Zen Cho's Blog, page 3

A Twitter query following my panel at Bare Lit made me think there might be more general interest in this information. If you’re based in or near London, here are a few book clubs/meetups to check out if you’re looking to read more “diverse”literature* or hang out with like-minded bookish people.

African Fantasy Reading Group

The African Fantasy Reading Groupdiscusses “all things AfroSFF”, including science fiction, fantasy, comics and movies. I think there is the occasional in-person meetup...

In case you don’t get my mailing list updates (they have an annoying tendency to go to spam), here’s a couple of things I’ll be at this month!

North London Literary Festival

Panel Discussion: Science fiction and diversity
Date and time: Tuesday 22 March, 15:30-17:00
Venue: Middlesex University, London

I’ll be on a panel about science fiction and diversity with Pat Cadigan, the Clarke Awards’ Tom Hunter and Kurt Barling at the North London Literary Festival, run by Middlesex University student...

I’m self-publishing an ebook reprint of my novelette THE TERRACOTTA BRIDE, which first appeared in Torquere Press’s Steampowered 2: More Lesbian Steampunk. Check out the gorgeous cover, commissioned from Likhain!

I love the vivid colours, the interplay of light and dark, the red hellscape, the melancholy white chrysanthemums, and Yonghua’s face, beautiful and stark. If you were to accuse me of self-publishing THE TERRACOTTA BRIDE largely to have an excuse to commission art from Likhain … well...

I’m self-publishing an ebook reprint of my novelette THE TERRACOTTA BRIDE, which first appeared in Torquere Press’s Steampowered 2: More Lesbian Steampunk. Check out the gorgeous cover, commissioned from Likhain!

I love the vivid colours, the interplay of light and dark, the red hellscape, the melancholy white chrysanthemums, and Yonghua’s face, beautiful and stark. If you were to accuse me of self-publishing THE TERRACOTTA BRIDE largely to have an excuse to commission art from Likhain … well...

I had a spectacularly good time at Bare Lit, the UK’s first literary festival celebrating the works of BAME writers. It was SUPER fun.

At least I was having fun

I was on the SFF panel, (Re)writing Pasts & Futures, along with authors Tendai Huchu, Haris Durrani and Tosin Coker, moderated by Patrick Vernon. I really enjoyed it — entertaining readings, engaged audience, great questions. And while it was definitely what I think of as a “diversity panel” — we weren’t talking about a general topic...

My UK publisher Macmillan/Tor UK have just put up the UK paperback cover of SORCERER TO THE CROWN! It’s like the hardcover, but also different: much more red, just as foiled.

Admire it in its full glory at the Tor Books blog:

Crowning Glory: Unveiling Zen Cho’s paperback cover

The paperback is out on 28 July 2016 and you can pre-order now (link to Amazon, but you can ask your friendly local indie for it too!). I’ll put up other purchase links closer to the time.

Wah, Bare Lit will be happening next weekend already! I’ll be participating in the UK’s first literary festival celebrating BAME/non-white writers. Details of my panel are below. (Doing one panel only — quite chilling compared to conventions!)

(Re)writing Pasts & Futures

Date: Saturday, February 27, 2016
Time: 1:00pm-2:30pm
Venue: Free Word Centre, 60 Farringdon Road London, EC1R 3GB United Kingdom

Enter a space of unfettered imagination as we bring together fantasy and science fiction noveli...

As I mentioned in my previous post about my event at Kinokuniya KL last Saturday, Kino is the bookshop of my teenage years, because it was so huge and had what was at the time an unmatchable selection — not only of SFF, but YA/MG, manga, Asian literature, etc. etc. etc.

Then later a giant Borders or two opened closer to home in PJ, rendering the long trek to KLCC unnecessary, so my memories of Kino are really crystallised in time. It was nice to go back, especially as I got to admire the Worl...

I’ll be doing a Q&A and signing at Kinokuniya in Kuala Lumpur in February!

Photo by Marisa Repin

Date: Saturday, 13 February 2016
Time: 11 am to 12 noon
Venue: Kinokuniya, Level 4, Suria KLCC

Description: It’ll depend on how Kino chooses to set it up and how many people attend, but my plan is to sign books and chat to people. I’ve called it a Q&A partly because maybe people do want to ask me questions about things, but mostly because the other natural thing to do is a reading. And I don’t rea...

I generally manage to avoid reading discussion of my writing, but one time I did see someone describe me as “not prolific”. I was all indignant: how can?! I write so many words, OK, all things considered!

But the melancholy truth is that I’m not very prolific. Given sufficient time I can crank out a decent number of words, but a fairly low percentage is fit for human consumption. Still, in 2015 my list of publications was short but satisfying.

Short fiction: Monkey King, Faerie Queen in Kalei...