genre = Poetry | subject = | movement = | notableworks = ''Imperium'' | spouse = | partner = | awards = Eric Gregory Award <br> Somerset Maugham Award | website = {{URL|https://www.jay-gao.com//}} }}
'''Jay Gao''' is a Chinese Scottish poet and writer from Edinburgh, based in New York City.
== Early life and education == Jay Gao was born in Preston in 1994 but was raised in Glasgow and Edinburgh. After attending the University of Edinburgh, he later earned his MFA in Literary Arts (Poetry) from Brown University.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Communications |first=Brown Office of University |title=Reading: Jay Gao, My Tran, Chibuihe Obi Achimba |url=https://events.brown.edu/literary-arts/event/232850-reading-jay-gao-my-tran-chibuihe-obi-achimba |access-date=2024-05-26 |website=events.brown.edu |language=en}}</ref> He is currently a PhD student in English Literature at Columbia University.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jay Gao |url=https://english.columbia.edu/content/jay-gao |website=Columbia University}}</ref>
== Career == Between 2017 and 2022, Gao began publishing under the name Jay G Ying, publishing two poetry pamphlets during this time: ''Wedding Beasts'' (2019), shortlisted for the 2019 Callum MacDonald Memorial Award;<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Callum Macdonald Memorial Award 2019 |url=https://www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/the-callum-macdonald-memorial-award-2019/ |access-date=2024-05-26 |website=Scottish Poetry Library |language=en-GB}}</ref> and ''Katabasis'' (2020), winner of the 2019 New Poets Prize, judged by Mary Jean Chan.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Katabasis |url=https://poetrybusiness.co.uk/product/katabasis/ |access-date=2024-05-26 |website=The Poetry Business |language=en-GB}}</ref>
In 2018, Gao co-founded the Scottish BPOC Writers Network with Alycia Pirmohamed as an "advocacy and professional development group for Scottish and Scotland-based writers and literary professionals who identify as BPOC (Black people, People of Colour)".<ref>{{Cite web |title=About - |url=http://scottishbpocwritersnetwork.org/about/ |access-date=2024-05-26 |language=en-US}}</ref>
In 2019, Gao participated in the Palestine Festival of Literature as a visiting author, alongside writers including Victoria Adukwei Bulley and Natalie Diaz.<ref>{{Cite web |title=PalFest 2019 Report {{!}} PDF |url=https://www.scribd.com/document/449492578/PalFest-2019-Report |access-date=2024-05-26 |website=Scribd |language=en}}</ref>
In 2020, Gao was part of a delegation for the 35th British Council Literature Seminar in Hamburg, in collaboration with Literaturhaus Hamburg, in order to promote new Scottish literature and voices alongside Louise Welsh, Mary Paulson-Ellis, Malachy Tallack, and Kirsty Logan.<ref>{{Cite web |title=#BritLitHamburg: Scottish Literature Now! - Literature |url=https://literature.britishcouncil.org/project/britlithamburg-scottish-literature-now?Genre=2 |access-date=2024-05-26 |website=literature.britishcouncil.org}}</ref>
In 2022, his debut poetry collection, ''Imperium'', was published by Carcanet<ref>{{Cite web |date= |title=Carcanet reveals 2022 debut collections |url=https://www.bookbrunch.co.uk/page/article-detail/carcanet-reveals-2022-debut-collections |access-date=2024-05-27 |website=Bookbrunch |language=en}}</ref> and was subsequently a winner of the 2023 Michael Murphy Memorial Poetry Prize,<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Dami |date=2020-08-07 |title=Michael Murphy Memorial Poetry Prize Competition |url=https://englishassociation.ac.uk/michael-murphy-memorial-prize-poetry-competition/ |access-date=2024-05-26 |website=The English Association |language=en-GB}}</ref> a Somerset Maugham Award,<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |date=2020-05-08 |title=Somerset Maugham Awards - The Society of Authors |url=https://www2.societyofauthors.org/prizes/the-soa-awards/somerset-maugham-awards/ |access-date=2024-05-26 |language=en-GB |archive-date=2023-04-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230413125200/https://www2.societyofauthors.org/prizes/the-soa-awards/somerset-maugham-awards/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> and an Eric Gregory Award.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |date=2020-05-08 |title=Eric Gregory Awards - The Society of Authors |url=https://www2.societyofauthors.org/prizes/the-soa-awards/eric-gregory-awards/ |access-date=2024-05-26 |language=en-GB |archive-date=2024-04-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240414170507/https://www2.societyofauthors.org/prizes/the-soa-awards/eric-gregory-awards/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> ''Imperium'' was also a runner-up for the 2022 Edwin Morgan Poetry Award<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-08-24 |title=EMPA 2022: Winners |url=https://edwinmorgantrust.com/2022/08/24/empa-2022-winners/ |access-date=2024-05-26 |language=en-GB}}</ref> and long-listed for the Anglo-Hellenic League Runciman Award.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Carcanet Press - Imperium |url=https://www.carcanet.co.uk/cgi-bin/indexer?product=9781800172470 |access-date=2024-05-26 |website=www.carcanet.co.uk}}</ref> He also published a poetry pamphlet ''TRAVESTY58'' in 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jay Gao, TRAVESTY58: Lake Poems |url=https://www.spamzine.co.uk/product-page/jay-gao-travesty58-lake-poems |access-date=2024-05-26 |website=SPAM |language=en}}</ref>
In 2022, his short story "The Baron and His Volcano" won the 2022 Desperate Literature Short Fiction Prize, a prize that aims to celebrate international writers of experimental fiction.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |title=Jay Gao scoops Desperate Literature Short Fiction Prize |url=https://www.thebookseller.com/news/gao-wins-desperate-literature-short-fiction-prize |access-date=2024-05-26 |website=The Bookseller |language=En}}</ref><ref name=":5">{{Cite web |last=Anderson |first=Porter |date=2022-08-23 |title=Spain's 2022 Desperate Literature Prize Goes to Jay Gao |url=https://publishingperspectives.com/2022/08/spains-2022-desperate-literature-prize-goes-to-jay-gao/ |access-date=2024-05-26 |website=Publishing Perspectives |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date= |title=Jay Gao wins Desperate Literature Short Fiction Prize |url=https://www.bookbrunch.co.uk/page/article-detail/jay-gao-wins-desperate-literature-short-fiction-prize |access-date=2024-05-27 |website=Bookbrunch |language=en}}</ref>
His writing has received support from literary institutions and residencies such as Bread Loaf Writers' Conference,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Audio Recordings {{!}} Middlebury Bread Loaf Writers' Conferences |url=https://www.middlebury.edu/writers-conferences/writers-conference/lodging-logistics/audio-recordings |access-date=2024-05-26 |website=www.middlebury.edu |language=en}}</ref> Tin House,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jay Gao |url=https://tinhouse.com/th_post_faculty/jay-g-ying/ |access-date=2024-05-26 |website=Tin House |language=en-US}}</ref> Civitella Ranieri Foundation,<ref name=":4" /> and Community of Writers. A former Contributing Editor for ''The White Review'',<ref>{{Cite web |title=About |url=https://www.thewhitereview.org/about/ |access-date=2024-05-26 |website=The White Review |language=en-US}}</ref> he currently reads for ''Poetry''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Foundation |first=Poetry |date=2024-05-26 |title=Announcing the New POETRY Magazine Podcast Host and Readers for POETRY! |url=https://www.poetryfoundation.org/harriet-books/2023/06/announcing-the-new-poetry-magazine-podcast-host-and-readers-for-poetry |access-date=2024-05-26 |website=Poetry Foundation |language=en}}</ref>
== Works ==
=== Poetry Collections ===
* 2022: ''Imperium'' (Carcanet Press)<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gao |first=Jay |title=Imperium |date=2022 |publisher=Carcanet Poetry |isbn=978-1-80017-247-0 |location=Manchester}}</ref>
=== Poetry Pamphlets/Chapbooks ===
* 2024: ''Bark, Archive, Splinter'' (Out-Spoken Press)<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gao |first=Jay |title=Bark, Archive, Splinter |publisher=Out-Spoken Press |year=2024 |isbn=9781738412501}}</ref> * 2024: ''Bark, Archive, Splinter'' (Belladonna*)<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gao |first=Jay |title=Bark, Archive, Splinter |publisher=Belladonna* Collaborative |year=2024}}</ref> * 2022: ''TRAVESTY58: Lake Poems'' (SPAM Press)<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gao |first=Jay |title=TRAVESTY58: Lake Poems |publisher=SPAM Press |year=2022 |isbn=978-1-915049-10-0}}</ref> * 2020: ''Katabasis'' (Smith|Doorstop)<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gao |first=Jay |title=Katabasis |date=2020 |publisher=Smith{{!}}Doorstop |isbn=978-1-912196-30-2}}</ref> * 2019: ''Wedding Beasts'' (Bitter Melon)<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gao |first=Jay |title=Wedding Beasts |publisher=Bitter Melon |year=2019}}</ref>
== Awards ==
* 2023: Michael Murphy Memorial Poetry Prize (''Imperium'')<ref name=":1" /> * 2023: Somerset Maugham Award (''Imperium'')<ref name=":2" /> * 2023: Eric Gregory Award (''Imperium'')<ref name=":3" /> * 2022: The Desperate Literature Prize for Short Fiction ("The Baron and His Volcano")<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":5" /> * 2022: The London Magazine Poetry Prize ("Sky Soldier")<ref>{{Cite web |last=Magazine |first=The London |date=2022-02-25 |title=News {{!}} Poetry Prize 2021/22: Jay Gao wins first place for his poem 'Sky Soldier' |url=https://thelondonmagazine.org/news-poetry-prize-2021-22-jay-gao-wins-first-place-for-his-poem-sky-soldier/ |access-date=2024-05-26 |website=The London Magazine |language=en-GB}}</ref> * 2019: New Poets Prize (''Katabasis'')<ref name=":0" /> * 2017: The Poetry Book Society Student Poetry Prize ("Scattering")<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mullen |first=Alice |date=2018-03-16 |title=1st PRIZE: JAY G YING |url=https://www.poetrybooks.co.uk/blogs/news/1st-prize-jay-g-ying |access-date=2024-05-26 |website=The Poetry Book Society |language=en}}</ref>
== References == <!-- Inline citations added to your article will automatically display here. See en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WP:REFB for instructions on how to add citations. --> {{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gao, Jay}} Category:1994 births Category:Living people Category:Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Category:British Asian writers Category:Brown University alumni Category:Scottish male poets Category:Scottish people of Chinese descent Category:Writers from Edinburgh Category:Writers from Glasgow Category:Writers from Preston, Lancashire