Zen Cho
{{Short description|Malaysian fantasy author (born 1986)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2022}}
{{Infobox Author
| name = Zen Cho
| language = English
| occupation = Author
| education = University of Cambridge
| website = {{url|https://zencho.org}}
| genre = {{unbulleted list | Speculative fiction | Romance}}
| awards = {{unbulleted list | Crawford Award (2015) | BFA–Newcomer (2016) | Hugo–Novelette (2019)}}
| notable_works = {{unbulleted list | Spirits Abroad | Sorcerer to the Crown | Black Water Sister}}
| period = 2015–Present
}}
Zen Cho is a Malaysian fantasy author based in Birmingham, United Kingdom.{{Cite web|title=Zen Cho|url=https://www.panmacmillan.com/authors/zen-cho/20340|access-date=2021-05-25|website=panmacmillan.com|language=en}} She is known for her Sorcerer to the Crown series. She was the joint winner of the Crawford Award in 2015 for her short story collection Spirits Abroad.{{cite news| title = Cho and Feldman Win Crawford Award | work = Locus Online | publisher = Locus Publication | date = 27 January 2015 | url = http://www.locusmag.com/News/2015/01/cho-and-feldman-win-crawford-award/ |access-date=12 January 2016}}
Biography
Cho has a law degree from University of Cambridge, and she works as a lawyer.{{cite news| title = Malaysian author Zen Cho: Forget critics, focus on the story | work = The Star | date = 2 January 2016 | url = http://www.star2.com/people/2016/01/02/award-winning-author-zen-cho-talks-first-stories-fears-and-why-she-doesnt-read-reviews/ |access-date=12 January 2016}}{{cite news| title = Malaysian author's debut fantasy novel goes out to the world | work = The Straits Times | date = 30 August 2015 | url = http://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/arts/malaysian-authors-debut-fantasy-novel-goes-out-to-the-world |access-date=12 January 2016}}
Cho's debut novel, Sorcerer to the Crown, was published in 2015.{{cite web|url=http://www.strangehorizons.com/reviews/2015/11/sorcerer_to_the.shtml |last1=Berlin |first1=Marina |title=Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho |date=20 November 2015 |publisher= Strange Horizons |access-date=12 January 2016}}{{cite news| title = Zen Cho: Tackling questions of race, gender and social justice in fantasy fiction | work = The Independent | date = 12 September 2015 | url = https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/zen-cho-tackling-questions-of-race-gender-and-social-justice-in-fantasy-fiction-10496819.html |access-date=12 January 2016}} It was a finalist for the Locus Award for Best First Novel in 2016,{{cite magazine|url=http://www.locusmag.com/News/2016/06/2016-locus-awards-winners/ |title=2016 Locus Awards Winners |date=25 June 2016 |magazine= Locus |access-date=12 August 2016}} and in the same year, Cho won the British Fantasy Award for Best Newcomer.{{cite web|url=http://www.britishfantasysociety.org/british-fantasy-awards/winners-of-the-british-fantasy-awards-2016/ |title=Winners of the British Fantasy Awards 2016 |publisher=The British Fantasy Society |date=25 September 2016 |access-date=26 September 2016}} Her novelette "If at First You Don't Succeed, Try, Try Again", published by the B&N Sci-Fi and Fantasy Blog, won the 2019 Hugo Award for Best Novelette.{{cite web|url=http://www.thehugoawards.org/2019/04/2019-hugo-award-1944-retro-hugo-award-finalists/|title=2019 Hugo Award & 1944 Retro Hugo Award Finalists |date=2 April 2019|publisher=World Science Fiction Society |access-date=4 April 2019}}
Awards
| class="wikitable sortable"
!Year !Title !Award !Category !Result !Ref |
| rowspan="2" |2015
|Spirits Abroad |— |{{Won}} | |
|---|
| rowspan="5" |Sorcerer to the Crown
|— |{{Nominated|Honorable Mention}} | |
| rowspan="4" |2016
| rowspan="2" |British Fantasy Award |Newcomer |{{Won}} | |
| Fantasy Novel
|{{sho}} | |
| Hugo Award
|{{nom|Longlisted}} | |
| Locus Award
|{{Nominated|Nominated—2nd}} | |
| rowspan="2" |2018
| rowspan="2" |"If at First You Don't Succeed, Try, Try Again" |{{Won}} | |
| Locus Award
|{{Nominated|Nominated—11th}} | |
| 2019
|The True Queen |{{Nominated|Nominated—14th}} | |
| rowspan="4" |2021
| rowspan="4" |The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water |Novella |{{sho}} | |
| Hugo Award
|{{nom|Longlisted}} | |
| Lambda Literary Award
|{{sho}} | |
| Locus Award
|{{Nominated|Nominated—6th}} | |
| rowspan="5" |2022
| rowspan="4" |Black Water Sister |Novel (Adult) |{{sho}} | |
| Kitschies
|{{sho}} | |
| Locus Award
|{{Nominated|Nominated—2nd}} | |
| World Fantasy Award
|{{sho}} | |
| Spirits Abroad
|Collection |{{Nominated|Nominated—2nd}} | |
Bibliography
= ''Sorcerer Royal series'' =
- {{Cite book |last=Cho |first=Zen |title=Sorcerer to the Crown |publisher=Ace |year=2015 |isbn=9780425283370 |edition=hardcover 1st |pages=371 |language=English |author-mask=2}}
- {{Cite book |last=Cho |first=Zen |title=The True Queen |publisher=Ace |year=2019 |isbn=9780425283417 |edition=paperback 1st |pages=371 |language=English |author-mask=2}}
= Standalone novels and long fiction =
- {{Cite book |last=Cho |first=Zen |title=The Perilous Life of Jade Yeo |publisher=Smashwords |year=2012 |isbn=9781476177670 |edition=ebook |pages=81 |language=English |author-mask=2}}
- {{Cite book |last=Cho |first=Zen |title=The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water |publisher=Tor |year=2020 |isbn=9781250269256 |edition=hardcover 1st |pages=160 |language=English |author-mask=2}}
- {{Cite book |last=Cho |first=Zen |title=Black Water Sister |publisher=Ace |year=2021 |isbn=9780425283431 |edition=paperback 1st |pages=384 |language=English |author-mask=2}}
= Collections =
- {{Cite book |last=Cho |first=Zen |title=Spirits Abroad |publisher=FIXI Novo |year=2014 |isbn=9789670374987 |edition=paperback 1st |pages=284 |language=English |author-mask=2}}
- {{Cite book |last=Cho |first=Zen |title=Spirits Abroad |publisher=Small Beer Press |year=2021 |isbn=9781618731869 |edition=paperback expanded |pages=338 |language=English |author-mask=2}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Official website|https://zencho.org/}}
- {{Isfdb name|id=153637}}
{{Malaysian Writers}}
{{Hugo Award Best Novelette}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cho, Zen}}
Category:Alumni of the University of Cambridge
Category:Malaysian short story writers
Category:Malaysian fantasy writers
Category:Malaysian science fiction writers
Category:Women science fiction and fantasy writers
Category:English-language writers from Malaysia
Category:Malaysian expatriates in the United Kingdom
Category:21st-century novelists
Category:21st-century short story writers
Category:21st-century Malaysian women writers
Category:Hugo Award–winning writers
{{Malaysia-writer-stub}}