Hmong Museum

Mai Neng Moua was born in Laos in 1974. Her family immigrated to the U.S. in 1981. She graduated from St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota and later attended the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs. Predominantly a creative non-fiction writer, she has been published in:

• How Do I Begin?
• Where One Voice Ends, Another Begins
• Healing by Heart
• Rehabilitation Counseling Bulletin
• Minneapolis Star Tribune
• We Are The Freedom People

Moua’s literary awards include:

• Bush Artist Fellowship
• Minnesota State Arts Board Artist Initiative Grant
• Jerome Travel Grant
• Loft Literary Center’s Mentor Series

Among her accomplishments, she is also the founder of Paj Ntaub Voice Hmoob Literary Journal and editor of the first Hmong American anthology: Bamboo Among the Oaks: Contemporary Writing by Hmong Americans. In 2017, she released her memoir, The Bride Price: A Hmong Wedding Story. 

Moua has taught creative writing to youth through the Jane Addams School for Democracy, COMPAS, and Success Beyond the Classroom. 

Moua lives in Minneapolis with her husband, Blong Yang, a former Minneapolis City Council Member, and their two daughters.