EMI YAGI is an editor at a women's magazine in Japan. She was born in 1988 and lives in Tokyo. Her first novel and international cult hit, Diary of a Void, won the Osamu Dazai Prize, awarded annually to the best debut work of fiction.

YUKI TEJIMA is a translator from the Japanese whose projects include Mizuki Tsujimura's Lost Souls Meet Under a Full Moon and How to Hold Someone in Your Heart and Kumi Kimura's Someone to Watch Over You, among others. Raised in California, she now lives in Tokyo.

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"[T]hickly complex . . . Ultimately, When the Museum Is Closed is both a love story and a tale about stepping into the unknown. It asks whether you would willingly throw yourself into an abyss for the one you love. The story questions how we relate to one another in contemporary society, where we are taught to make self-serving, safe choices." --Grace En-yi Ting, The Japan Times

"A fun and (metaphysical) sexy queer love story, Yagi's latest tackles love, loneliness, and the role of women's beauty in society." --Emily Firetog, Literary Hub

"When the Museum is Closed is a dreamlike take on desire, loneliness, and the transformative power of being perceived by others." --Linnea Gradin, Electric Literature

"As a slim novella, When the Museum Is Closed might seem initially spare but it's rife with insights on language, communication, love, identity, definitions of beauty, gender roles, and the possibility of true individual freedom." --Terry Hong, Shelf Awareness (starred review)

"This whimsical story is a winner." --Publishers Weekly

"[Its] gentle surrealism nevertheless exposes truths about loneliness, beauty, and queer love . . . Fans of Kevin Wilson's Nothing to See Here will appreciate Yagi's blend of dark humor and empathy for her characters, while the unconventional love story may appeal to fans of Sky Daddy, by Kate Folk or Blob, by Maggie Su." --Booklist

"Yagi's characters and the world they inhabit are as inimitably charming as they are whimsical. Through them, the author explores weightier themes like loneliness, love, sexuality, and the meaning of art with flair, zest, and a refreshing touch of the surreal. A magical love story couched in absurdist fabulism." --Kirkus Reviews

"After loving Diary of a Void and now When the Museum Is Closed, I can confidently say that I love the way author Emi Yagi's brain works! Thank you Emi for writing these delightfully unhinged and charmingly unconventional stories." --Christine Bollow, Loyalty Bookstores (Washington, DC)

Publisher: Soft Skull

Pub date: 2026-01-27

Length: 256 pages