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Ted Chiang

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Ted Chiang
Chiang in 2011
Chiang in 2011
Born1967 (age 56–57)
Port Jefferson, New York, U.S.
OccupationFiction writer, technical writer
EducationBrown University (BS)
Period1990–present
GenreScience fiction, fantasy
Notable works‟Tower of Babylon” (1990)
‟Story of Your Life” (1998)
‟The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate” (2007)
Stories of Your Life and Others (2002)
Exhalation: Stories (2019)
‟Hell is the Absence of God” (2001)
Ted Chiang
Traditional Chinese姜峯楠
Simplified Chinese姜峰楠
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinJiāng Fēngnán
Wade–GilesChiang1 Feng1-nan2
IPA[tɕjáŋ fə́ŋnǎn]

Ted Chiang (born 1967) is an American science fiction writer. His work has won four Nebula awards, four Hugo awards, the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, and six Locus awards.[1] He has published the short story collections Stories of Your Life and Others (2002) and Exhalation: Stories (2019). His short story "Story of Your Life" was the basis of the film Arrival (2016). He was an artist in residence at the University of Notre Dame in 2020–2021.[2] Chiang is also a frequent non-fiction contributor to the New Yorker Magazine, most recently on topics related to computer technology, such as artificial intelligence.

Biography

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Early life, family and education

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Ted Chiang was born in 1967 in Port Jefferson, New York.[3] His Chinese name is Chiang Feng-nan (姜峯楠; Jiāng Fēngnán).[4] Both of his parents were born in Mainland China and immigrated to Taiwan with their families during the Chinese Communist Revolution before immigrating to the United States.[5] His father, Fu-pen Chiang, is a distinguished professor of mechanical engineering at Stony Brook University.[6] His mother was a librarian.[7]

Chiang graduated from Brown University in 1989 with a Bachelor of Science degree in computer science.[8][9][10]

Career

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Chiang began submitting stories to magazines in high school. After attending the Clarion Workshop in 1989 he sold his first story, "The Tower of Babylon", to Omni magazine,[4] and was awarded a Nebula Award for it in 1990. His later stories have won numerous other awards, making him one of the most-honored writers in contemporary science fiction. Chiang's first short story collection, Stories of Your Life and Others (2002) was published in 2002 by Tor Books and comprises his first eight stories. The collection was reprinted in 2016 as Arrival to coincide with the adaptation of "Story of Your Life" as the film Arrival.[11][12]

As of July 2002, Chiang was working as a technical writer in the software industry and resided in Bellevue, Washington, near Seattle.[13] He was an instructor at the Clarion Workshop at UC San Diego in 2012 and 2016.[14]

Chiang's second short story collection, Exhalation: Stories was published in May 2019 by Alfred A. Knopf.[15] Chiang has published eighteen short stories, novelettes, and novellas as of 2019. In 2022, Chiang became a Miller Scholar in the Santa Fe Institute.[16][17]

In 2023, Chiang was named one of Time's 100 most influential people in AI.[18]

Writing style and influences

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Chiang has said Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke inspired him when he was young,[19] while the works of Gene Wolfe, John Crowley and Edward Bryant were his creative influences in college.[10]

Chiang has said that one of the reasons science fiction writing interests him is that it allows him to make philosophical questions "storyable".[10] He enjoys reading story notes by authors, and himself includes them with his short story collections. He considers these not the "precise response to 'How did you get the idea?,' but it's a way to answer the reader if they knew what the best question to ask [about the story] was".[20]

Reception

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Critic John Clute has written that Chiang's work has a "tight-hewn and lucid style... [which] has a magnetic effect on the reader".[21] Critic and poet Joyce Carol Oates wrote that Chiang explores "conventional tropes of science fiction in highly unconventional ways" in "teasing, tormenting, illuminating, thrilling" fashion, comparing him favorably to Philip K. Dick, James Tiptree Jr. and Jorge Luis Borges.[22] Writer Peter Watts has praised Chiang's work, writing: "We share a secret prayer, we writers of short SF. We utter it whenever one of our stories is about to appear in public, and it goes like this: Please, Lord. Please, if it be Thy will, don’t let Ted Chiang publish a story this year."[23]

Former US president Barack Obama included Chiang's short story collection Exhalation in his 2019 reading list, praising it as the "best kind of science fiction".[24]

Chiang has commented on "metacognition, or thinking about one’s own thinking" being something most humans, but neither animals nor current AI, are capable of, and that capitalism erodes the capacity for this insight, especially for tech company executives.[25]

Awards

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Chiang has won the following science fiction awards for his works: a Nebula Award for "Tower of Babylon" (1990); the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer in 1992; a Nebula Award and the Theodore Sturgeon Award for "Story of Your Life" (1998); a Sidewise Award for "Seventy-Two Letters" (2000); a Nebula Award, Locus Award, and Hugo Award for his novelette "Hell Is the Absence of God" (2002); a Locus Award for his short story collection Stories of Your Life and Others (2003); a Nebula and Hugo Award for his novelette "The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate" (2007); a British Science Fiction Association Award, a Locus Award, and the Hugo Award for Best Short Story for "Exhalation" (2009); a Hugo Award[26] and Locus Award for his novella "The Lifecycle of Software Objects" (2010); a Locus Award for his short story collection Exhalation: Stories (2020); and a Locus Award for his novelette "Omphalos" (2020).

Chiang turned down a Hugo nomination for his short story "Liking What You See: A Documentary" in 2003, on the grounds that the story was rushed due to editorial pressure and did not turn out as he had really wanted.[27]

In 2013, his collection of translated stories Die Hölle ist die Abwesenheit Gottes won the German Kurd-Laßwitz-Preis for best foreign science fiction.

In 2024, Chiang won the PEN/Malamud Award for "excellence in the art of the short story"[28][29][30] and the American Humanist Association's Inquiry and Innovation Award.[31]

Year Organization Award title, category Work Result Refs
1991 Locus Magazine Locus Award for Best Novelette "Tower of Babylon" Nominated
Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Nebula Award for Best Novelette Won
World Science Fiction Society Hugo Award for Best Novelette Nominated
1992 Locus Magazine Locus Award for Best Short Story "Division by Zero" Nominated
Locus Magazine Locus Award for Best Novelette "Understand" Nominated
World Science Fiction Society Hugo Award for Best Novelette Nominated
1999 James Tiptree, Jr. Literary Award Council James Tiptree Jr. Award "Story of Your Life" Nominated
Locus Magazine Locus Award for Best Novella Nominated
World Science Fiction Society Hugo Award for Best Novella Nominated
2000 Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Nebula Award for Best Novella Won
2001 Locus Magazine Locus Award for Best Short Story "The Evolution of Human Science" Nominated
Locus Magazine Locus Award for Best Novella "Seventy-Two Letters" Nominated
World Fantasy Convention World Fantasy Award for Best Novella Nominated
World Science Fiction Society Hugo Award for Best Novella Nominated
2002 Locus Magazine Locus Award for Best Novelette "Hell Is the Absence of God" Won
World Science Fiction Society Hugo Award for Best Novelette Won
2003 Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Nebula Award for Best Novelette Won
Locus Magazine Locus Award for Best Collection Stories of Your Life and Others Won
James Tiptree, Jr. Literary Award Council James Tiptree Jr. Award "Liking What You See: A Documentary" Nominated
Locus Magazine Locus Award for Best Novelette Nominated
2008 British Science Fiction Association BSFA Award,
Best Short Fiction 		"The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate" Nominated
Locus Magazine Locus Award for Best Novelette Nominated
Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Nebula Award for Best Novelette Won
World Science Fiction Society Hugo Award for Best Novelette Won
2009 British Science Fiction Association BSFA Award,
Best Short Fiction 		"Exhalation" Won
Locus Magazine Locus Award for Best Short Story Nominated
World Science Fiction Society Hugo Award for Best Short Story Won
2011 Locus Magazine Locus Award for Best Novella "The Lifecycle of Software Objects" Won
Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Nebula Award for Best Novella Nominated
World Science Fiction Society Hugo Award for Best Novella Won
2014 Locus Magazine Locus Award for Best Novelette "The Truth of Fact, the Truth of Feeling" Nominated
World Science Fiction Society Hugo Award for Best Novelette Nominated
2017 World Science Fiction Society Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form Arrival Won
2020 Locus Magazine Locus Award for Best Novella "Anxiety Is the Dizziness of Freedom" Nominated
Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Nebula Award for Best Novella Nominated
World Science Fiction Society Hugo Award for Best Novella Nominated
Locus Magazine Locus Award for Best Collection Exhalation: Stories Won
Locus Magazine Locus Award for Best Short Story "It's 2059, and the Rich Kids are Still Winning" Nominated
Locus Magazine Locus Award for Best Novelette "Omphalos" Won
World Science Fiction Society Hugo Award for Best Novelette Nominated

Works

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Short stories

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Collections

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Non-fiction

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Lectures

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  • Ted Chiang on the Future, MoMA PS1, July 8, 2013[56]
  • Imaginary Science and Magic in Fiction, Notre Dame Technology Ethics Center, November 2020[57]

Film

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Main article: Arrival (film)

The screenwriter Eric Heisserer adapted Chiang's story "Story of Your Life" into the 2016 film Arrival. Directed by Denis Villeneuve, the film stars Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner.[58][59]

Personal life

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As of 2016, Chiang lives in Bellevue, Washington with his long-time partner, Marcia Glover,[60] whom he met while both were working at Microsoft. She worked as an interface designer and then a photographer. Chiang goes to the gym three times per week and enjoys video games.[61]

References

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  1. ^ Chiang's awards, Internet Speculative Fiction Database.
  2. ^ "Ted Chiang". Institute for Advanced Study, University of Notre Dame. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
  3. ^ "Ted Chiang". Internet Speculative Fiction Database (Summary Bibliography). Retrieved October 4, 2012.
  4. ^ a b "The Legendary Ted Chiang on Seeing His Stories Adapted and the Ever-Expanding Popularity of SF". Electric Literature. July 18, 2016.
  5. ^ Rothman, Joshua (January 5, 2017). "Ted Chiang's Soulful Science Fiction". The New Yorker. Retrieved January 7, 2017.
  6. ^ Fan, Christopher T. (November 5, 2014). "Melancholy Transcendence: Ted Chiang and Asian American Postracial Form". Post45.
  7. ^ Orr, Niela (December 2, 2019). "An Interview with Ted Chiang". Believer Magazine. Retrieved May 26, 2023.
  8. ^ "Ted Chiang interviewed - infinity plus non-fiction". Infinity Plus. 2002. Archived from the original on December 1, 2022. Retrieved May 26, 2023.
  9. ^ Smith, Andy (2020). "Alien Worlds". Brown Alumni Magazine. Retrieved May 26, 2023.
  10. ^ a b c McCarron, Meghan (July 18, 2016). "The Legendary Ted Chiang on Seeing His Stories Adapted and the Ever-Expanding Popularity of SF". Electric Literature. Retrieved May 26, 2023.
  11. ^ "ARRIVAL (STORIES OF YOUR LIFE MTI)". Chapters-Indigo. Retrieved November 30, 2016.
  12. ^ Ted Chiang (2016). Arrival: originally published as – Stories Of Your Life And Others. Doubleday. ISBN 978-0525433675.
  13. ^ "An Interview with Ted Chiang". SF Site. July 2002. Retrieved October 4, 2012.
  14. ^ "Clarion at UC San Diego Graduates and Instructors". Clarion. Archived from the original on April 27, 2008. Retrieved December 9, 2016.
  15. ^ "Exhalation: Stories". Publishers Weekly.
  16. ^ "Ted Chiang joins SFI Miller Scholars | Santa Fe Institute". www.santafe.edu. January 30, 2023. Retrieved June 18, 2023.
  17. ^ "Ted Chiang. Macrocosm in Miniature" (PDF). Extraterritorial. 2. SFI Press. 2023. Retrieved June 18, 2023.
  18. ^ "TIME100 AI 2023: Ted Chiang". Time. September 7, 2023. Retrieved September 8, 2023.
  19. ^ "Ted Chiang, interviewed by Gavin J. Grant". IndieBound. Archived from the original on April 7, 2017.
  20. ^ Orr, Niela (December 2, 2019). "An Interview with Ted Chiang". The Believer (magazine). Retrieved May 26, 2023.
  21. ^ Chiang, SF Encyclopedia.
  22. ^ Oates, Joyce Carol (May 6, 2019). "Science Fiction Doesn't Have to Be Dystopian". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved May 26, 2023.
  23. ^ Watts, Peter (November 30, 2016). "Changing Our Minds: "Story of Your Life" in Print and on Screen". No Moods, Ads or Cutesy Fucking Icons. Retrieved May 26, 2023.
  24. ^ Brady, Amy (August 20, 2019). "Barack Obama's 2019 Summer Reading List". Chicago Review of Books. Retrieved May 26, 2023.
  25. ^ "Silicon Valley Is Turning Into Its Own Worst Fear". BuzzFeed News. December 18, 2017. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
  26. ^ "2011 Hugo and Campbell Awards Winners". Locus. Retrieved August 21, 2011.
  27. ^ "Chiang". fantasticmetropolis.com. Archived from the original on April 2, 2008.
  28. ^ "Science Fiction Author Ted Chiang Honoured with the PEN/Malamud Award for Short Story Writing". Times Now. June 12, 2024. Retrieved June 12, 2024.
  29. ^ "Ted Chiang has won the PEN/Faulkner Foundation's short story prize". Literary Hub. June 12, 2024. Retrieved June 12, 2024.
  30. ^ "Chiang Wins PEN/Malamud Award". Locus Online. June 12, 2024. Retrieved June 13, 2024.
  31. ^ Humanist, The (August 22, 2024). "Meet the 2024 Humanist Awardees". TheHumanist.com. Retrieved August 26, 2024.
  32. ^ "Fantastic Metropolis » Division by Zero". November 21, 2011. Archived from the original on November 21, 2011. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
  33. ^ "Understand - a novelette by Ted Chiang". May 27, 2014. Archived from the original on May 27, 2014. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
  34. ^ Chiang, Ted (June 2000). "Catching crumbs from the table". Nature. 405 (6786): 517. doi:10.1038/35014679. ISSN 1476-4687. PMID 10850694.
  35. ^ "Seventy-Two Letters by Ted Chiang". Archived from the original on August 2, 2001. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
  36. ^ Chiang, Ted (July 2005). "What's expected of us". Nature. 436 (7047): 150. Bibcode:2005Natur.436..150C. doi:10.1038/436150a. ISSN 1476-4687.
  37. ^ "Fantasy and Science Fiction: Fiction". February 14, 2008. Archived from the original on February 14, 2008. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
  38. ^ "Exhalation". Lightspeed Magazine. April 29, 2014. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
  39. ^ "Subterranean Press Fiction: The Lifecycle of Software Objects by Ted Chiang". June 7, 2018. Archived from the original on June 7, 2018. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
  40. ^ "The Truth of Fact, the Truth of Feeling by Ted Chiang — Subterranean Press". February 22, 2014. Archived from the original on February 22, 2014. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
  41. ^ "e-flux journal 56th Venice Biennale — SUPERCOMMUNITY – The Great Silence". e-flux Supercommunity. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
  42. ^ "Exhalation by Ted Chiang". Penguin Random House.
  43. ^ "The ED SF Project: "Frankenstein's Daughter" by Maureen McHugh: An Appreciation by Ted Chiang". Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  44. ^ "Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet No. 23 | Small Beer Press". Small Beer Press | Really rather good books. November 1, 2008. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  45. ^ "Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet No. 26 | Small Beer Press". Small Beer Press | Really rather good books. November 18, 2010. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  46. ^ words, Ted Chiang Issue: 31 October 2011 289 (October 31, 2011). "Introduction to "Particle Theory"". Strange Horizons. Retrieved May 11, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  47. ^ "If Chinese Were Phonetic". The New Yorker. May 9, 2016. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  48. ^ Chiang, Ted (December 18, 2017). "Silicon Valley Is Turning Into Its Own Worst Fear". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved June 4, 2023.
  49. ^ "What If Parents Loved Strangers' Children As Much As Their Own?". The New Yorker. December 31, 2017. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  50. ^ Chiang, Ted (March 30, 2021). "Why Computers Won't Make Themselves Smarter". The New Yorker.
  51. ^ "Publication: The Art and Science of Arrival". www.isfdb.org. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  52. ^ "Publication: The History of Science Fiction: A Graphic Novel Adventure". www.isfdb.org. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  53. ^ Chiang, Ted (February 9, 2023). "ChatGPT Is a Blurry JPEG of the Web". The New Yorker.
  54. ^ Chiang, Ted (May 4, 2023). "Will A.I. Become the New McKinsey?". The New Yorker.
  55. ^ Chiang, Ted (August 31, 2024). "Why A.I. Isn't Going to Make Art". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
  56. ^ Ted Chiang on the Future, retrieved May 11, 2023
  57. ^ Ted Chiang "Imaginary Science and Magic in Fiction", retrieved May 11, 2023
  58. ^ "Jeremy Renner Joins Amy Adams in Sci-Fi 'Story of Your Life'". The Hollywood Reporter. March 6, 2015.
  59. ^ Zutter, Natalie (August 8, 2016). "Your First Look at Arrival, the Adaptation of Ted Chiang's Novella Story of Your Life". TOR. tor.com. Retrieved August 17, 2016.
  60. ^ "How a Bellevue writer's short story became a major new film". The Seattle Times. November 2, 2016. Retrieved June 10, 2019.
  61. ^ Rothman, Joshua (January 5, 2017). "Ted Chiang's Soulful Science Fiction". The New Yorker – via www.newyorker.com.
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