Ira Sukrungruang

Ira Sukrungruang
Born (1976-06-23) June 23, 1976
Oak Lawn, Illinois
OccupationWriter and professor
Genre
Website
Official website

Ira Sukrungruang (born June 23, 1976) is a Thai American who is a writer and professor at Kenyon College.

Sukrungruang was born in Oak Lawn, Illinois to Thai immigrant parents. His family is Buddhist.[1] His mother was a champion bowler back in Thailand. She arrived in America a few years before his father.[2] His mother came to America in 1968 to work as a nurse and moved back to Chiang Mai, Thailand after 36 years. He visits Thailand frequently.[1][3] His father worked as a chemist in a tile factory.[4]

Sukrungruang earned his Bachelor of Arts from Southern Illinois University Carbondale in 1998 and Master of Fine Arts from Ohio State University in 2002. He is the Richard L. Thomas Professor of Creative Writing at Kenyon College.[5] Sukrungruang has a son, Bodhi, and ex-wife writer Katie Riegel.[6] Riegel, who was from central Illinois,[4] sent him a note asking for a divorce on their 12th anniversary and Sukrungruang was so depressed he considered suicide.[7][8]

Sukrungruang has received numerous awards, including the Anita Claire Scharf Award for In Thailand It Is Night,[9] the American Book Award for Southside Buddhist,[5][10] and Chicago Writers Association Book of the Year in Nonfiction for This Jade World.[10][11] He is the president of Sweet: A Literary Confection, founded in 2008, a non-profit literary organization with the aim of assisting marginalized people.[12][13] He is also on the board of the Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP)—and Machete, an Ohio State University imprint that also focuses on marginalized people.[13]

He is addicted to tattoos and once typed a story with one hand while his infant son was on his lap.[14]

Works

Non-fiction books

  • Sukrungruang, Ira (2011). Talk Thai: The Adventures of Buddhist Boy. Columbia, Missouri: University of Missouri Press. ISBN 9780826272102.[5]
  • Sukrungruang, Ira (2014). Southside Buddhist. Tampa, Florida: University of Tampa Press. ISBN 9781597321242.[5]
  • Sukrungruang, Ira (2018). Buddha’s Dog & other Meditations. Tampa, Florida: University of Tampa Press. ISBN 9781597321563.[5]
  • Sukrungruang, Ira (2021). This Jade World. Lincoln, Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 9781496228840.[5]

Short story collections

  • Sukrungruang, Ira (2016). The Melting Season. New Orleans: Burlesque Press. ISBN 9780996485043.[5]

Poetry books

  • Sukrungruang, Ira (2013). In Thailand It Is Night. Tampa, Florida: University of Tampa Press. ISBN 9781597321068.[5]

Essay collection

  • Under and Up: Fatherhood and Fear in the Age of Distrust (due in 2027)[5]

Anthologies

  • Sukrungruang, Ira; Jarrell, Donna, eds. (2003). What Are You Looking At? The First Fat Fiction Anthology. Boston: Mariner Books. ISBN 9780156029070.[15]
  • Sukrungruang, Ira; Jarrell, Donna, eds. (2005). Scoot Over, Skinny: The Fat Nonfiction Anthology. Boston: Mariner Books. ISBN 9780156030229.[15]

Awards

  • 2013 Anita Claire Scharf Award for In Thailand It Is Night[9][16]
  • 2015 American Book Award for Southside Buddhist[5][10][16]
  • 2022 Chicago Writers Association Book of the Year in Nonfiction for This Jade World[10][11][16]
  • New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship in Nonfiction Literature[5][16]
  • Arts and Letters Fellowship[5][16]
  • Emerging Writer Fellowship[5]
  • Richard L. Thomas Professor of Creative Writing at Kenyon College[5][16]

References

  1. ^ a b Byrd, Ann Marie. "Ira Sukrungruang: An Interview". Flock Literature. Retrieved November 29, 2025.
  2. ^ "Chop Suey". Creative Nonfiction. Retrieved November 29, 2025.
  3. ^ "Invisible Partners". Brevity Magazine. No. 56. September 15, 2017. Retrieved November 29, 2025.
  4. ^ a b Salibian, E.C. (December 29, 2014). "Immigrant Lessons". Los Angeles Review of Books. Retrieved November 29, 2025.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Ira Sukrungruang, Richard L. Thomas Professor of Creative Writing". Kenyon College. Retrieved November 29, 2025.
  6. ^ "Little Boy Ghost by Ira Sukrungruang". Craft Literary. July 17, 2024. Retrieved November 29, 2025.
  7. ^ "A Review of Ira Sukrungruang's This Jade World". Brevity. November 1, 2021. Retrieved November 29, 2025.
  8. ^ "Hybrid Interview: Ira Sukrungruang". Craft Literary. Retrieved November 29, 2025.
  9. ^ a b "In Thailand it is Night". University of Tampa Press. 2013. Retrieved November 29, 2025.
  10. ^ a b c d "Ira Sukrungruang". Asian American Writers' Workshop. 2023. Retrieved November 29, 2025.
  11. ^ a b "Book of the Year". Chicago Writers Association. 2025. Retrieved November 29, 2025.
  12. ^ "Sweet Lit A Literary Confection". Duotrope. Retrieved November 29, 2025.
  13. ^ a b Culleton, Malcolm (December 14, 2022). "Vulnerability and Joy: A Conversation with Ira Sukrungruang". The Fourth River. Retrieved November 29, 2025.
  14. ^ "A Profile of the Author, Notes on "If You Only Knew"". Willow Springs Magazine. No. 85. Retrieved November 29, 2025.
  15. ^ a b Medeiros, Melinda (February 11, 2022). "A Normal Interview With Ira Sukrungruang". The Normal School. Retrieved November 29, 2025.
  16. ^ a b c d e f "Ira Sukrungruang". Virginia Commonwealth University. Retrieved November 29, 2025.
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