Nancy Yi Fan (born August 26, 1993 ) is a
Chinese American author who is best known for writing a series that currently consists of the novels ''
Swordbird'', ''
Sword Quest'', and ''
Sword Mountain''.
Biography
Fan was born in
Beijing, China. At the age of 7, she moved with her parents to
Syracuse, New York. She started writing her first novel 3 years later, and completed the manuscript within a year. Fan's book became a ''New York Times Bestseller'', and she was featured on ''
The Oprah Winfrey Show
''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', often referred to as ''The Oprah Show'' or simply ''Oprah'', is an American daytime syndicated talk show that aired nationally for 25 seasons from September 8, 1986, to May 25, 2011, in Chicago, Illinois. Produced ...
'' as one of the world's smartest kids. She then began writing ''
Sword Quest'', a prequel to Swordbird, and published it two years later. Her third book, ''
Sword Mountain,'' was released in July 2012.
Career
Swordbird
Fan's novel was inspired by her lifelong love for birds. After awaking from a vivid dream about birds at war while simultaneously wrestling with her feelings about terrorism and the
September 11th Attacks
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commer ...
, Fan wrote ''Swordbird'' as a way to convey a message of peace to the world. At the age of eleven, Fan began writing a manuscript for her story, which she finished a year later. She emailed her manuscript to the CEO of
HarperCollins
HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News ...
, which led to the novel's 50,000-copy first printing.
Sword Quest
In 2008,
HarperCollins
HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News ...
released ''Sword Quest'', a prequel set 100 years before the time of ''Swordbird''.
Sword Mountain
The third novel in Fan's series was set to be released in July 2012, by HarperCollins. Everybird must choose a side as tradition begins to splinter and an ancient book bewitches those with evil intentions.
Personal life
In 2011, Fan began attending
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
. In her free time, she enjoys practicing
Martial Arts and takes care of her two pet birds.
See also
*
Christopher Paolini
Christopher James Paolini (born November 17, 1983) is an American author and screenwriter. He is best known for '' The Inheritance Cycle'', which consists of the books '' Eragon'', ''Eldest'', '' Brisingr'', ''Inheritance'', and the follow up sho ...
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fan, Nancy Yi
American writers of Chinese descent
1993 births
Living people
Chinese emigrants to the United States
American child writers
American women writers
Writers from Florida
Writers from Beijing
Eastside High School (Gainesville, Florida) alumni
Harvard University alumni
21st-century American women