Shelley Parker-Chan author page

Shelley Parker-Chan biography

Shelley Parker-Chan is an Asian Australian author who uses they/them pronouns. Before publishing fiction, they worked as an international development adviser on human rights, gender equality and LGBTQ+ rights in Southeast Asia. Their debut novel, She Who Became the Sun, is a historical fantasy that reimagines the rise to power of the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

She Who Became the Sun is the first volume of The Radiant Emperor Duology. The novel follows Zhu, a female monk who takes her brother’s identity and pursues the Mandate of Heaven in fourteenth-century China under Mongol rule.

She Who Became the Sun was nominated for the Hugo Award and the Lambda Literary Award. It also won the Astounding Award for Best Debut and British Fantasy Awards for Best Fantasy Novel and Best Newcomer.

He Who Drowned the World is the second volume of The Radiant Emperor Duology. It continues Zhu Yuanzhang’s story after a victory in southern China and follows Zhu’s attempt to seize the imperial throne from the Mongols. The book was published by Tor Books on 22 August 2023, with a Pan Books paperback published on 18 July 2024.