{{Short description|American writer}} {{for multi|the American film director|Jon M. Chu|other people with similar names|Jonathan Chu (disambiguation){{!}}Jonathan Chu}} {{Infobox writer | name = John Chu | image = John Chu 5160041.jpg | caption = at the 2026 Gaithersburg Book Festival | occupation = Author, engineer, translator | notableworks = {{Plainlist}} *The Water That Falls on You from Nowhere (2013) *If You Find Yourself Speaking to God, Address God with the Informal You (2022) {{endplainlist}} | website = {{Official URL}} | awards = {{Plainlist}} * Hugo Award for Best Short Story (2014) * Nebula Award for Best Novelette (2022) * Locus Award for Best Novelette (2023) * Ignyte Award for Best Novelette (2023) {{endplainlist}} }}
'''John Chu''' ({{zh|朱中宜}}) is a Taiwanese-American science fiction writer.<ref name="Uncanny 2015-05-02" /> His work has won a Nebula award, a Hugo award, an Ignyte award, and a Locus award.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /><ref name="hugo2014">{{cite web |title=2014 Hugo Awards |date=18 April 2014 |url=http://www.thehugoawards.org/hugo-history/2014-hugo-awards/ |accessdate=8 September 2014}}</ref>
==Personal life and education== Chu was born in Taiwan. He moved to the US and began learning English at age six.<ref name="Uncanny 2015-05-02">{{cite web |url=http://uncannymagazine.com/article/interview-john-chu |title=Interview: John Chu |author=Deborah Stanish |work=Uncanny Magazine |date=May 2, 2015 |accessdate=16 October 2015 }}</ref> He read voraciously as a child and credits reading Year’s Best SF volumes as solidifying his love of short science fiction stories. The works of Ted Chiang made Chu realize it was possible to be a working author. <ref name=":4">{{Cite web |title=Share beef noodle soup with award-winning writer John Chu in Episode 238 of Eating the Fantastic ‹ Scott Edelman |url=https://www.scottedelman.com/wordpress/2024/10/11/john-chu/ |access-date=2024-11-02 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="Uncanny 2015-05-02" />
Chu attended the 2006 Viable Paradise workshop.<ref name=":4" /> And in 2010 was a graduate of the Clarion science fiction & fantasy workshop.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-07-05 |title=John Chu on Svbtle |url=http://blog.johnchu.net/page/2 |access-date=2024-11-02 |website=John Chu on Svbtle |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":4" /><ref name="Uncanny 2015-05-02" />
He has a PhD in computer engineering<ref>{{cite web |author=Brent Lambert |date=September 24, 2018 |title=''Mother of Invention'': John Chu Interview |url=https://fiyahlitmag.com/2018/09/24/mother-of-invention-john-chu-interview/ |work=FIYAH Literary Magazine |access-date=July 23, 2023 }}</ref> and works as a microprocessor architect by day. He is gay,<ref name="Swirsky 2019">{{cite web |author=Rachel Swirsky |date=May 23, 2019 |title=Silly Interview with John Chu, who will tell you about the great injustices of American Musical Theater |url=https://www.patreon.com/posts/silly-interview-27078248 |access-date=July 22, 2023 |via=Patreon}}</ref> a theme that he explores in his writing.<ref name="Uncanny 2015-05-02" /> Other common themes in Chu's work include family relationships, the limitations of the body, accepting yourself, and the power of food in human connections.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Words |first=Caroline M. Yoachim in Uncanny Magazine Issue Twenty-Eight {{!}} 1149 |title=Interview: John Chu |url=https://www.uncannymagazine.com/article/interview-john-chu-3/ |access-date=2024-11-02 |website=Uncanny Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":4" /><ref name=":5">{{Cite web |last=Words |first=Julia Rios in Uncanny Magazine Issue Sixteen {{!}} 1393 |title=Interview: John Chu |url=https://www.uncannymagazine.com/article/interview-john-chu-2/ |access-date=2024-11-02 |website=Uncanny Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref> Chu is a fan of the theatre.<ref name=":5" />
{{Heading|Career}} [[file:John Chu at ConFusion 2017.jpg|thumb|left|Chu at ConFusion in 2017]] Chu published his first story in 2011. As of 2024, he has published over two dozen stories.<ref name=":0" />
In 2014, Chu’s third published story, "The Water That Falls on You from Nowhere," at Tor.com went on to win the 2014 Hugo Award for Best Short Story.<ref name=":0" /><ref name="hugo2014" />
Chu’s story "If You Find Yourself Speaking to God, Address God with the Informal You" won the 2022 Nebula award, the 2023 Ignyte award, and the 2023 Locus award for Best Novelette. The story was runner up for the 2023 Hugo award.<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":3" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" />
Chu’s stories have appeared on the Locus Recommended reading list four times.<ref name=":7" /><ref name=":8" /><ref name=":9" /><ref name=":10" />
In addition to his work as an author, Chu also reads for podcasts and translates novels and stories from Chinese into English.<ref name="Uncanny 2015-05-02" /> His interest in translation began after he acted as a beta reader for Ken Liu’s English translation of The Three Body Problem. Chu was offered his first translation job in 2013.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Chu |first=John |date=June 1, 2015 |title=Another Word: The Vaguely Picaresque Adventures of a New Writer |url=https://clarkesworldmagazine.com/another_word_06_15/ |access-date=November 2, 2024}}</ref>
Chu’s debut novel, ''The Subtle Art of Folding Space'', was released April 7, 2026.<ref>{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |date=7 April 2026 |title=The Subtle Art of Folding Space |url=https://torpublishinggroup.com/the-subtle-art-of-folding-space/?isbn=9781250425409 |website=torpublishinggroup.com |access-date=7 April 2026}}</ref>
==Bibliography== === Novels === ''The Subtle Art of Folding Space''. (7 April 2026). Tor. {{ISBN|978-1250382085}}. === Short fiction === {|class='wikitable sortable' width='90%' |- !width=25%|Title !|Year !|First published !|Reprinted/collected !|Awards/Honors |- |"Wonderland Is a Parking Lot in Revere"<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Chu |first=John |title=John Chu Bibliography |url=https://www.johnchu.net/bibliography.html |access-date=November 2, 2024}}</ref> |2024 |Uncanny Magazine, July/August 2024<ref name=":0" /> | | |- |"Halfway Between Albany and West Point" |2023 |The Sunday Morning Transport, October 1st, 2023<ref name=":0" /> | | |- |"Equal Forces Opposed in Exquisite Tension" |2023 |New Suns 2, Solaris, March 14th, 2023<ref name=":0" /> | | |- |"If You Find Yourself Speaking to God, Address God with the Informal You" |2022 |Uncanny Magazine, July/August 2022<ref name=":0" /> | |'''Winner''' 2022 Nebula Award For Best Novelette<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |date=May 15, 2023 |title=Here Are the Winners of the 2022 Nebula Awards! |url=https://reactormag.com/here-are-the-winners-of-the-2022-nebula-awards/ |access-date=November 2, 2024}}</ref> '''Winner''' 2023 Ignyte Award For Best Novelette<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=October 23, 2023 |title=Announcing the Winners of the 2023 Ignyte Awards |url=https://reactormag.com/announcing-the-winners-of-the-2023-ignyte-awards/ |access-date=November 2, 2024}}</ref>
'''Winner''' 2023 Locus Award For Best Novelette<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |date=June 24, 2023 |title=2023 Locus Awards Winners |url=https://locusmag.com/2023/06/2023-locus-awards-winners/ |access-date=November 2, 2024}}</ref>
Finalist 2023 Hugo Award for Best Novelette<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |date=October 23, 2023 |title=Announcing the Winners of the 2023 Hugo Awards |url=https://reactormag.com/announcing-the-winners-of-the-2023-hugo-awards/ |access-date=November 2, 2024}}</ref>
2022 Locus Recommended Reading Novelette <ref name=":7">{{Cite web |date=February 1, 2023 |title=2022 Recommended Reading List |url=https://locusmag.com/2023/02/2022-recommended-reading-list/ |access-date=November 2, 2024}}</ref> |- |"Dancing with Death" |2020 |''Made to Order: Robots and Revolution'', Solaris March 17th, 2020<ref name=":0" /> | | |- |"Close Enough for Jazz" |2019 |''The Mythic Dream'', Saga Press September 3, 2019<ref name=":0" /> | | |- |"Probabilitea" |2019 |Uncanny Magazine, May/June 2019<ref name=":0" /> | | |- |"Beyond the El" |2019 |Tor.com, January 16, 2019<ref name=":0" /> | |2019 Locus Recommended Reading: Short Stories<ref name=":10">{{Cite web |date=February 1, 2020 |title=2019 Locus Recommended Reading List |url=https://locusmag.com/2020/02/2019-locus-recommended-reading-list/ |access-date=November 2, 2024}}</ref> |- |"Quantifying Trust" |2018 |''Mothers of Invention'', Twelve Planet Press, September 2018<ref name=":0" /> |Reprinted in ''The Best Science Fiction of the Year Volume 4'', edited by Neil Clarke, published by Night Shade Books.<ref name=":0" /> | |- |"Making the Magic Lightning Strike Me" |2017 |''Uncanny Magazine'', May, 2017<ref name=":0" /> |Reprinted in ''Wilde Stores 2018: The Year's Best Gay Speculative Fiction'', edited by Steve Berman, published by Lethe Press<ref name=":0" /> | |- |"The Sentry Branch Predictor Spec: A Fairy Tale" |2016 |''Clarkesworld'', July 2016 <ref name=":0" /> | | |- |"How to Piss Off a Failed Super-Soldier" |2016 |''The Book Smugglers' Quarterly Almanac, Volume 1'', June, 2016<ref name=":0" /> | | |- |"Selected Afterimages of the Fading" |2016 |''Defying Doomsday'', Twelve Planet Press, June 2016<ref name=":0" /> | | |- |"The Law and the Profits" |2016 |''The Revelator'', March, 2016 <ref name=":0" /> | | |- |"Finding Your Slot" |2015 |Moozvine, November, 2015<ref name=":0" /> | | |- |"Hold-Time Violations" |2015 |Tor.com, October 7, 2015<ref name=":0" /> |Reprinted in ''The Best Science Fiction of the Year Volume 1'', edited by Neil Clarke, published by Night Shade Books<ref name=":0" /> |2015 Locus Recommended Reading: Short Stories<ref name=":8">{{Cite web |date=February 1, 2016 |title=2015 Locus Recommended Reading List |url=https://locusmag.com/2016/02/2015-locus-recommended-reading-list/ |access-date=November 2, 2024}}</ref> |- |"勢孤取和 (Influence Isolated, Make Peace)" |2015 |''Lightspeed'', June, 2015<ref name=":0" /> | | |- |"Restore the Heart into Love" |2015 |''Uncanny Magazine'', May, 2015<ref name=":0" /> | | |- |"Repairing the World" |2014 |''Apex Magazine'', April, 2014<ref name=":0" /> | | |- |"A Cost-Benefit Analysis of the Proposed Trade-Offs for the Overhaul of the Barricade" |2014 |Tor.com, July 30, 2014<ref name=":0" /> | | |- |"Double Time" |2014 |''Kaleidoscope'', Twelfth Planet Press<ref name=":0" /> | | |- |"Best of All Possible Worlds" |2013 |''Asimov's Science Fiction'', February 2013<ref name=":0" /> | | |- |"The Water That Falls on You from Nowhere" |2013 |Tor.com, February 20, 2013)<ref name=":0" /> |{{cite book |editor=Berman, Steve |title=Wilde Stories 2014: The Year's Best Gay Speculative Fiction |publisher=Lethe Press |year=2014}} |'''Winner''' 2014 Hugo Award for Best Short Story<ref name="hugo2014" /> 2013 Locus Recommended Reading: Short Stories<ref name=":9">{{Cite web |date=February 1, 2014 |title=2013 Locus Recommended Reading List |url=https://locusmag.com/2014/02/2013-locus-recommended-reading-list/ |access-date=November 2, 2024}}</ref> |- |"Incomplete Proofs" |2012 |''Bloody Fabulous'', Prime Books<ref name=":0" /> | | |- |"Thirty Seconds from Now" |2011 |Boston Review, September/October<ref name=":0" /> | | |} ===Critical reactions=== Jo Walton reviewed Chu's first novel, ''The Subtle Art of Folding Space'': "This is a story about a family, and rewriting the underlying physics of the universe." Full review: [https://reactormag.com/jo-waltons-reading-list-april-may-2025/ Jo Walton's Reading List: April & May 2025]
Library Journal listed this novel as their SFF Debut of the Month, writing that "Chu finds a delightful and poignant intersection between the multiverse, family dysfunction, and dim sum in his debut novel." [https://www.libraryjournal.com/story/the-subtle-art-of-folding-space-by-john-chu-sff-debut-of-the-month Review and rating, Dec 10, 2025 ]
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{Official website}} ** [http://www.johnchu.net/bibliography.html John Chu's bibliography]. Many of his stories are available free online. * [https://www.freesfonline.net/authors/John_Chu.html John Chu's stories available online] by [https://www.freesfonline.net/ Free SF Online], accessed 5/12/2026 {{Hugo Award Best Short Story 2001–2020}} {{Ignyte Award for Outstanding Novelette}} {{Nebula Award Best Novelette}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chu, John}} Category:Living people Category:American gay writers Category:American LGBTQ people of Asian descent Category:American male short story writers Category:American science fiction writers Category:Asimov's Science Fiction people Category:Hugo Award–winning writers Category:Nebula Award winners Category:Taiwanese emigrants to the United States Category:Taiwanese gay writers Category:Taiwanese male short story writers Category:21st-century Taiwanese short story writers Category:Year of birth missing (living people)