Zen Cho

Ilana Denton

Zen Cho was born and raised in Malaysia, and lives in the UK. She writes fantasy and romance. Her titles include the Sorcerer to the Crown historical fantasy novels and Malaysian contemporary fantasy Black Water Sister, as well as the Lambda Award-nominated novella The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water, and a short story collection, Spirits Abroad. Her newest novel, The Friend Zone Experiment, is a contemporary romance set among London’s East and Southeast Asian community.

Zen is a winner of the Hugo, Crawford and British Fantasy Awards and the LA Times Ray Bradbury Prize, as well as a finalist for the World Fantasy, Ignyte, Locus, Astounding, Kitschies and Diverse Book Awards. Her short fiction has been translated into French, Spanish, Italian, Finnish, Chinese and Japanese. She has spoken at literary festivals and conventions, taught creative writing and appeared on radio, and was once a model in a campaign for a global luxury make-up brand, chosen specifically for her accomplishments rather than her looks.

When she isn’t writing, Zen works as a lawyer. She enjoys cooking and baking, reading, gossip and travel.