Shelley Parker-Chan

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Shelley Parker-Chan is a non-binary, Australian fantasy novelist best known for their debut novel, She Who Became the Sun and its sequel, He Who Drowned the World , which form The Radiant Emperor Duology. [1]

Contents

Early life and career

Parker-Chan was born in New Zealand to a Malaysian-Chinese mother and a white father. [2] They were raised in Australia, where they felt disconnected with their racial identity and with the stereotypical representation of Asian characters in fiction. [3] They say in interview: "I was raised very much by a tiger parent in a part of Adelaide with a large Chinese, Malaysian and Southeast Asian Chinese population. I was a scholarship kid and I went to a posh private school where my peers were all the offspring of doctors and lawyers, and I was pushed to also become a doctor or lawyer and achieve high results. So I feel I grew up in a very classically second- generation middle-class Asian way, but I was definitely not perceived as Asian." [4]

When they moved to Asia as a young adult, they discovered Asian dramas, and began to understand that "...Asians could be any and every kind of character: the heroes, the villains, the love interests, warriors, scholars."

They did graduate work on the subjects of war crimes and restorative justice, [5] and worked as a diplomat, representing the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Timor-Leste, and as an international development adviser for gender equality and LGBTQ rights in Indonesia, [6] before becoming a writer. Their interest in writing novels began with romantic fan fiction, and a desire for better queer representation in literature. [7]

In 2021, Mantle Books published She Who Became the Sun, which became a Sunday Times Number 1 bestseller, won several awards, and has been translated into 15 languages. [8] This was followed in 2023 by He Who Drowned the World, which concludes the Radiant Emperor duology.

Personal life

Parker-Chan uses they/them pronouns, is queer and genderqueer, [9] [6] and was named after Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley. [10] As of 2023, they live in Melbourne, Australia. [11] They are married and have a daughter. [2]

Awards

Parker-Chan won the 2022 Astounding Award for Best New Writer [12] and the British Fantasy Award (the Robert Holdstock Award for Best Fantasy Novel and the Sydney J. Bounds Award for Best Newcomer). [13]

YearWorkAwardCategoryResultRef
2021 She Who Became the Sun Aurealis Award Fantasy Novel Shortlisted [14]
Goodreads Choice Awards Debut NovelNominated—6th [15]
FantasyNominated—4th [16] [17]
Indie Next List August— [18]
Otherwise Award —Honor List [19]
2022 Astounding Award —Won [20]
British Book Award Debut Book of the YearShortlisted [21]
British Fantasy Award Fantasy Novel (Robert Holdstock Award)Won [13] [22]
Newcomer (Sydney J. Bounds Award)Won [13] [22]
Ditmar Award NovelShortlisted [23]
Dragon Award Alternate History NovelShortlisted [24]
Hugo Award Novel Shortlisted [25]
Lambda Literary Award Transgender Fiction Shortlisted [26]
Locus Award First Novel Nominated—2nd [27]
2023 He Who Drowned the World Indie Next List ?—
2024 Dragon Award Fantasy NovelShortlisted
Locus Award Fantasy Novel Nominated [28]

Biblio

The Radiant Emperor Duology

References

  1. ↑ https://famouswritingroutines.com/interviews/interview-with-shelley-parker-chan/ Famous Writing Routines. Interview with Shelley Parker-Chan: “Absorb the vibe through osmosis.” March 3, 2023.
  2. 1 2 South China Morning Post. 'Keanu Reeves was all we had': literary fantasy author Shelley Parker Chan on growing up without role models as a queer Asian kid in Australia., by James Kidd, in the South China Morning Post ; published November 20, 2021; retrieved August 21, 2023
  3. ↑ Kirichanskaya, Michele (2023-09-01). "Interview with Shelley Parker-Chan, author of She Who Became the Sun". Geeks OUT. Retrieved 2024-12-05.
  4. ↑ "Interview #205 — Shelley Parker-Chan". LIMINAL. 2022-09-12. Retrieved 2024-12-05.
  5. ↑ “Spotlight on Shelley Parker-Chan.”, in Locus Magazine. July 20, 2021.
  6. 1 2 ‘Everyone is going to be gay and terrible’: The first Australian novel nominated for a Hugo, by Kat Wong, in the Sydney Morning Herald ; published May 2, 2022; retrieved May 27, 2023
  7. ↑ "Interview #205 — Shelley Parker-Chan". LIMINAL. 2022-09-12. Retrieved 2024-12-05.
  8. ↑ Kirichanskaya, Michele (2023-09-01). "Interview with Shelley Parker-Chan, author of She Who Became the Sun". Geeks OUT. Retrieved 2024-12-05.
  9. ↑ “Interview #205, Shelley Parker-Chan"; by Annie Zhang; in Liminal Magazine; published 12 September 2022.
  10. ↑ Fantasy Hive interview. “Interview With Shelley Parker-Chan (She Who Became the Sun).” By Bethan Hindmarch'; at Fantasy Hive. Published June 2022.
  11. ↑ Interview with Shelley Parker-Chan, at Famous Writing Routines. March 30, 2023.
  12. ↑ "2022 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society. 2022-09-04. Archived from the original on 2022-09-05. Retrieved 2022-09-04.
  13. 1 2 3 “Shelley Parker-Chan Wins British Fantasy Award.”, in Starburst ; published September 18, 2022.
  14. ↑ aaconvenor (6 April 2022). "2021 Aurealis Awards Shortlist Announcement". Aurealis Awards. Archived from the original on 4 June 2022. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
  15. ↑ "Best Debut Novel 2021". Goodreads. 28 June 2022. Archived from the original on 25 June 2022. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
  16. ↑ Wong, Kat (2 May 2022). "'Everyone is going to be gay and terrible': The first Australian novel nominated for a Hugo". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 2 May 2022. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
  17. ↑ "Best Fantasy 2021". Goodreads. 28 June 2022. Archived from the original on 25 June 2022. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
  18. ↑ "Indie Next List (August 2021)" . American Booksellers Association. Retrieved 2025-01-05.
  19. ↑ Lothian, Alexis (2021-02-09). "2021 Otherwise Award « Otherwise Award". Otherwise Award. Retrieved 2025-01-05.
  20. ↑ Cheryl (2022-09-05). "2022 Hugo Awards Announced". The Hugo Award. Retrieved 2025-01-05.
  21. ↑ Waite-Taylor, Eva (25 March 2022). "British Book Awards 2022 shortlist is in, and these are the novels to read next". The Independent.
  22. 1 2 "British Fantasy Awards 2022: Winners announced". The British Fantasy Society. 17 Sep 2022.
  23. ↑ "2022 Ditmar Winners". Locus Online. 2022-10-03. Retrieved 2025-01-05.
  24. ↑ "2022 Dragon Award Nominees and Winners". Daily Dragon Online. 2022-09-05. Retrieved 2025-01-05.
  25. ↑ "2022 Hugo Award Finalists Announced". The Hugo Awards. 7 April 2022. Retrieved 2022-04-18.
  26. ↑ "Current Finalists". Lambda Literary. Retrieved 2022-03-16.
  27. ↑ "2022 Locus Awards Winners". Locus. 25 June 2022. Archived from the original on 26 June 2022. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
  28. ↑ "2024 Locus Awards Winners". Locus Online. 2024-06-23. Retrieved 2025-01-05.
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