Chloe Gong (born 16 December 1998) is a New Zealand novelist specializing in young adult fiction. Her 2020 debut novel, These Violent Delights, was a New York Times best seller.
Chloe Gong | |
|---|---|
 Chloe Gong at the 2024 Texas Book Festival. | |
| Born | 16 December 1998 Shanghai, China |
| Occupation | Novelist |
| Citizenship | New Zealand |
| Alma mater | University of Pennsylvania (BA) |
| Years active | 2020–present |
| Notable works | These Violent Delights |
| Notable awards | Sir Julius Vogel Award (2021) |
| Website | |
| thechloegong | |
Life and career
editGong was born in Shanghai, China, and moved to New Zealand with her family when she was two years old.[1] She has a younger sister and brother. She was raised on the North Shore in Auckland, New Zealand, and attended Rangitoto College.[2][3] While growing up in New Zealand, Gong was immersed in Chinese culture at home, speaking Shanghainese, cooking Chinese food, and celebrating Chinese holidays.[1]
Gong began writing books at the age of 13 using the Notes app on her iPad. By December 2020, she had written nine books, about one manuscript per year. In 2021, Gong graduated with a double major in English and International Relations at the University of Pennsylvania.[4]
Gong wrote her 2020 debut novel, These Violent Delights, in May 2018 after her freshman year of college.[3] The book features a 1920s Romeo and Juliet-esque storyline set in Shanghai. At the age of 21, Gong became one of the youngest writers to author a young adult hardcover on The New York Times Best Seller list.[4][5] She won the Best Youth Novel at the 2021 Sir Julius Vogel Awards for These Violent Delights.[6] The sequel, Our Violent Ends, was released in November 2021.[7] In 2021, These Violent Delights was noted to be frequently discussed by the BookTok community on TikTok, which was associated with an increase in sales.[8]
Gong is also writing a spinoff duology that follows Rosalind, a character from the initial series. The first book of the spinoff duology, Foul Lady Fortune, was released fall 2022.[9][10]
In November 2021, Gong announced her first adult fantasy trilogy, inspired by Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra and Hong Kong's Kowloon Walled City. The first book of the trilogy, Immortal Longings, was released in summer 2023.[11] The second book, Vilest Things, released in fall 2024.
Bibliography
editThese Violent Delights series
edit- These Violent Delights (2020)
- "A RomaJuliette Christmas Special" (2020, short story)
- Our Violent Ends (2021)
Foul Lady Fortune series
edit- "The Priest and the Shepherd" (2022, short story)
- Foul Lady Fortune (2022)
- Foul Heart Huntsman (2023)
- Last Violent Call (novella collection, contains the novellas "A Foul Thing" and "This Foul Murder") (2023)
- "In True Delights" (2023, short story)
Flesh and False Gods series
edit- Immortal Longings (2023)
- Vilest Things (2024)
Coldwire series
edit- Coldwire (2025)
Standalone Stories
edit- "A Thousand More" (2022, short story) from the 2022 anthology Eternally Yours, edited by Patrice Caldwell.
- "An Eternal Fire" (2024, short story) from the 2024 anthology Faeries Never Lie: Tales to Revel In, edited by Zoraida Córdova and Natalie C. Parker.
References
edit- ^ a b Lee, Yan-yi; French, Martha (2 February 2021). "Chloe Gong, 21, Greets the World with her New York Times Best-selling Debut". Varsity.co.uk. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
- ^ Zhang, Sherry (4 December 2020). "Chloe Gong is 21, she's from the North Shore, and just wrote a US bestseller". The Spinoff. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
- ^ a b Zhang, Sherry (4 December 2020). "North Shore 21-year-old, Chloe Gong becomes a US bestseller". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
- ^ a b Egan, Elisabeth (3 December 2020). "Meet Chloe Gong, One of the Year's Youngest Best-Selling Authors". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
- ^ Paxson, Caitlyn (21 November 2020). "'These Violent Delights' Transports Romeo And Juliet To 1920s Shanghai". NPR. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
- ^ "NZ Sir Julius Vogel Awards 2021 winners announced". Books+Publishing. 10 August 2021. Archived from the original on 10 August 2021. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
- ^ "Our Violent Ends". Kirkus Reviews. 18 September 2021. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
- ^ "TikTok is taking the book industry by storm, and retailers are taking notice". NBC News. 5 July 2021. Archived from the original on 5 July 2021. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
- ^ Shah, Shirali (9 December 2020). "A Penn senior drafted a novel at 19 years old. That book just made her a NYT best-seller". The Daily Pennsylvanian. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
- ^ Schulz, Chris (10 December 2020). "Bestselling Kiwi author Chloe Gong has already written her sequel". Stuff. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
- ^ Eddy, Cheryl (12 November 2021). "Chloe Gong Reveals Immortal Longings, the First Book in Her All-New Fantasy Trilogy". Gizmodo. Retrieved 16 November 2021.