Rebecca F. Kuang is a

Chinese-American Chinese Americans are Americans of Han Chinese ancestry. Chinese Americans constitute a subgroup of East Asian Americans which also constitute a subgroup of Asian Americans. Many Chinese Americans along with their ancestors trace lineage from m ...

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

writer. Her first novel, ''

The Poppy War ''The Poppy War'' is a 2018 novel by R. F. Kuang, published by Harper Voyager. ''The Poppy War'', a grimdark fantasy, draws its plot and politics from mid-20th-century China, with the conflict in the novel based on the Second Sino-Japanese War, ...

'', was released in 2018, followed by the sequels ''The Dragon Republic'' in 2019 and ''The Burning God'' in 2020. Kuang released a stand-alone novel, ''

Babel, or the Necessity of Violence ''Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution'' is a 2022 novel by R. F. Kuang. It debuted at the first spot on ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list and won Blackwell's Books of the Year for ...

'', in 2022. Kuang has won the

Compton Crook Award The Compton Crook Award is presented to the best English language first novel of the year in the field of science fiction, fantasy, or horror by the members of the Baltimore Science Fiction Society at their annual science fiction convention, Baltic ...

, the

Crawford Award :::''See also'' Crawford Medal The IAFA William L. Crawford Fantasy Award (short: Crawford award) is a literary award given to a writer whose first fantasy book was published during the preceding 18 months. It's one of several awards presented by ...

, and the 2020

Astounding Award for Best New Writer The ''Astounding'' Award for Best New Writer (formerly the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer) is given annually to the best new writer whose first professional work of science fiction or fantasy was published within the two previous ...

, along with being a finalist for the

Nebula A nebula ('cloud' or 'fog' in Latin; pl. nebulae, nebulæ or nebulas) is a distinct luminescent part of interstellar medium, which can consist of ionized, neutral or molecular hydrogen and also cosmic dust. Nebulae are often star-forming regio ...

Locus Locus (plural loci) is Latin for "place". It may refer to: Entertainment * Locus (comics), a Marvel Comics mutant villainess, a member of the Mutant Liberation Front * ''Locus'' (magazine), science fiction and fantasy magazine ** ''Locus Award' ...

, World Fantasy,

The Kitschies The Kitschies are British literary prizes presented annually for "the year's most progressive, intelligent and entertaining works that contain elements of the speculative or fantastic" published in the United Kingdom. Awards and criteria The Ki ...

, and

British Fantasy British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

awards for her first novel.

Early life and education

Kuang immigrated to the United States from

Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, with her family when she was four years old. Her father grew up in

Leiyang Leiyang () is a county-level city and the third most populous county-level division in Hunan Province, China. Leiyang is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Hengyang. Located on the south of the province, the city is bordered ...

, in

Hunan Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to ...

province, and her mother grew up on

Hainan Island Hainan (, ; ) is the smallest and southernmost province of the People's Republic of China (PRC), consisting of various islands in the South China Sea. , the largest and most populous island in China,The island of Taiwan, which is slightly l ...

. Her maternal grandfather fought for

Chiang Kai-shek Chiang Kai-shek (31 October 1887 – 5 April 1975), also known as Chiang Chung-cheng and Jiang Jieshi, was a Chinese Nationalist politician, revolutionary, and military leader who served as the leader of the Republic of China (ROC) from 1928 ...

. Her father's family experienced the Japanese conquest of Hunan. Kuang grew up in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County w ...

and graduated from Greenhill School in 2013. She attended

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

, majoring in History, attracted by the college's well-known debating team after winning the Tournament of Champions. Halfway through college, Kuang was 19 when she began writing ''Poppy War'' during a

gap year A gap year, also known as a sabbatical year, is typically a year-long break before or after college/university during which students engage in various educational and developmental activities, such as travel or some type of regular work. Gap yea ...

in China, where she worked as a debate coach; the book was published when she was 22. Kuang graduated from the

Odyssey Writing Workshop Founded in 1996 by World Fantasy Award winning editor Jeanne Cavelos, the Odyssey Writing Workshop is held annually on the campus of Saint Anselm College in Goffstown, New Hampshire. Notable graduates * C. J. Lyons, Class of 2021 *Scott Gray (wr ...

in 2016 and attended the CSSF Novel Writing Workshop in 2017. She graduated from Georgetown's

School of Foreign Service The Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service (SFS) is the school of international relations at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. It is considered to be one of the world's leading international affairs schools, granting degrees at both ...

in June 2018. She spent the summer after graduation coaching a debate camp in Colorado. Kuang attended

Magdalene College Magdalene College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mary ...

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

as a recipient of a 2018

Marshall Scholarship The Marshall Scholarship is a postgraduate scholarship for "intellectually distinguished young Americans ndtheir country's future leaders" to study at any university in the United Kingdom. It is widely considered one of the most prestigious sc ...

, where she gained a

Master of Philosophy The Master of Philosophy (MPhil; Latin ' or ') is a postgraduate degree. In the United States, an MPhil typically includes a taught portion and a significant research portion, during which a thesis project is conducted under supervision. An MPhil m ...

Chinese Studies Sinology, or Chinese studies, is an academic discipline that focuses on the study of China primarily through Chinese philosophy, Chinese language, language, Chinese literature, literature, Chinese culture, culture and History of China, history and ...

. The following academic year, she studied at

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

and received an MSc in Contemporary Chinese Studies. Kuang returned to the United States in the fall of 2020 to pursue a PhD in East Asian Languages and Literatures at

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

. Kuang was originally scheduled to deliver the 8th annual J.R.R. Tolkien Lecture on Fantasy Literature at

Pembroke College, Oxford Pembroke College, a constituent college of the University of Oxford, is located at Pembroke Square, Oxford. The college was founded in 1624 by King James I of England, using in part the endowment of merchant Thomas Tesdale, and was named after ...

in 2020, but it was postponed to the following year due to the world-wide COVID-19 pandemic. She took part in a virtual seminar that was held in place of the postponed annual seminar. Kuang delivered the Tolkien Lecture in person on May 23, 2022.

Literary works

Her debut novel ''

'', a Chinese military fantasy, was published by

Harper Voyager 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 Co ...

in 2018 and is the first book in the Poppy War trilogy. ''The Poppy War'' has received mainly favorable reviews, with

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...

calling it “a strong and dramatic launch to Kuang's career”. In October 2020, her first two books in the Poppy Wars trilogy were included in

Time Magazine ''Time'' (stylized in all caps) is an American news magazine based in New York City. For nearly a century, it was published weekly, but starting in March 2020 it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York City on Mar ...

's ''The 100 Best Fantasy Books of All Time'' (The Burning God was not available when the article was published). In December 2020, Starlight Media, the U.S. film subsidiary of China-based Starlight Culture Entertainment Group,

optioned In the film industry, an option is a contractual agreement pertaining to film rights between a potential film producer (such as a movie studio, a production company, or an individual) and the author of source material, such as a book, play, or s ...

the rights to adapt Kuang's Poppy Wars trilogy for television. In 2020, she wrote a short story in the

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...

universe called ''Against All Odds'' about a

Rebel Alliance The Alliance to Restore the Republic (colloquial: Rebel Alliance; the Rebellion; the Alliance; or the Rebels) is a fictional stateless interstellar coalition of republican dissidents, imperial defectors, revolutionary factions and anti-imperial ...

defender on the ice planet

Hoth Hoth is an ice planet in the ''Star Wars'' fictional universe. It first appeared in the 1980 film ''The Empire Strikes Back'' and has also been a setting in ''Star Wars'' books and video games. Description Hoth is the sixth planet of a remote s ...

named Dak Ralter. It was published in the anthology ''From a Certain Point of View: 40 Stories celebrating 40 years of The Empire Strikes Back''.

''Poppy Wars'' trilogy

Peter Luo's

Starlight Media Starlight Media (stylised as starlight.media), previously stylised as StarLightMedia is the largest Ukrainian broadcasting group, composed of six television stations and nine other media and advertising companies. It was founded 11 November 2009 ...

and SA Inc will adapt ''The Poppy Wars'' trilogy for television.

''The Poppy War''

''The Poppy War'', a

grimdark Grimdark is a subgenre of speculative fiction with a tone, style, or setting that is particularly dystopian, amoral, and violent. The term is inspired by the tagline of the tabletop strategy game ''Warhammer 40,000'': "In the grim darkness of t ...

fantasy, draws its plot and politics from mid-20th-century China, with the conflict in the novel based on the

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...

, and an atmosphere inspired by the

Song dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...

. ''The Poppy War'' was nominated for the 2019

World Fantasy Award for Best Novel In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...

''The Dragon Republic''

Released in 2019, ''The Dragon Republic'' is the sequel to ''The Poppy War''. The Nikan Empire begins to fall apart due to in fighting and the Hesperians return. The reviewer for Fantasy Book Review wrote, “Kuang excels at wreaking emotional havoc while delivering a powerful meditation on war and survival.” Publishers Weekly said that “Kuang brings brilliance to this invigorating and complex military fantasy sequel to The Poppy War.”

''The Burning God''

Released in 2020, ''The Burning God'' is the sequel to ''The Dragon Republic'' and the conclusion to the ''Poppy Wars'' series. Rin fights the forces that have torn her country apart into a civil war. A reviewer for ''The Fantasy Hive'' wrote, “Rebecca Kuang's conclusion to her debut trilogy, ''The Poppy War'', is testament to her growth as a writer; not only is it a fitting close to an ambitious series." The reviewer for ''Publishers Weekly'' said that " e result is a satisfying if not happy end to the series.”

''Babel''

In May 2021, Kuang announced the August 2022 release of her fourth novel, ''

: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution'', by Harper Voyager. ''Babel'' is set in 1830s England. In the second week of September 2022, ''Babel'' debuted at the top spot on ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list for hardcover fiction, but dropped to the ninth spot the following week before disappearing from the list by the end of the month.

''Yellowface''

In October 2021, Kuang announced that her fifth novel, ''Yellowface'', will be published in 2023.

William Morrow and Company William Morrow and Company is an American publishing company founded by William Morrow in 1926. The company was acquired by Scott Foresman in 1967, sold to Hearst Corporation in 1981, and sold to News Corporation News Corporation (abbrev ...

said ''Yellowface'' follows “a white author who steals an unpublished manuscript, written by a more successful Asian American novelist who died in a freak accident, and publishes it as her own”.

Awards and honors

In 2018,

Barnes & Noble Barnes & Noble Booksellers is an American bookseller. It is a Fortune 1000 company and the bookseller with the largest number of retail outlets in the United States. As of July 7, 2020, the company operates 614 retail stores across all 50 U. ...

included ''

'' on their list of Favorite Science Fiction & Fantasy Books of 2018. In 2022,

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...

, ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...

,''

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

, and ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' named ''

'' one of the best science fiction and fantasy books of the year. Barnes & Noble named it one of the top ten books of the year, regardless of genre.

Bibliography

Poppy War series

* ''

'' (May 2018), * '' The Dragon Republic'' (August 2019), * '' The Burning God'' (November 2020),

Other novels

* ''

: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’ Revolution'' (August 2022), * ''Yellowface'' (May 2023),

Short stories

* “The Nine Curves River” in the anthology ''The Book of Dragons'' (July 2020; edited by Jonathan Strahan
story read by LeVar Burton
vi
the LeVar Burton Podcast
* “Against All Odds” in the anthology ''From a Certain Point of View: 40 stories celebrating 40 years of The Empire Strikes Back'' (November 2020)

Academic lectures and symposia

* (includes reading list of topics mentioned in the symposium) * *

References

External links

* * * * *Academic lectures and symposia :* (includes reading list of topics mentioned in the symposium) :* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kuang, R. F. 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American women writers American fantasy writers Women science fiction and fantasy writers Chinese-American literature 1996 births Living people Writers from Guangzhou Georgetown University alumni Alumni of Magdalene College, Cambridge 21st-century Chinese women writers 21st-century Chinese writers Marshall Scholars Greenhill School alumni John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer winners