Photo: Larry D. Moore / CC BY 4.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
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.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Ken Liu
- Name (Japanese)
- 劉宇昆
- Reading
- けん・りゅう
- Born
- January 1, 1976 (age 50)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Capricorn / Dragon
- Origin
- Lanzhou, People's Republic of China
- Occupation
- linguist / poet / translator / writer / lawyer
2. Background
- 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
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
Frequently asked questions
When was Ken Liu born?
Born January 1, 1976 (age 50).
Where is Ken Liu from?
Ken Liu is from Lanzhou, People's Republic of China.
What does Ken Liu do?
Ken Liu works as linguist, poet, translator, writer, lawyer.
What is Ken Liu known for?
Notable works include The Paper Menagerie, The Wall of Storms.
Linguist — see all → · Poet — see all → · More people from People's Republic of China →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.