Making her debut in 2022 with If You Could See the Sun, the book was announced to have been optioned by Bound Entertainment, and that she would serve as an executive producer.[2] In October 2024, Liang made her adult debut with A Song to Drown Rivers, which became a Good Morning America book club pick.[3] She has since been featured on The Today Show, Cosmopolitan, People, Harper’s Bazaar, and more.
Early life and education
Ann Liang was born Liang Yuan in Beijing, China, on 8 March 2000. When she was five, she moved to Australia, and was given the name "Ann" by her teachers, as it was short and easy to remember.[4]:2:14 At age ten, she moved back to Beijing, moving and attending various international schools, the longest being Beijing International School. She moved back to Australia when she was 15.[5] She attended Korowa Anglican Girls' School, and was the class of 2017's dux.[6]
Liang was a prolific reader and writer growing up. Throughout her life, Liang was encouraged to become a writer from a very young age, but did not consider it seriously until she was in year eleven.[7] In that same year, in 2016, she published her first work called "A Sketch of Perfection" in the anthology My First Lesson: Stories Inspired by Laurinda, by Alice Pung.[8] At the time of her debut, she had freshly graduated from the University of Melbourne, with a bachelor's degree in History and Media Communications.[1][6][9]
Career
On February 2, 2021, Liang announced through Instagram that she would debuting in 2022 with her young adult novel, If You Could See the Sun.[10] The book won the Readings Prize Young Adult Book Prize,[11] was a finalist for the Aurealis Award for Best Young Adult Novel,[12] and was nominated for a Goodreads Choice Award.[13] On October 11, 2022, the debut day of If You Could See The Sun, it was announced that a television adaptation would be produced by the Seoul and Los Angeles-based Bound Entertainment company, and that Liang would be serving as an executive producer.[2]
On October 19, 2021, Liang announced that she would be releasing her second book, This Time It's Real, in spring 2023.[14]
Liang's debut adult novel, A Song To Drown Rivers, was released on October 1, 2024,[18] and was chosen for the Good Morning America book club.[3]
Liang's novel I Am Not Jessica Chen was going to be released in summer 2024,[19] but was pushed back to 2025.[20] On August 24, 2024, Liang announced the release of her fifth young adult novel, Never Thought I'd End Up Here, for June 2025.[21] Liang has a spinoff of If You Could See the Sun titled I Could Give You the Moon set to release in 2026.[20]Never Thought I'd End Up Here debuted as number two on the New York Times Best Seller list for young adult hardcover books.[22] On June 30, 2025, Liang announced that her seventh young adult book, I Could Give You the Moon, will release on April 14, 2026.[23] On October 16, 2025, Liang announced she had finished a manuscript for a book entitled TLLOSS, an abbreviation that stands for “The Lost Life of Sylvia Song.” The book's date is to be confirmed to be released on January 5th, 2027. She subsequently announced on January 3, 2026, that there would be a second release later this year, following If I Could Give You the Moon called “A Dream in Darkness” which will be released on October 27th, 2026.
Writing style and themes
Liang's works center on self-expression; a consistent, coming-of-age theme of her first three novels' characters, Alice Sun, Eliza Lin, and Sadie Wen. Another of her major themes is the Asian diaspora experience, with the former two being students who have found disparity with their home country due to being abroad, and the latter growing up in an English-speaking country. The three of them are characterized by their lack of language fluency in Mandarin Chinese.[20] This trend continues as a major plot point with the release of Never Thought I'd End Up Here, where it follows Chinese-American Leah Zhang and her trip in Shanghai after she flubs up a family wedding toast with her paltry Mandarin skills.[24]
Liang's books first two books take place in international schools, departing with I Hope This Doesn't Find You. This is influenced by Liang's childhood, as she attended at least six different schools in Beijing growing up.[4]:24:18 Due to her various experiences, she also touches upon issues of class and privilege that she has seen from her wealthy classmates.
She has a younger sister named Alyssa, who is acknowledged in her books. In an interview, she stated that her Chinese name is a combination of her parents' names.[26]:35:04
Aside from English, Liang is fluent in Mandarin.[26] In an interview with Penguin Books Australia, she stated that she did an internship with a Chinese entertainment news company, which she also used as an inspiration for This Time It's Real.[7] She is currently represented by Kathleen Rushall of Andrea Brown Literary Agency.[27]
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