Xiran Jay Zhao (Chinese: 赵希然; pinyin: Zhào Xīrán[3]) immigrated to British Columbia from a small town in China in grade five.[4] Their father is of Hui heritage.[5] Zhao would imagine stories growing up, but did not put any on paper until being encouraged to at an anime convention when they were 15.
In March 2020, Zhao signed a two-book deal with Penguin Teen Canada for a young adult (YA) mecha reimagining of the rise of the Chinese Empress Wu.[10] Rock the Boat, the children's imprint of Oneworld Publications, acquired the UK rights in May 2021.[11] They described the series as a "monstrous amalgamation of my love for anime and my love for Chinese harem dramas".[12][13] The first installment in the series, Iron Widow, was published in September 2021 and reached No. 1 in the Young Adult Hardcover category of the New York Times Best Seller list.[14][15][16] The second installment in the series, Iron Widow 2: Heavenly Tyrant, was scheduled for release in April 2024;[17][18] however, the release date has been delayed.[19]
In September 2020, Zhao went viral, first on a Twitter thread followed by their first YouTube video, for their criticisms of Disney's live-action Mulan remake and its cultural inaccuracies.[20][21] They credit their presence on the Internet as a self-described "Chinese history memer" for the success of Iron Widow, which was initially expected to only appeal to a niche audience.[22] Jessica Singer, for CBC News in August 2021, highlighted the impact of BookTok on sales of young adult fiction. Singer wrote that "books like Iron Widow by Canadian author Xiran Jay Zhao are already gaining popularity online, even before the book's release date in late September".[23] Kara Savoy, Penguin Random House Canada's integrated marketing director, told Singer that "when Xiran did an unboxing video of their advanced copies a few weeks ago [on TikTok], the pre-sale numbers in the U.S. went up 600 per cent that week".[23]
At the beginning of 2021, Zhao landed their second book deal for Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor, a middle grade contemporary fantasy with Margaret K. McElderry Books,[24][25] an imprint of Simon & Schuster.[26] It was released on 10 May 2022.[27] The novel debuted at #4 on the New York Times Best Seller list in the Children's Middle Grade Hardcover category;[28] it remained on the list for two weeks.[29] Alec Scott, for The Globe and Mail, compared Zachary Ying to Zhao's Iron Widow and commented that "the two books speak to Zhao's obsessions – both with anime, the visual storytelling popularized in Japan that's gone global, and with Chinese history and mythology. [...] In both novels, the mythic past gets translated into the future. [...] For all their differences of mood, the novels rescue what is valuable to Zhao in Chinese history and myth, and project it forward – creating artistic acts of cultural reappropriation".[30]
Zhao was a finalist for the Astounding Award for Best New Writer in 2022.[31] In 2023, they received enough votes to be a finalist again but were declared ineligible and removed from the ballot.[32][33] It later emerged that this was due to self-censorship by the Hugo Award administrators of the 81st World Science Fiction Convention – which was held in Chengdu, China – in order to appease the Chinese government, which has a strict censorship regime.[34][35][36] In December 2023, Zhao exposed Cait Corrain's "pattern of leaving one-star reviews through fake Goodreads accounts, mostly on the debut works of first-time writers of color, while leaving positive reviews on her own forthcoming book".[37] This resulted in Corrain being dropped by her publishers.[38]
In 2024, Zhao won the Astounding Award for Best New Writer after the award sponsor Dell Magazines extended the eligibility requirements.[39][40]
