John Chu

For the American film director, see Jon M. Chu. For other people with similar names, see Jonathan Chu.
John Chu
Chu at ConFusion in 2017
Chu at ConFusion in 2017
OccupationAuthor, engineer, translator
Notable works
Notable awards
Website
johnchu.net Edit this at Wikidata

John Chu (Chinese: 朱中宜) is a Taiwanese-American science fiction writer.[1] His work has won a Nebula award, a Hugo award, an Ignyte award, and a Locus award.[2][3][4][5]

Personal life and education

Chu was born in Taiwan. He moved to the US and began learning English at age six.[1] He read voraciously as a child and credits reading Year’s Best SF volumes as solidifying his love of short science fiction stories. The works of Ted Chiang made Chu realize it was possible to be a working author. [6][1]

Chu attended the 2006 Viable Paradise workshop.[6] And in 2010 was a graduate of the Clarion science fiction & fantasy workshop.[7][6][1]

He has a PhD in computer engineering[8] and works as a microprocessor architect by day. He is gay,[9] a theme that he explores in his writing.[1] Other common themes in Chu's work include family relationships, the limitations of the body, accepting yourself, and the power of food in human connections.[10][6][11] Chu is a fan of the theatre.[11]

Career

Chu published his first story in 2011. As of 2024, he has published over two dozen stories.[12]

In 2014, Chu’s third published story, "The Water That Falls on You from Nowhere," at Tor.com went on to win the 2014 Hugo Award for Best Short Story.[12][5]

Chu’s story "If You Find Yourself Speaking to God, Address God with the Informal You" won the 2022 Nebula award, the 2023 Ignyte award, and the 2023 Locus award for Best Novelette. The story was runner up for the 2023 Hugo award.[13][4][2][3]

Chu’s stories have appeared on the Locus Recommended reading list four times.[14][15][16][17]

In addition to his work as an author, Chu also reads for podcasts and translates novels and stories from Chinese into English.[1] His interest in translation began after he acted as a beta reader for Ken Liu’s English translation of The Three Body Problem. Chu was offered his first translation job in 2013.[18]

Chu’s debut novel is forthcoming.[6]

Bibliography

Short fiction

Title Year First published Reprinted/collected Awards/Honors
"Wonderland Is a Parking Lot in Revere"[12] 2024 Uncanny Magazine, July/August 2024[12]
"Halfway Between Albany and West Point" 2023 The Sunday Morning Transport, October 1st, 2023[12]
"Equal Forces Opposed in Exquisite Tension" 2023 New Suns 2, Solaris, March 14th, 2023[12]
"If You Find Yourself Speaking to God, Address God with the Informal You" 2022 Uncanny Magazine, July/August 2022[12] Winner 2022 Nebula Award For Best Novelette[3]

Winner 2023 Ignyte Award For Best Novelette[2]

Winner 2023 Locus Award For Best Novelette[4]

Finalist 2023 Hugo Award for Best Novelette[13]

2022 Locus Recommended Reading Novelette [14]

"Dancing with Death" 2020 Made to Order: Robots and Revolution, Solaris March 17th, 2020[12]
"Close Enough for Jazz" 2019 The Mythic Dream, Saga Press September 3, 2019[12]
"Probabilitea" 2019 Uncanny Magazine, May/June 2019[12]
"Beyond the El" 2019 Tor.com, January 16, 2019[12] 2019 Locus Recommended Reading: Short Stories[17]
"Quantifying Trust" 2018 Mothers of Invention, Twelve Planet Press, September 2018[12] Reprinted in The Best Science Fiction of the Year Volume 4, edited by Neil Clarke, published by Night Shade Books.[12]
"Making the Magic Lightning Strike Me" 2017 Uncanny Magazine, May, 2017[12] Reprinted in Wilde Stores 2018: The Year's Best Gay Speculative Fiction, edited by Steve Berman, published by Lethe Press[12]
"The Sentry Branch Predictor Spec: A Fairy Tale" 2016 Clarkesworld, July 2016 [12]
"How to Piss Off a Failed Super-Soldier" 2016 The Book Smugglers' Quarterly Almanac, Volume 1, June, 2016[12]
"Selected Afterimages of the Fading" 2016 Defying Doomsday, Twelve Planet Press, June 2016[12]
"The Law and the Profits" 2016 The Revelator, March, 2016 [12]
"Finding Your Slot" 2015 Moozvine, November, 2015[12]
"Hold-Time Violations" 2015 Tor.com, October 7, 2015[12] Reprinted in The Best Science Fiction of the Year Volume 1, edited by Neil Clarke, published by Night Shade Books[12] 2015 Locus Recommended Reading: Short Stories[15]
"勢孤取和 (Influence Isolated, Make Peace)" 2015 Lightspeed, June, 2015[12]
"Restore the Heart into Love" 2015 Uncanny Magazine, May, 2015[12]
"Repairing the World" 2014 Apex Magazine, April, 2014[12]
"A Cost-Benefit Analysis of the Proposed Trade-Offs for the Overhaul of the Barricade" 2014 Tor.com, July 30, 2014[12]
"Double Time" 2014 Kaleidoscope, Twelfth Planet Press[12]
"Best of All Possible Worlds" 2013 Asimov's Science Fiction, February 2013[12]
"The Water That Falls on You from Nowhere" 2013 Tor.com, February 20, 2013)[12] Berman, Steve, ed. (2014). Wilde Stories 2014: The Year's Best Gay Speculative Fiction. Lethe Press. Winner 2014 Hugo Award for Best Short Story[5]

2013 Locus Recommended Reading: Short Stories[16]

"Incomplete Proofs" 2012 Bloody Fabulous, Prime Books[12]
"Thirty Seconds from Now" 2011 Boston Review, September/October[12]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Deborah Stanish (May 2, 2015). "Interview: John Chu". Uncanny Magazine. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
  2. ^ a b c "Announcing the Winners of the 2023 Ignyte Awards". October 23, 2023. Retrieved November 2, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c "Here Are the Winners of the 2022 Nebula Awards!". May 15, 2023. Retrieved November 2, 2024.
  4. ^ a b c "2023 Locus Awards Winners". June 24, 2023. Retrieved November 2, 2024.
  5. ^ a b c "2014 Hugo Awards". Retrieved 8 September 2014.
  6. ^ a b c d e "Share beef noodle soup with award-winning writer John Chu in Episode 238 of Eating the Fantastic ‹ Scott Edelman". Retrieved 2024-11-02.
  7. ^ "John Chu on Svbtle". John Chu on Svbtle. 2015-07-05. Retrieved 2024-11-02.
  8. ^ Brent Lambert (September 24, 2018). "Mother of Invention: John Chu Interview". FIYAH Literary Magazine. Retrieved July 23, 2023.
  9. ^ Rachel Swirsky (May 23, 2019). "Silly Interview with John Chu, who will tell you about the great injustices of American Musical Theater". Retrieved July 22, 2023 – via Patreon.
  10. ^ Words, Caroline M. Yoachim in Uncanny Magazine Issue Twenty-Eight | 1149. "Interview: John Chu". Uncanny Magazine. Retrieved 2024-11-02.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  11. ^ a b Words, Julia Rios in Uncanny Magazine Issue Sixteen | 1393. "Interview: John Chu". Uncanny Magazine. Retrieved 2024-11-02.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae Chu, John. "John Chu Bibliography". Retrieved November 2, 2024.
  13. ^ a b "Announcing the Winners of the 2023 Hugo Awards". October 23, 2023. Retrieved November 2, 2024.
  14. ^ a b "2022 Recommended Reading List". February 1, 2023. Retrieved November 2, 2024.
  15. ^ a b "2015 Locus Recommended Reading List". February 1, 2016. Retrieved November 2, 2024.
  16. ^ a b "2013 Locus Recommended Reading List". February 1, 2014. Retrieved November 2, 2024.
  17. ^ a b "2019 Locus Recommended Reading List". February 1, 2020. Retrieved November 2, 2024.
  18. ^ Chu, John (June 1, 2015). "Another Word: The Vaguely Picaresque Adventures of a New Writer". Retrieved November 2, 2024.


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