ALICE POON

Born and raised in Hong Kong, Alice Poon received a fully bilingual (English and Chinese) education and also learned French in her youth.

Since the release of her two historical Chinese novels: The Green Phoenix and Tales of Ming Courtesans, nostalgia for the magical world of wuxia fiction, which she grew up with, has spurred her desire to write in the Chinese fantasy genre. With the passing of the wuxia fiction icon Jin Yong in 2018, she has felt an urge to help to preserve his legacy and to promote this unique genre of Chinese folk literature to a wider global audience.

Overall, inspiration for her fiction writing comes from Jin Yong’s wuxia novels, the wuxia/xianxia media, and French and Russian realist classics.

She lives in Greater Vancouver, Canada and wishes to indulge herself in putting her imagination on the page.

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ALLISON THAI

Allison is a Houston-born and raised Vietnamese-American and the oldest daughter of Vietnam War boat refugees. She moved from Houston to Kansas City to start her career in pediatric anesthesia. She is a 2023 graduate of Clarion West and has short fiction published in Podcastle, Anathema, and Zooscape, among others. Her work has been featured on Tor.com and Locus recommended reading lists.

FEN YIK

A writer of young adult fantasy, Fen Yik is a computational linguist based in Boston, MA, an expert in historical phonology, and a practitioner of the Wing Chun system of kung fu.

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JC KANG

JC Kang is the bestselling author of the Legends of Tivara series.

JC Kang’s unhealthy obsession with Fantasy and Sci-Fi began at an early age when his brother introduced him to The Chronicles of Narnia, Star Trek, and Star Wars. As an adult, he combines his geek roots with his professional experiences as a Chinese Medicine doctor, martial arts instructor, and technical writer to pen epic fantasy stories.

To learn more about what goes on in his twisted mind, follow his Facebook page.

JEANNIE LIN

SA TODAY bestselling author Jeannie Lin grew up fascinated with stories of Western epic fantasy and Eastern martial arts adventures. When her best friend introduced her to romance novels in middle school, the stage was set. Jeannie started writing her first book while working as a high school science teacher in South Central Los Angeles.

Jeannie is known for writing groundbreaking historical romances set in Tang Dynasty China starting with her Golden Heart award-winning debut, Butterfly Swords. Her Tang Dynasty historicals have received multiple awards and starred reviews in Publishers Weekly and Library Journal.

She currently writes historical romance Chinese warriors and scholars, courtesans and swordswomen. She is also the author of the Gunpowder Chronicles, a steampunk series set during the Opium Wars.

For news on new releases and events, sign up for her newsletter here.

Find out more about Jeannie Lin at her website.

JF LEE

JF Lee is the author of the bestselling Tales of the Swordsman series.

But he wasn’t always an author. In his previous incarnations he has been: a writing teacher, a ballroom dance magazine editor, a tax accountant, a photographer, and a breakdancer. As a result he loves it when disparate interests intersect—especially in writing.

Out of a love of his culture, JF Lee writes wuxia stories and injects laugh-out-loud banter into the dramatic stakes of the jianghu. His work is influenced by Jin Yong, Star Wars, K-Pop, anime, and so many amazing things. 

When he’s not writing his next novel, he can be found diving for green sea turtles and sharks to photograph. 

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JO WU

Jo Wu was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she studied Biology and Creative Writing at UC Berkeley. Her works explore fairy tales, Chinese and Taiwanese mythology and identity, and uplifting narratives in dark worlds. Some of her notable works have been published in Uncanny Magazine, Solarpunk Magazine, and Insignia 2021: Best Asian Fantasy Stories.

She’ll totally understand if you confuse her for Carmilla Jo, the cosplayer and voiceover artist who’s much louder on social media and enjoys twirling around in gowns. When Jo isn’t writing, she’s probably drinking green tea, weightlifting, or rewatching Samurai Jack or John Wick for who-knows-how-many-times.

You can find Jo online here:
Jo Wu: Author Website
Carmilla Jo: Audiobook Website
Carmilla Jo: Choose Your Adventure

JULIA VEE

Julia Vee loves stories of magic and monsters. She majored in Asian Studies at UC Berkeley and has practiced as a trial lawyer in Silicon Valley for decades. Julia is a graduate of the Viable Paradise residential workshop. She often writes with co-author Ken Bebelle to craft fantasy adventure stories with East Asian elements. Their works include the Seattle Slayers series and their forthcoming trilogy, beginning with Ebony Gate, debuts from TOR in July of 2023, with Blood Jade following in July of 2024.

A lifelong fan of comics, Julia met her spouse over a shared love of the medium. She is passionate about rescue dogs, knitting, and soup. Her fandoms include Elfquest, Avatar the Last Airbender, Kate Daniels, the Witcher, and Shang-Chi.

You can find Julia online here.

KEN BEBELLE

Ken Bebelle has been an avid reader of fantasy, science fiction, and comic books his entire life. His love of SF and Star Wars led him to a career in prosthetics, where he spent twenty-five years, specializing in upper limb replacement. Ken’s first foray into writing was in the eighth grade with a sword and sorcery fantasy story stored on a 5.25” floppy disk. 

Ken and his co-author, Julia Vee, recently finished Ebony Gate, an Asian-inspired contemporary fantasy set in the Pacific Rim. Ebony Gate was acquired by Claire Eddy at TOR and will debut in summer 2023 as the first in a trilogy. Ken and Julia have also self-published another series, Seattle Slayers, an urban fantasy set in a post-apocalyptic Seattle. In anticipation of said apocalypse, Ken recently moved to the PNW, to make sure he has a front row seat for further writing inspiration.

You can find more about Ken online here.

Melissa REN

Melissa Ren is a Chinese-Canadian writer whose narratives tend to explore the intersection between belonging and becoming. She is an editor at Tales & Feathers, Augur Magazine’s sibling publication of cozy speculative fiction. Her writing has appeared or forthcoming in Factor Four Magazine, MetaStellar, Solarpunk Magazine, Fusion Fragment, and elsewhere.

Follow her on Twitter & Instagram or find her online at linktr.ee/MelissaRen.

RINOA KO

Rinoa Ko takes frequent jaunts across the Jianghu, armed with a fancy hat and a pen. Her writing adventures have led her into the gaming industry, where she puts on a much fancier hat, pitches stories, and crafts 3-dimensional characters.

In her free time, Rinoa can be found devouring an entire pot of dumplings, accidentally abandoning her tea, and delving the depths of her imagination to wrest a manuscript from the clutches of her willful muse. She is presently working on a fantasy series, built on the foundation of legends that have inspired her since childhood.

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RR VIRDI

R.R. Virdi is a USA Today Bestselling author, two-time Dragon Award finalist, and a Nebula Award finalist. He is the author of the Silk Road-inspired epic fantasy series Tales of Tremaine, which begins with The First Binding. He is also known for his two urban fantasy series, The Grave Report, and The Books of Winter. He has worked in the automotive industry as a mechanic, retail, and in the custom gaming computer world. He’s an avid car nut with a special love for American classics.

The hardest challenge for him up to this point has been fooling most of society into believing he’s a completely sane member of the general public.

You can find updates on what he’s up to at his website.

SUNYI DEAN

Sunyi Dean is a biracial autistic author who was born in Texas, grew up in Hong Kong, and now resides in North England. She writes speculative fiction with a weird slant, and has both too many books and too many children.

In her spare time, she can be found hiking, weight lifting, wild-swimming, and dying in jiu-jitsu. She also founded and co-hosts the Publishing Rodeo Podcast with fellow Tor author, Scott Drakeford.

Sunyi’s debut novel, THE BOOK EATERS, was an instant #2 Sunday Times Bestseller, and her next book is due in 2024.

Check out Sunyi’s site for updates.

TAO WONG

Tao Wong is a full-time author in the scifi and fantasy genres, writing predominantly in the LitRPG and xianxia sub-genres. A multiple times international Amazon bestseller, he is best known for the System Apocalypse and A Thousand Li universes, with over 40 full-length novels and numerous shorter works published. Tao was a finalist for the Kindle Storyteller UK Award in 2021.

As a reader, he’s an avid fan of science fiction and fantasy, having cut his teeth decades ago on Dragonlance, Terry Brooks and Asimov before graduating to Jordan, Gaiman, Bujold and more. When he’s not writing and working, he’s practicing martial arts, reading and picking up random
hobbies. 

Tao became a full-time author in 2019 and is a member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) and NINC.More details about Tao’s latest books can be found on his website.

TRACY LEONARD NAKATANI

Tracy Leonard Nakatani is a fantasy author whose life (and heart) straddles Phoenix, Arizona and Hiroshima, Japan. As an ex-expat raising a bilingual and bicultural family, she approaches her storytelling with great care and sensitivity. Tracy’s fantasy tales draw inspiration from East Asian literature, mythology, and customs. She is a firm believer in the power of diverse storytelling, aiming to honor the spirit of wuxia and xianxia within her own unique creations.

When she’s not escaping into her own worlds, she’s traveling, eating something tasty, playing video games, drawing, painting, or taking pictures of weird stuff.