R.F. Kuang (Rebecca F. Kuang, born 1996 in Guangzhou, China) is a Chinese-American novelist who moved to the United States at age four. Her dark fantasy trilogy beginning with 'The Poppy War' (2018) drew on modern Chinese history, while 'Babel' (2022) won the Nebula Award for Best Novel and debuted at number one on the New York Times bestseller list. The satirical 'Yellowface' (2023) brought her to an even wider readership; she has sold millions of copies across her books and is simultaneously pursuing a PhD at Yale University.
Kuang signed with HarperCollins for four new books: two fantasy novels (Harper Voyager) and two literary novels (William Morrow).
'Katabasis', her sixth novel, was released on August 26, 2025 and debuted directly at number one on the New York Times bestseller list for hardcovers.
Taipei Story, her seventh novel - a coming-of-age story about grief and culture shock in Taipei - is scheduled for September 2026.
Kuang withdrew in December 2024 from the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature in Dubai, following a call from the BDS movement to boycott the UAE.
Advance copies of 'Taipei Story' led to online discussion due to an Israeli character in the novel.
