| Ann Liang | |
| Birth Date: | 8 March 2000 |
| Birth Place: | Beijing, China |
| Alma Mater: | University of Melbourne |
| Genre: | Young adult |
| Notable Works: | If You Could See The Sun (2022) |
| Occupation: | Writer |
| Native Name Lang: | zh |
Ann Liang (Chinese: Liang Yuan) is a Chinese-Australian writer. She will also serve as the executive producer for a television adaptation of her novel If You Could See The Sun.[1]
Ann Liang was born Liang Yuan in Beijing, China, on 8 March 2000. When she was five, she moved to Australia, and was given the name "Ann" by her teachers, as it was short and easy to remember.[2] At age nine, she moved back to Beijing, moving and attending various international schools, the longest being Beijing International School.
Liang was a prolific reader and writer growing up. Throughout her life, Liang was encouraged to become a writer from a very young age, but did not consider it seriously until she was in Year Eleven.[3] In that same year, in 2016, she published her first work called "A Sketch of Perfection", in the anthology My First Lesson: Stories Inspired by Laurinda, by Alice Pung.[4] At the time of her debut, she had freshly graduated from the University of Melbourne.[5] [6]
On February 2, 2021, Liang announced through Instagram that she would debuting in 2022 with her young adult novel, If You Could See the Sun.[7] If You Could See the Sun won the Readings Prize Young Adult Book Prize, was a finalist for the Aurealis Award for Best Young Adult Novel, and was nominated for a Goodreads Choice Award. On October 11, 2022, the debut day of If You Could See The Sun, it was announced that a television adaptation would be produced by the Seoul and Los Angeles-based Bound Entertainment company, and that Liang would be serving as an executive producer.
On October 19, 2021, Liang announced that she would be releasing her second book, This Time It's Real, in spring 2023.[8]
Liang's third YA novel, I Hope This Doesn't Find You, released on February 6, 2024.[9] I Hope This Doesn't Find You reached number seven on The New York Times Best Seller list for young adult hardcover books,[10] and was a finalist for the Queensland Literary Awards Young Adult Book Award.
Liang's debut adult novel, A Song To Drown Rivers, was released on October 1, 2024,[11] and was chosen for the Good Morning America book club.[12]
Liang's novel I Am Not Jessica Chen was going to be released in summer 2024,[13] but was pushed back to 2025. On August 24, 2024, Liang announced the release of her fifth young adult novel, Never Thought I'd End Up Here, for June 2025.[14] Liang has a spinoff of If You Could See the Sun titled I Could Give You the Moon set to release in 2026.
A common theme in Liang's books is centering around the individual growth of the protagonist, with her first three books following her female protagonists, Alice Sun, Eliza Lin, and Sadie Wen, high school students who struggle to put themselves out there. Another of her major themes is the Asian diaspora experience, with the former two being students who have found disparity with their home country due to being abroad, and the latter growing up in an English-speaking country. The three of them are characterized by their lack of language fluency in Mandarin Chinese.[15]
Liang's books first two books takes place in international schools, excluding I Hope This Doesn't Find You. This is influenced by Liang's childhood, who attended at least six different schools in Beijing growing up. Due to her various experiences, she also touches upon class and privilege that she has seen from her wealthy classmates.
Some of Liang's artistic references are Chinese media such as C-dramas, and music such as Taylor Swift's discography, with the latter used as references to set the mood for each of her scenes.[16]
Liang cites fellow authors such as R.F. Kuang and Chloe Gong as inspirations, as well as the series The Hunger Games and Shatter Me.
She has a younger sister named Alyssa, who is acknowledged in her books. In an interview, she stated that her Chinese name is a combination of her parents' names.[17]
Aside from English, Liang is fluent in Mandarin. In an interview with Penguin Books Australia, she stated that she did an internship with a Chinese entertainment news company, which she also used as an inspiration for This Time It's Real.
| Year | Title | Award | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | If You Could See the Sun | Goodreads Choice Award for Best Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction | [18] | ||
| Aurealis Award for Best Young Adult Novel | [19] | ||||
| 2023 | Readings Prize Young Adult Book Prize | [20] | |||
| 2024 | I Hope This Doesn't Find You | Queensland Literary Awards Young Adult Book Award | [21] |