Ken Liu

劉宇昆　/　不明

American linguist

January 1, 1976 (age 50)　・　Lanzhou, People's Republic of China

linguist
poet
translator

My Take

Ken Liu is one of those writers who makes you feel like speculative fiction was invented just so he could exist in it. Born in Lanzhou, China and raised in the United States, he carries two worlds in his prose effortlessly — and that dual inheritance is exactly what makes stories like "The Paper Menagerie" gut-punch you in ways most fiction can't. Winning both the Hugo and the Nebula for the same short story is absurdly rare, and he did it twice in back-to-back years (2012 and 2013), which tells you everything about how the field views him. On top of his own fiction, he translated Liu Cixin's The Three-Body Problem into English and essentially introduced that entire universe to Western readers. Harvard-educated lawyer who decided to become one of the most decorated sci-fi voices of his generation — genuinely one of a kind.

Overview

Kenneth Yukun Liu (born 1976) is an American author of science fiction and fantasy. Liu has won multiple Hugo and Nebula Awards for his fiction, which has appeared in F&SF, Asimov's Science Fiction, Analog, Lightspeed, Clarkesworld, Reactor, Uncanny Magazine and multiple "Year's Best" anthologies.

1. Profile

Name (English): Ken Liu
Name (Japanese): 劉宇昆
Reading: 不明
Born: January 1, 1976 (age 50)
Zodiac / Chinese zodiac: Capricorn / Dragon
Origin: Lanzhou, People's Republic of China
Blood type: Private
Height: Private
Agency: Private
Occupation: linguist / poet / translator / writer / lawyer

2. Background

Elementary school: Private
Junior high: Private
High school: Waterford High School
University: Harvard College

Awards & achievements

2012 Nebula Award for Best Short Story
2012 Hugo Award for Best Short Story
2013 Hugo Award for Best Short Story
2014 Seiun Award for Best Translated Short Story
2016 Locus Award for Best First Novel
2017 Locus Award for Best Collection
2018 Ignotus Award for Best Anthology
2016 Grand Prix de l'Imaginaire for Best Foreign-Language Short Story

3. Relationships

Spouse: Private
Children: Private
Parents: Private
Siblings: Private

4. Personality

Motto

Private

5. Works & records

Category	Title	Role	Year
Notable work	The Paper Menagerie	—
Notable work	The Wall of Storms	—

6. Links

Official sitehttps://kenliu.name/
Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/kyliu99/
Xhttps://x.com/kyliu99
Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%B1%E3%83%B3%E3%83%BB%E3%83%AA%E3%83%A5%E3%82%A6