Rin Chupeco is a Chinese Filipino writer of young adult fiction, best known for their books '' The Bone Witch'', ''The Girl from the Well'', and ''The Never-Tilting World'' series.

Personal life

Chupeco was born and raised in

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

, Philippines. They are of Chinese, Malay, Thai, and Filipino descent. As a child, Chupeco was fascinated with ghost stories, saying that they were drawn in by absolutely injustice of Japanese tales that tend to favor male aggressors and never end positively for women. They collected the works of

Peter Straub Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels. Described as the "King of Horror", a play on his surname and a reference to his high s ...

Shirley Jackson Shirley Hardie Jackson (December 14, 1916 – August 8, 1965) was an American writer known primarily for her works of horror and mystery. Over the duration of her writing career, which spanned over two decades, she composed six novels, two me ...

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wide ...

, and Christopher Pike. Their favorite story is that of the

kuchisake-onna is a malevolent figure in Japanese urban legends and folklore. Described as the malicious spirit, or ''onryō'', of a woman, she partially covers her face with a mask or other item and carries a pair of scissors. She is most often described as ...

. They describe themself as a pansexual, liberal atheist. Chupeco is

non-binary Non-binary and genderqueer are umbrella terms for gender identities that are not solely male or femaleidentities that are outside the gender binary. Non-binary identities fall under the transgender umbrella, since non-binary people typically ...

and uses

they/them Singular ''they'', along with its inflected or derivative forms, ''them'', ''their'', ''theirs'' and ''themselves'' (or ''themself''), is a gender-neutral third-person pronoun. It typically occurs with an unspecified antecedent, in sentence ...

pronouns. Prior to becoming an author, Chupeco worked as a graphic designer. They are married and live with their partner and two children in Manila.

Selected works

Chupeco's works often draw inspiration from Asian cultures. The Girl from the Well Series Their debut novel ''The Girl from The Well'' tells the story of Okiku, a vengeful spirit who hunts for abusers and eats their souls, who finds herself in a battle with another evil spirit when she falls for Tark, the boy that the spirit is tethered to. It was published by Sourcebooks Fire in August 2014 and received a starred review from

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 ...

. Chupeco says that it was inspired by Japanese horror, particularly the Japanese legend of the

Bancho Sarayashiki Bancho may refer to: *Banchō, an area in Tokyo, Japan *Banchō (position) may refer to either a governmental position during the period, or the leader of a group of delinquents. Governmental position Under the system between the 8th and 10t ...

and the Ju-on: The Grudge movies, which they rewatched multiple times prior to writing the book. With the novel, Chupeco aimed to try a spin on the topic that had not been done before by making the ghost character the sympathetic anti-heroine. A companion novel, ''The Suffering'', continues the story of Okiku and Tark as they travel the country to search for more people Okiku can kill. The Bone Witch Series The first novel in the series, '' The Bone Witch'', follows Tea, a teen with the ability to raise the dead, who finds herself caught in a struggle for power as she explores her newfound abilities after she accidentally resurrects her late brother. Chupeco says that their writing often is very experimental, mixing different styles and themes, which led to them writing ''The Bone Witch'' in order to tell the story of characters in two different time periods. The Bone Witch series was inspired by Filipino witch doctors,

mangkukulam Filipino witches are the users of black magic and related practices from the Philippines. They include a variety of different kinds of people with differing occupations and cultural connotations which depend on the ethnic group they are associat ...

. They also drew on Middle Eastern folklore and influences, like the

Ayyubid dynasty The Ayyubid dynasty ( ar, الأيوبيون '; ) was the founding dynasty of the medieval Sultan of Egypt, Sultanate of Egypt established by Saladin in 1171, following his abolition of the Fatimid Caliphate, Fatimid Caliphate of Egypt. A Sunni ...

and

Wahhabism Wahhabism ( ar, ٱلْوَهَّابِيَةُ, translit=al-Wahhābiyyah) is a Sunni Islamic revivalist and fundamentalist movement associated with the reformist doctrines of the 18th-century Arabian Islamic scholar, theologian, preacher, an ...

. The witch aspect was inspired by real-life

geisha {{Culture of Japan, Traditions, Geisha {{nihongo, Geisha, 芸者 ({{IPAc-en, ˈ, ɡ, eɪ, ʃ, ə; {{IPA-ja, ɡeːɕa, lang), also known as {{nihongo, , 芸子, geiko (in Kyoto and Kanazawa) or {{nihongo, , 芸妓, geigi, are a class of female ...

. ''The Bone Witch'' was published by

Sourcebooks Fire Sourcebooks LLC is an American independent book publisher located in Naperville, Illinois. The company publishes books, eBooks, and digital products. History The company was founded in 1987 by Dominique Raccah as a business and finance publis ...

in February 2017 and received starred reviews from

Shelf Awareness Shelf Awareness is an American publishing company that produces two electronic publications/newsletters focused on bookselling, books and book reviews. Overview With offices in Seattle, Washington, and Montclair, New Jersey, ''Shelf Awareness' ...

and Publishers Weekly. The sequel, ''The Heart Forger,'' was published in February 2019. It received starred reviews from

Booklist ''Booklist'' is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. ''Booklist''s primary audience consists of libraries, educators, and booksellers. The magazine is av ...

and Foreword Reviews. The last novel in the series, ''The Shadowglass'', was published in March 2019. Silver Under Nightfall Series On August 4, 2021, Chupeco announced a two-book book deal for their latest series, Silver Under Nightfall, with

Saga Press Gallery Publishing Group is a general interest publisher and a division of Simon & Schuster which houses the imprints Gallery Books, Pocket Books, Scout Press, Gallery 13, and Saga Press. Jen Bergstrom is the Senior Vice President and Publisher. ...

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest publ ...

on Twitter. This marks their adult sci-fi and fantasy debut, and is about a bounty hunter who must work with a royal vampire couple to fight off a new vampire breed from overcoming both their kingdoms. It is set to be published in the spring of 2023.

Bibliography

Series The Girl from the Well # ''

The Girl from the Well ''The Girl from the Well'' is a young adult series of novels by Rin Chupeco. The first book, ''The Girl from the Well'', was published through Sourcebooks Fire on August 5, 2014, and was followed by ''The Suffering,'' which released on September ...

'' (Sourcebooks Fire, 2014) # ''The Suffering'' (Sourcebooks Fire, 2015) The Bone Witch # '' The Bone Witch'' (Sourcebooks Fire, 2017) # ''The Heart Forger'' (Sourcebooks Fire, 2018) #''The Shadowglass'' (Sourcebooks Fire, 2019) The Never Tilting World # ''The Never Tilting World'' (HarperTeen, 2019) # ''The Ever Cruel Kingdom'' (HarperTeen, 2020) A Hundred Names for Magic # ''Wicked as You Wish'' (Sourcebooks Fire, 2020) # ''An Unreliable Magic'' (Sourcebooks Fire, 2022) Silver Under Nightfall # ''Silver Under Nightfall'' (Saga Press, 2022) Standalones * ''The Sacrifice'' (Sourcebooks, 2022) * '' Are You Afraid of the Dark?: The Tale of the Gravemother'' (Amulet Books, 2023) Short stories * in ''Lauriat: A Filipino-Chinese Speculative Fiction Anthology'' (

Lethe Press Lethe Press is an American book publishing company based in Maple Shade, New Jersey.Simon Pulse Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest publ ...

, 2019) * ''The Murders in the Rue Apartelle, Boracay'' in ''His Hideous Heart'' (

Flatiron Flatiron or flat iron may refer to various things, often in the shape of a wedge: Objects *Clothes iron *Hair iron Places *Flatiron Building, New York City, at the intersection of 5th & Broadway **Flatiron District, New York City, named after ...

, 2019) * ''Kapre: A Love Story'' in ''Black Cranes: Stories of Unquiet Women'' (Omnium Gatherum, 2020)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chupeco, Rin Living people Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century Filipino writers 21st-century Chinese writers Writers from Manila Non-binary writers Filipino LGBT writers Pansexual non-binary people