Rebecca F. Kuang
author, marshall scholar, phd @ Yale
sinophone + asian american lit
BABEL, YELLOWFACE, etc...
linktr.ee/kuangrf
- ❤️
- Just read @rfkuang.bsky.social's Katabasis last night, and not only does it absolutely live up to the hype, I love her ability to take a mundane substance--chalk, silver in Babel--and build a whole, fully-realized world around it.
- Reposted by Rebecca F. Kuang@rfkuang.bsky.social and @nkjemisin.bsky.social are coming to Writers Center Stage in Cleveland and you can still get tickets!! Just grabbed mine. case.edu/maltzcenter/...
- really excited about this book!
- Reposted by Rebecca F. KuangNext on the LibraryReads August 2025 Hall of Fame list is KATABASIS by R. F. Kuang! @librarylovefest.bsky.social
- ❤️
- So I know that I am super late to this, but I just finished reading Babel by @rfkuang.bsky.social, and it's one hell of a book.
- Reposted by Rebecca F. Kuang
La Editorial Hidra anuncia para el 1 de septiembre la publicación de la novela CATÁBASIS de R.F. Kuang @rfkuang.bsky.social, una historia a medio camino entre el LA DIVINA COMEDIA de Dante y PIRANESI de Susanna Clarke: t.co/PxVkRwZrbj #Catábasis #RebeccaFKuang #Katabasis - i'm going on tour in the US/UK/Canada for KATABAISS in late August/September ❤️ all the dates, locations, and ticket links are up now: smarturl.it/2F5F7c
- first time doing book events ever in : Austin, Indianpolis, Chicago, Nashville, San Diego, Calgary, and Hamilton. i'm very excited!
- Reposted by Rebecca F. KuangNoch basteln wir an der Übersetzung, Alexandra Jordan und ich 😊 Und das Buch ist vollgepackt mit witzigen Zitaten, klugen Anspielungen, wissenswerten Haupt- und Nebensächlichkeiten. Wie man‘s kennt von @rfkuang.bsky.social 😌🤓
- Reposted by Rebecca F. KuangAn inspiring article on courageous community college leaders who are *publicly* organizing and standing up against DEI attacks.. www.insidehighered.com/news/governm...
- Lauren is wonderful. Querying authors, note:
- It's #MSWL day! I represent adult SF, fantasy, and horror; also open to mainstream fiction with genre elements, or a deeply surreal/speculative flavor. This year, I hope to expand into romance and mystery, esp. with speculative elements. I like books to be smart, fun, and weird. 🧵
- Reposted by Rebecca F. KuangThis is a recommendation for #MathSky and anyone else who likes to read or works in academia. R. F. Kuang's Katabasis comes out this August. The cover has just been revealed. See that Penrose staircase? There will be much more math inside, I promise. Along with searing commentary and a great story.
- Reposted by Rebecca F. Kuang"Rejecting identitarianism...means abandoning the neoliberal dream of impeccably multicolored boardrooms. But it does not mean retreating into a tone-deaf class-only politics." myself and @enzoreds.bsky.social for @journalspectre.bsky.social. spectrejournal.com/whats-new-ab...
- Reposted by Rebecca F. KuangCongrats to @rfkuang.bsky.social on another amazing release! Pre-order your copy of this stunning edition of "Katabasis" (out 8/2025) from our website and have it signed or personalized 🖋️ www.harvard.com/rf-kuang-sig...
- Reposted by Rebecca F. KuangI had the privilege to ask some questions of @rfkuang.bsky.social at Richland Library for our Off Book series. I particularly love the answer about how different languages mark the passing with time. youtu.be/DDeBqV-U0V8?...
- Reposted by Rebecca F. KuangWith @sdileonardi.bsky.social and @beccacohen.bsky.social, I wrote a shortish essay on The Girl on the Train and how self-branding is changing authorship. For a fascinating special issue of Studies in the Novel ed by @megaplex.bsky.social and @sarahdallison.bsky.social muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/articl...
- Reposted by Rebecca F. Kuang"Where 'Shanghailanders' spins outwards across time and space, 'Tiananmen Square' enters squarely into a saturated discourse about one particular time and place: Tiananmen Square, June 1989." Rebecca Kuang reviews "Tiananmen Square" and "Shanghailanders." lareviewofbooks.org/article/from...
- i wrote about Juli Min's SHANGHAILANDERS and Lai Wen's TIANANMEN SQUARE, two debut novels from this past year that i enjoyed greatly lareviewofbooks.org/article/from...
- Reposted by Rebecca F. KuangJust up at @lareviewofbooks.bsky.social, an engaging essay on two novels, Shanghailanders and Tiananmen Square, reviewed astutely by @rfkuang.bsky.social lareviewofbooks.org/article/from...
- i have two more public events upcoming this year, one in NOLA and one in NYC. tickets and more event details linked here, and please excuse the NOLA graphic for being so extra - I did not make it but I am flattered 🙈 NOLA: kuangrf.eventbrite.com NYC: firstgoldendaybnusq.eventbrite.com
- Reposted by Rebecca F. KuangCollector’s edition of THE POPPY WAR looks especially beautiful in the winter sun @rfkuang.bsky.social
- Reposted by Rebecca F. KuangLas palabras cuentan historias. En concreto, la historia de esas palabras -cómo empezaron a usarse y cómo su significado se transformó en lo que significan hoy- nos cuentan tanto o más sobre un pueblo que cualquier otro tipo de artefacto histórico. Babel - @rfkuang.bsky.social
- Reposted by Rebecca F. KuangMy Collector's Edition of @rfkuang.bsky.social's The Poppy War came yesterday - and it is STUNNING! I had completely forgotten it was illustrated so that was a lovely surprise. Fingers crossed they do the other two as well! #Booksky 📚💙
- gosh it is so nice to see so many of you over here! i used to really enjoy talking about writing craft, speculative fiction, asian american + sinophone literature over at that other place. we're back!
- (i dipped into threads briefly to see what was going on there...what a mess!) i will use this space to chat about interesting books and re-share knowledge from thinkers and activists who i learned something from. i really missed having a social space in which to think out loud!
- anyways, i am currently writing a Novel About a City, and trying to read as many Novels About (real) Cities as I can – eg Ben Lerner's LEAVING THE ATOCHA STATION, Elif Batuman's THE IDIOT, Katie Kitamura's INTIMACIES, Teju Cole's OPEN CITY... any recommendations, particularly for cities in Asia?
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- Reposted by Rebecca F. Kuangif i've learned one thing from doing union stuff while also doing other forms of organizing, it's that you're better off with people you disagree with who are nevertheless trying to do the same thing as you than with people you agree with who aren't trying to do anything
- Reposted by Rebecca F. KuangC. Some of you have asked me about ballot curing! 1. Here's the official Harris/Walz curing phone bank: events.democrats.org/event/684133/ 2. But! There are also virtual events across the country: events.democrats.org?is_virtual=t...
- for reference today
- i'm very excited to have curated some screenings later this month for my favorite indie theater in Cambridge. and it overlaps with the re-release of THE POPPY WAR! more details and links here: rfkuang.substack.com/p/the-poppy-...
- i voted, here's why substack.com/home/post/p-...
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- Reposted by Rebecca F. KuangLast thing I'll say is that if you genuinely believe that Trump will be better for the left / in general - if you aren't taking that view just to be provocative - then why talk about abstention? You should vote for him. If you feel unwilling to do that, ask yourself why
- Reposted by Rebecca F. Kuangelection discourse hopefully almost over - seems to get worse every year. I don't have much to add to it except that I think you should vote, and I think you should vote for the same reason you should do your shift on a picket line
- as of today I am *officially* a PhD candidate - meaning I've passed my qualifying exams, and my dissertation prospectus has been approved!!! as the nike run club app would say...halfway point! 🥳
- hello! can you let me know if you're an Asian Americanist or China studies scholar on Bluesky? i'd like to follow you and your work. self-promotion and recommendations both welcome. trying to find a sustainable way to stay connected to the field...
- Reposted by Rebecca F. KuangTOMORROW, WEDS 7/31, 1 PM PT, INDIVISIBLE and AAPIVA are hosting a National Call for AAPIs for Kamala Harris & Democrats up and down the ticket! Join me and AAPI organizers across the country (and yes, KEN JEONG) as we unite and prepare for this historic moment! Register: tinyurl.com/aapisforharris
- Reposted by Rebecca F. KuangI think it's safe to post this now that it's been announced - I illustrated a limited edition version of "Babel" by @rfkuang.bsky.social for Subterranean Press 📕
- Reposted by Rebecca F. Kuang[Not loaded yet]
- statement
- i wrote about Cord Jefferson's AMERICAN FICTION, Percival Everett's ERASURE, and my thoughts on YELLOWFACE half a year out for Time. Good movie, fantastic book, and weird genre that I'm personally done writing... time.com/collection/t...
- this has been one of my pie in the sky goals for a while. all my gratitude to everyone who voted. we're going out to celebrate tonight! ❤️
- at very long last i will finally head over to Australia in March to do some book events. Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane over three days. all ticket links are in my bio, and recommendations for how to make the most of my brief time in AUS very welcome!
- the Bulgarian translator of BABEL - Bogdan Rusev - has won the Krastan Dyankov Prize for his work on a book that is admittedly a translator's headache. i enjoyed reading about his strategy for handling the match-pairs! full article here. Congratulations, Bogdan! ekf.bg/news/article...
- well this was kind of startling to wake up to and for a long moment i thought it was a joke email. i'm in the Forbes 30 under 30 class this year! 🫠😱 www.forbes.com/30-under-30/...
- Reposted by Rebecca F. KuangMy story "A Record of Lost Time", translated by Rebecca F. Kuang is live online in @lightspeedmagazine.com Nov 2023! Thx for Rebecca's wonderful translation! The story is eligible for nomination of awards as Best Novelette. Please consider if you like it! www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/a-re...
- i wrote about Olivia Rodrigo, prodigies, and the trap of being great for your age when you'd just like to be good. my favorite lyric from Teenage Dream: "They all say that it gets better/It gets better, but what if I don’t?”
- the National Concert Hall in Taipei, by day and by night. these days i'm here at least twice a week. the classical music programming this summer has been a wonderful surprise, and sitting in the cool dark letting Mozart wash over me is a nice way to while away the hot summer days...
- Reposted by Rebecca F. KuangI don’t say this lightly, but just like her previous novel, Babel, @rfkuang.bsky.social’s Yellowface is a work of genius.
- Reposted by Rebecca F. KuangI have not read a dark comedic satire this good in forever. Yellowface @rfkuang.bsky.social ✅Satirize all of publishing, but make it the most real view of book world ever. ✅mc is horror, a villain who thinks she’s a hero, but with a victim complex. Also the most real thing ever.
