Ai Jiang (江艾)[1]
Jiang in 2023
Jiang in 2023
Born (1997-06-18) June 18, 1997[1]
Changle, Fuzhou[1]
OccupationWriter
NationalityChinese-Canadian
Alma mater
  • University of Toronto (BA)
  • Humber School for Writers
  • University of Edinburgh (MSc)
Period2021–present
GenreSpeculative fiction
Website
aijiang.ca

Ai Jiang is a Chinese-Canadian writer of speculative fiction and poetry. Active since 2021, she was a finalist for the Nebula Award for Best Short Story for her 2022 story, "Give Me English", and in 2023, she won the Ignyte Award for her poem, "We Smoke Pollution". Her long-form writing career began in 2023 with the release of Linghun, published by Dark Matter INK.

Biography

Ai Jiang was born in Fujian in the People's Republic of China, emigrating to Canada with her parents when she was four years old.[2] She is fluent in Mandarin, though she cannot read or write the language.[3]

Jiang attended University of Toronto as well as Humber School for Writers and the Gotham Writers' Workshop. She received a Creative Writing master's from the University of Edinburgh,[2] completed in 2022. Jiang is married, and she has made writing her full-time career. Her hobbies include badminton and managing her Instagram foodie account.[4]

Writing career

Jiang began writing on Wattpad early in high school, influenced by fantastical romances. She later focused on dark fantasy, science fiction, and horror, her current specialties, inspired by movies such as Shutter Island, Us, Parasite, and Get Out, as well as the literary works of Ursula K. LeGuin, Shirley Jackson, Kazuo Ishiguro, and Toni Morrison. In particular, she absorbed their works' focus on atmospheric, character-driven as opposed to fast-paced, plot-driven works. The majority of Jiang's characters are Asian diasporas, though this is more a function of Jiang's background than a conscious authorial decision.[5] Similarly, Jiang's writing features many female characters, exploring political and social issues in her writing.[6] Jiang uses speculative fiction to explore the persistence of current injustices into the future, should they be allowed to continue.[4]

Her work has appeared in a wide variety of speculative venues including Interzone,[7] Uncanny Magazine, The Dark Magazine, Pseudopod, The Deadlands, Dark Matter, and The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, in which her Nebula-nominated story, "Give Me English", appeared in 2022,[8] the same year she was the recipient of the Odyssey Workshop’s 2022 Fresh Voices Scholarship. In addition to short fiction and nonfiction, Jiang also has published poetry.[7] When she writes science fiction, it tends toward the "softer", less technical side.[9]

Jiang's first long-form work, the novella Linghun (Dark Matter INK), was published April 2023. Other projects slated for release include a collection of Jiang's short stories, Ai Jiang’s Smol Tales From Between Worlds (Spring 2023), [10] the novelette, "I AM AI" (June 2023), and a novel-length expansion of "Give Me English".[8] A full member of the SFWA and the HWA, she is currently represented by Lisa Abellera with Kimberley Cameron and Associates,[4] and together they are exploring adaptation of Linghun and I AM AI for film and/or television.[10]

Bibliography

  • Linghun (Dark Matter INK, 2023)
  • Ai Jiang’s Smol Tales From Between Worlds (2023)

Awards

References

  1. 1 2 3 "ABOUT ME/PRESS KIT - Ai Jiang". AI JIANG — Cyborg. Spirit. Writer. April 24, 2020. Retrieved April 18, 2023.
  2. 1 2 Linda D. Addison (April 29, 2022). "The Seer's Table". Horror Writers Association. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  3. ↑ Ivy Grimes (January 18, 2023). "Interview with Ai Jiang about Linghun". Hypes and Archtypes. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 "Author Interview: Ai Jiang". Radon Journal. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  5. ↑ Tina Pavlike (May 6, 2022). "Asian Heritage in Horror: Interview with Ai Jiang". Horror Writers Association. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  6. ↑ Michelle Lane (March 9, 2023). "Women in Horror: Interview with Ai Jiang". Horror Writers Association. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  7. 1 2 Ariel Marken Jack (2023). "The Human Heart of the Fantastic - Ai Jiang in conversation with Ariel Marken Jack". IZ Digital. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  8. 1 2 Angelique Fawns (March 31, 2023). "WiHM 2023: Ai Jiang talks about being a Nebula Finalist". Horror Tree. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  9. ↑ Ji Zhu (March 15, 2023). "Interview:Ai Jiang&Ji Zhu-AI should be used as a tool, not a replacement". Mecrob. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  10. 1 2 "The Power of Language: An interview with Author Ai Jiang". Uncharted Magazine. February 22, 2023. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  11. ↑ "SFWA Names the 58th Nebula Award Finalists". Nebula Awards. March 7, 2023. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  12. ↑ "Announcing the Winners of the 2023 Ignyte Awards". Tor.com. October 21, 2023. Retrieved October 25, 2023.
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