Shelley Parker-Chan

Shelley Parker-Chan is an Australian author of historical fantasy known for the Radiant Emperor duology, beginning with She Who Became the Sun, which won the British Fantasy Award for Best Fantasy Novel in 2022. The novel reimagines the rise of the Hongwu Emperor of the Ming Dynasty through the eyes of a girl who steals her dead brother's destiny. Parker-Chan was born in Australia and has lived in Singapore, Japan, and the UK. She has a background in international development and law. She Who Became the Sun was praised for its sweeping scope, literary ambition, and its centering of a queer, non-binary protagonist in a Chinese historical setting. The novel won the British Fantasy Award and was shortlisted for numerous other prizes. The sequel He Who Drowned the World was published in 2023. Parker-Chan lives in London.