R. F. Kuang
American fantasy writer
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| April 2025 | Completed the first draft of her novel 'Taipei Story'. |
| 2024 | R. F. Kuang's 'Yellowface' wins the Listen Award from the American Library Association and the British Book Award for Fiction, and is longlisted for the Aspen Words Literary Prize |
| November 2024 | At a University College Oxford literary discussion, Kuang described 'Taipei Story' as a love story set in Taiwan's capital, distinct from the 1985 Taiwanese movie of the same name. |
| 2023 | R. F. Kuang wins multiple awards for 'Babel, or the Necessity of Violence', including Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel and British Book Award for Fiction. Her novel 'Yellowface' wins Goodreads Choice Award for Fiction and Amazon Books Best Book of the Year award in the UK |
| 2023 | Babel was excluded from consideration for the Hugo Award, reportedly due to potential controversy in China during the Chengdu awards ceremony. |
| 2023 | Kuang was featured on the Time 100 Next list, recognizing emerging influential individuals. |
| November 2023 | During a book promotion tour at the Brattle Theatre near Harvard University, Kuang discusses her upcoming book, reflecting on how the novel evolved from a 'cute, silly adventure' to a more serious exploration of academic challenges. |
| October 2023 | R. F. Kuang served as Guest Editor for The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2023 anthology, collaborating with John Joseph Adams to select and curate a collection of short stories from 21 notable authors including Sofia Samatar, Stephen Graham Jones, and Catherynne M. Valente. |
| June 2023 | Yellowface debuted at the fifth spot on The New York Times Best Seller list for hardcover fiction in the first week of June. |
| May 2023 | Yellowface debuted at the eighth spot on the Los Angeles Times bestseller list for hardcover fiction in the last week of May. |
| April 2023 | R. F. Kuang announced the acquisition of two additional books by HarperCollins, including a historical novel and a fantasy novel, separate from her work Katabasis. |
| February 2023 | R. F. Kuang begins working on her sixth novel, a fantasy about two magical PhD students traveling to Hell to rescue their advisers' souls for job recommendation letters, which she describes as 'nonsense literature' while working on her doctoral degree at Yale. |
| September 2022 | Babel debuted at the top spot on The New York Times Best Seller list for hardcover fiction in the second week of September. |
| August 2022 | Kuang released her novel Babel, or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution. |
| May 23 2022 | Delivered the J. R. R. Tolkien Lecture on Fantasy Literature in person at Pembroke College, Oxford, after a two-year pandemic-related delay. |
| 2021 | The Poppy War trilogy is a finalist for the Hugo Award for Best Series |
| October 2021 | R. F. Kuang announced her fifth novel, Yellowface, which would be published in 2023. The novel explores themes of literary theft and racial representation in the publishing industry. |
| May 2021 | R. F. Kuang announced the upcoming release of her fourth novel, Babel, which is set in 1830s England and will be published by Harper Voyager in August 2022. |
| 2020 | R. F. Kuang wins the Astounding Award for Best New Writer. Her novel 'The Dragon Republic' is a finalist for the Ignyte Award for Best Novel |
| 2020 | Originally scheduled to deliver the 8th annual J. R. R. Tolkien Lecture on Fantasy Literature at Pembroke College, Oxford, but postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. |
| 2020 | Returned to the United States to pursue a PhD in East Asian Languages and Literatures at Yale University. |
| 2020 | Short story 'The Nine Curves River' was read by LeVar Burton on LeVar Burton Reads podcast. |
| December 2020 | Starlight Media acquired the television adaptation rights for Kuang's Poppy Wars trilogy. |
| November 2020 | Kuang published 'The Burning God', the final novel in The Poppy War Trilogy, completing her acclaimed fantasy series. |
| November 2020 | Published short story 'Against All Odds' in the anthology From a Certain Point of View: 40 stories celebrating 40 years of The Empire Strikes Back. |
| November 2020 | Kuang released 'The Drowning Faith', a collection of free short stories set in the world of The Poppy War Trilogy, expanding the narrative universe of her work. |
| October 2020 | Time magazine included the first two books of the Poppy War trilogy in their list of the 100 best fantasy books of all time. |
| July 2020 | Published short story 'The Nine Curves River' in the anthology The Book of Dragons, edited by Jonathan Strahan. |
| 2019 | Won the Compton Crook Award and Crawford Award for her debut novel The Poppy War. |
| 2019 | Studied at University College, Oxford and received an MSc in Contemporary Chinese Studies. |
| 2019 | R. F. Kuang is a finalist for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. Her novel 'The Dragon Republic' wins multiple awards including BooktubeSFF Award for Debut Novel, Crawford Award, and Compton Crook Award |
| 2019 | R. F. Kuang's debut novel 'The Poppy War' was nominated for the World Fantasy Award for Best Novel, marking a significant recognition of her work in the fantasy genre. |
| August 2019 | Kuang released 'The Dragon Republic', the second book in The Poppy War Trilogy, continuing her epic fantasy series. |
| 2018 | Barnes & Noble included The Poppy War on their list of Favorite Science Fiction & Fantasy Books of 2018. |
| 2018 | Received a Marshall Scholarship and began studying at Magdalene College, Cambridge, pursuing a Master of Philosophy in Chinese studies. |
| June 2018 | Graduated from Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service. |
| May 2018 | R. F. Kuang published her debut novel 'The Poppy War', the first book in her critically acclaimed fantasy trilogy inspired by 20th-century Chinese history. |
| March 6 2018 | R. F. Kuang published her non-fiction piece 'How to Talk to Ghosts' in the 21st issue of Uncanny Magazine. |
| 2017 | Attended the CSSF Novel Writing Workshop. |
| 2016 | Graduated from the Odyssey Writing Workshop. |
| 2013 | Graduated from Greenhill School in Dallas, Texas. |
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