Peng Shepherd (born May 12, 1986) is an American author. Her first novel, The Book of M, was released in 2018, followed by The Future Library in 2021 and The Cartographers in 2022. She is a National Endowment for the Arts Fellow.

Peng Shepherd
Shepherd at the 2024 National Book Festival
Shepherd at the 2024 National Book Festival
Born (1986-05-12) May 12, 1986 (age 38)[1]
Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.
OccupationWriter
LanguageEnglish
Education
GenreFantasy
Years active2016–present
Notable awards
Website
pengshepherd.com

Early life and education

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Peng Shepherd was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona,[4] a daughter of Lin Sue Cooney, a retired Channel 12 anchor.[5] Peng earned a Bachelor of Arts in Chinese Language and Literature from Arizona State University in 2006.[5] Peng then completed an M.A. in International Studies and Diplomacy, and Chinese Language at the SOAS University of London in 2008.[5][6] From New York University, she received her M.F.A. in Creative Writing in 2014, where she was a Stein Fellow and a Veterans Fellow, in 2013 and 2014, respectively.[2][5][7]

Literary career

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Her debut novel, The Book of M, a dystopian fantasy, was published by HarperCollins in 2018, and received mainly favorable reviews. Per The Hollywood Reporter, The Book of M was optioned for screen adaptation on television by Elizabeth Sarnoff from Universal Content Productions.[8][9]

Her other works have been noted and reviewed by various publications and literary critics, including The Washington Post,[10] Kirkus Reviews,[11] Associated Press,[12] The Wall Street Journal,[13] Sun Sentinel,[14] The Guardian,[15] and Chicago Tribune,[16] among others.[7][17][18][19][20] Vivian Shaw, the editor from the Washington Post, wrote about The Cartographers in her book review:

"Shepherd, also the author of “The Book of M”, nails the sense of deep-seated, profound connection and love between a small group of people drawn together by shared experience and interest, creating an intense familial bond."[10]

Shepherd is a recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship (2020)[2] and the 2019 Neukom Institute Literary Arts Award for "Debut Speculative Fiction" from the Neukom Institute for Computational Science at Dartmouth College.[3] Her books have been translated to French, Polish, Czech, and Turkish, with the translation right sold in Chinese, Arabic, Dutch and Danish.[21][22][23]

Award

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Year Title Award Category Place Ref
2018 The Book of M Goodreads Choice Awards Fantasy Nominated - 11
2022 The Future Library Hugo Award Best Novelette Nominations Below Cutoff
Ignyte Award Best Novelette Won
Locus Award Best Novelette Nominated - 17
Utopia Utopian Novelette Nominated
The Cartographers Los Angeles Times Book Prize Mystery/Thriller Shortlisted

Bibliography

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  • The Book of M (June 2018), ISBN 9780008225629.[24][25]
  • The Future Library (August 2021), ISBN 9781250828675.[26]
  • The Cartographers (March 2022), ISBN 9780062910721.[27][28][29]
  • All This and More (2024), ISBN 9780063278974

Translations

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  • Polish: Księga M (The Book of M).[30]
  • Czech: Kniha M (The Book of M).[31]
  • Turkish: The Book of M: Kıyamet Başlıyor.[32]
  • French: Le Livre de M.[33]
  • Danish: Kartograferne.[34]

References

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  1. ^ https://twitter.com/pengshepherd/status/1513904577824714755?lang=en [bare URL]
  2. ^ a b c "Peng Shepherd". National Endowment for the Arts.
  3. ^ a b "Spec Fic Writers Named 2019 Neukom Institute Awards Winners". Neukom Institute literary Arts Award.
  4. ^ "Peng Shepherd". Harper Collins Publishers.
  5. ^ a b c d "Peng Shepherd Debuts Her First Novel". Arizona Lifestyles.
  6. ^ "Peng Shepherd Debuts First Novel". Frontdoor Media. 30 May 2018.
  7. ^ a b Nicolaou, Elena (2020-05-11). "Peng Shepherd Predicted a Pandemic In Her Novel The Book of M. Now, She's Living Through One". Oprah Daily.
  8. ^ Goldberg, Lesley (2019-02-18). "Liz Sarnoff Options 'The Book of M' for TV (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter.
  9. ^ "Four terrific fiction debuts by Asian-American women not to miss". USA Today.
  10. ^ a b Shaw, Vivian (2022-03-24). "The Cartographers' is one of those brilliant books you have to read twice". The Washington Post.
  11. ^ "The Cartographers". Kirkus Reviews.
  12. ^ Show, Anita (2022-03-16). "Review: 'The Cartographers' explores land of math and magic". Associated Press News.
  13. ^ Nolan, Tom (2022-03-25). "Mysteries: The Pleasure of a Puzzling Tale". The Wall Street Journal.
  14. ^ H. Cogdill, Oline (2022-03-23). "Book review: Old maps and new technology propel a labyrinthine plot in 'The Cartographers'". Sun Sentinel.
  15. ^ Brown, Eric (2018-06-08). "The best recent science fiction – reviews roundup". The Guardian.
  16. ^ K. Wolfe, Gary (2018-06-05). "Spies meet ghosts in wildly inventive 'Summerland,' plus more sci-fi reviews". Chicago Tribune.
  17. ^ Nadworny, Elissa (2022-03-20). "A cheap gas station map may be the key to solving a murder in 'The Cartographers'". NPR.
  18. ^ Holland, Kate (2018-07-03). "12 must-read books for summer, according to three best-selling authors". Today.com.
  19. ^ "The Cartographers". Library Journal.
  20. ^ Trombetta, Sadie (2018-06-07). "This Novel Is A Terrifying Look At What Happens When Everyone Loses All Their Memories". Bustle.
  21. ^ "The Book of M - Translations". Curtis Brown.
  22. ^ "The Cartographers". Curtis Brown.
  23. ^ "Peng Shepherd: Les Cartographes". Editions Albin Michel. 4 May 2022.
  24. ^ The Book of M. HarperCollins Publishers. June 2018. ISBN 9780008225629.
  25. ^ "Four terrific fiction debuts by Asian-American women not to miss". USA Today.
  26. ^ The Future Library. Tom Doherty Associates. August 2021. ISBN 9781250828675.
  27. ^ The Cartographers. HarperCollins. March 2022. ISBN 9780062910721.
  28. ^ "Dark Academia and Map Making: The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd". Tor.com. 15 March 2022.
  29. ^ Adee, Sally (2022-03-09). "The Cartographers review: A perceptive sci-fi love letter to maps". New Scientist.
  30. ^ "Księga M". Burda Publishing Polska.
  31. ^ "Kniha M". DataBase Knih.
  32. ^ "The Book of M". Ephesus Publications.
  33. ^ "Le Livre de M'". Editions Albin Michel.
  34. ^ "Kartograferne'". Gyldendal.
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