R.F. Kuang

Rebecca F. Kuang (born May 29, 1996, in Guangzhou, China) is a bestselling author and academic known for her powerful blend of historical insight, cultural critique, and genre innovation. Writing as R.F. Kuang, she burst onto the fantasy scene with The Poppy War (2018), the first in a grimdark trilogy inspired by Chinese history and mythology. The novel was nominated for the Nebula, Locus, and World Fantasy Awards and quickly established Kuang as one of the most exciting new voices in speculative fiction.

She followed with The Dragon Republic (2019) and The Burning God (2020), completing the Poppy War trilogy. Set in a world reminiscent of 20th-century China, the series confronts colonialism, trauma, and power with unflinching realism and emotional intensity.

In 2022, Kuang released Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence, a standalone dark academia novel set in an alternate 19th-century Oxford. Combining linguistic theory, imperial critique, and magical realism, Babel won the Nebula, Locus, and British Book Awards and was named TIME Magazine’s Best Book of the Year.

She followed with Yellowface (2023), a razor-sharp satirical thriller exploring racism, cultural appropriation, and the publishing industry. A commercial and critical success, Yellowface showcased her genre versatility and landed on numerous bestseller lists worldwide.

Outside of fiction, Kuang holds degrees in Chinese studies and literature from Georgetown, Cambridge, and Oxford, and she is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in East Asian Languages and Literatures at Yale. Her academic background deeply informs her writing, lending it a rare combination of intellectual rigor and emotional depth.