{{short description|Singaporean writer of speculative fiction}} {{Use dmy dates |date=January 2022 }} {{Use British English|date=January 2022}} {{Infobox writer | name = Neon Yang | birth_date = {{birth based on age as of date|35 |2018|7|26 }} | birth_place = | occupation = Writer | education = University of East Anglia (MFA) | genre = {{cslist |speculative fiction |fantasy |science fiction}} | language = English | nationality = Singapore | notable_works = ''Tensorate'' series | website = {{Official URL}} }}
'''Neon Yang,'''<ref name=":2">{{cite tweet |user=itsneonyang |number=1300790160301461507 |date=1 September 2020 |title=Signed the paperwork today which means I AM NOW! LEGALLY!! NEON!! Hence the new Twitter handle ☺️ Next up: making it OFFICIAL by changing state ID (💀) and all the banks, insurance, credit card etc (💀💀💀) Legal language is so fucking dramatic lmfao. |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200901134002/https://twitter.com/itsneonyang/status/1300790160301461507 |archive-date=2020-09-01 }}</ref> formerly '''JY Yang,''' is a Singaporean writer of English-language speculative fiction. They are best known for the ''Tensorate'' series of novellas published by Tor.com, whose entries have been finalists for the Hugo Award,<ref name=hugo2018/> Locus Award,<ref name=locus2018/> Nebula Award,<ref name=nebula2017/> World Fantasy Award,<ref name=wfa2018/> Lambda Literary Award,<ref name=lambda2019/> British Fantasy Award,<ref name=bfa2020/> and Kitschie Award.<ref name=kitschies2017/> The first novella in the series, ''The Black Tides of Heaven'', was named one of the "100 Best Fantasy Books of All Time" by ''Time'' magazine. Their debut novel, ''The Genesis of Misery'', the first book in ''The Nullvoid Chronicles'', was published in 2022 by Tor Books. The novel was a finalist for the 2023 Locus Award for Best First Novel<ref name=locus2023/> and 2023 Compton Crook Award.<ref name=crook2023/>
== Biography == Yang is non-binary and queer, and uses ''they'' pronouns.<ref>{{cite web |title=About the Writer |url=https://neonyang.com/about-me |publisher=Neon Yang |access-date=9 January 2022 }}</ref> They have a master's degree in creative writing from the University of East Anglia<ref name="Coleman 2018">{{Cite web|date=July 2018|title=Interview: JY Yang|url=https://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/nonfiction/interview-jy-yang/|last=Coleman|first=Christian A.|access-date=4 December 2021|work=Lightspeed }}</ref> and were a member of the 2013 class of the Clarion West Writers Workshop. <ref name=TorGenesis>{{Cite web |last=Tor.com |date=2022-01-12 |title=A Space Opera Twist on Joan of Arc: Revealing The Genesis of Misery by Neon Yang |url=https://www.tor.com/2022/01/12/a-space-opera-twist-on-joan-of-arc-revealing-the-genesis-of-misery-by-neon-yang/ |access-date=2022-09-05 |website=Tor.com |language=en-US}}</ref> They legally changed their name to "Neon" in 2020.<ref name=":2" />
== Career ==
Yang has published short fiction since 2012 in publications such as ''Clarkesworld'', ''Lightspeed'', ''Uncanny Magazine'', ''Apex Magazine'' and ''Strange Horizons''.<ref>{{ISFDB name}}</ref> Their novelette, "Waiting on a Bright Moon" was a top ten finalist for the 2018 Locus Award for Best Novelette.<ref name=locus2018/> Their novelette "Circus Girl, The Hunter, and Mirror Boy" was a finalist for the 2020 Ignyte Award.<ref name=ignyte2020/> Their novelette, "A Stick of Clay, in the Hands of God, Is Infinite Potential" was a top ten finalist for the 2021 Locus Award for Best Novelette.<ref name=locus2021/>
Their ''Tensorate'' series of novellas began in 2017 with the simultaneously released ''The Black Tides of Heaven'' and ''The Red Threads of Fortune'', which were published by Tor.com to critical acclaim. In particular, ''The Black Tides of Heaven'' received nominations for numerous science fiction and fantasy literary awards. The ''Tensorate'' series continued with the novellas ''The Descent of Monsters'' in 2018 and ''The Ascent to Godhood'' in 2019.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Descent of Monsters |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/9781250165848 |website=Publishers Weekly |access-date=2022-09-16}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The Descent of Monsters |url=https://www.libraryjournal.com/review/the-descent-of-monsters |last=Chadwick |first=Kristi |website=Library Journal |date=2018-06-15 |access-date=2022-09-16}}</ref>
Yang's debut novel, ''The Genesis of Misery'', the first in ''The Nullvoid Chronicles'' trilogy, was announced by Tor Books in 2020. It was published in September 2022 and has been described as a retelling of the story of Joan of Arc as a mecha space opera.<ref>{{Cite web |date=28 September 2020 |title=Joan of Arc Meets Space Opera: Announcing a New SF Trilogy From Author Neon Yang |url=https://www.tor.com/2020/09/28/announcing-a-new-sf-trilogy-from-author-neon-yang/ |access-date=4 December 2021 |work=Tor.com }}</ref>
=== Themes ===
Yang's work revolves around "the human body as a vessel for storytelling", and is based on their background as a molecular biologist, journalist and science communicator.<ref name="Tor.com 29 July 2016">{{cite news|title=Innumerable Voices: The Short Fiction of JY Yang|url=https://www.tor.com/2016/07/29/innumerable-voices-the-short-fiction-of-jy-yang/|access-date=20 February 2018|work=Tor.com|date=29 July 2016}}</ref> They have described themself as "a deep pessimist about human nature," saying that "the best we can do is to recognize this and mitigate that assholic nature when we can. I think, ultimately, that’s what most of my stories end up being about."<ref name="Coleman 2018"/> They have referenced David Mitchell, Helen Oyeyemi, and William Gibson as influences on their writing.<ref name="Coleman 2018"/>
Yang has described their Tensorate novellas as "queer Asian science fantasy."<ref>[https://neonyang.com/ Author's official website], visited 12/4/2021</ref> The series has been described as "silkpunk" by reviewers.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/arts/fantastical-world-rooted-in-the-east |title=J.Y. Yang's two novellas are like rojak, a surprisingly delicious blend of unexpected flavours |first=Ong |last=Sor Fern |date=26 Sep 2017 |accessdate=3 July 2019 |publisher=The Straits Times}}</ref>
== Awards and nominations ==
{| class="wikitable sortable" |+ Awards and honors |- ! Year !! Work !! Award !! Category !! Result !! Ref. |- ! rowspan=4 | 2017 | rowspan=3 | {{Sort|Black Tides|''The Black Tides of Heaven''}} | Kitschies Award | Debut Novel | {{sho}} | <ref name=kitschies2017>{{cite web |url=https://reactormag.com/announcing-the-kitschies-2017-winners/ |title=Announcing The Kitschies’ 2017 Winners! |date=9 Apr 2019 |accessdate=24 Aug 2025 |publisher=Tor.com}}</ref> |- | Nebula Award | Novella | {{sho|Nominated}} | <ref name=nebula2017>{{cite web |url=https://locusmag.com/2018/05/2017-nebula-awards-winners/ |title=2017 Nebula Awards Winners |publisher=Locus |date=19 May 2018 |accessdate=24 Aug 2025}}</ref> |- | Tiptree Award{{efn|name=tiptreename|Now known as the Otherwise Award}} | — | {{sho|Honor List}}{{efn|name=tiptree2017note|Joint listing for ''The Black Tides of Heaven'' and ''The Red Threads of Fortune''}} | <ref name=tiptree2017>{{cite web |url=https://locusmag.com/2018/03/bergin-wins-2017-tiptree-award/ |title=Bergin Wins 2017 Tiptree Award |publisher=Locus |date=14 Mar 2018 |accessdate=24 Aug 2025}}</ref> |- | {{Sort|Red Threads|''The Red Threads of Fortune''}} | Tiptree Award{{efn|name=tiptreename}} | — | {{sho|Honor List}}{{efn|name=tiptree2017note}} | <ref name=tiptree2017/> |- ! rowspan=5 | 2018 | rowspan=3 | {{Sort|Black Tides|''The Black Tides of Heaven''}} | Hugo Award | Novella | {{sho|Finalist}} | <ref name=hugo2018>{{cite web |url=https://locusmag.com/2018/08/2018-hugo-and-campbell-awards-winners/ |title=2018 Hugo and Campbell Awards Winners |publisher=Locus |date=19 Aug 2018 |accessdate=23 Aug 2025}}</ref> |- | Locus Award | Novella | {{sho|Finalist}} | <ref name=locus2018>{{cite web |url=https://locusmag.com/2018/06/2018-locus-awards-winners/ |title=2018 Locus Awards Winners |publisher=Locus |date=23 Jun 2018 |accessdate=23 Aug 2025}}</ref> |- | World Fantasy Award | Novella | {{sho|Nominated}} | <ref name=wfa2018>{{cite web |url=https://locusmag.com/2018/11/2018-world-fantasy-award-winners/ |title=2018 World Fantasy Awards Winners |publisher=Locus |date=4 Nov 2018 |accessdate=23 Aug 2025}}</ref> |- | {{Sort|Red Threads|''The Red Threads of Fortune''}} | Locus Award | Novella | {{sho|Finalist}} | <ref name=locus2018/> |- | {{Sort|Waiting|"Waiting on a Bright Moon"}} | Locus Award | Novelette | {{sho|Finalist}} | <ref name=locus2018/> |- ! rowspan=2 | 2019 | rowspan=2 | {{Sort|Descent|''The Descent of Monsters''}} | Lambda Literary Award | LGBTQ SF/F/Horror{{efn|name=lambdaname|Now known as the Lambda Literary Award for Speculative Fiction}} | {{sho|Finalist}} | <ref name=lambda2019>{{cite web |url=https://lambdaliterary.org/2019/03/31st-annual-lammy-finalists/ |title=31st Annual Lambda Literary Award Finalists |publisher=Lambda Literary Awards |date=7 Mar 2019 |accessdate=24 Aug 2025}}</ref> |- | Locus Award | Novella | {{sho|Finalist}} | <ref name=locus2019finalists>{{cite web |url=https://locusmag.com/2019/05/2019-locus-awards-finalists/ |title=2019 Locus Awards Finalists |publisher=Locus |date=7 May 2019 |accessdate=24 Aug 2025}}</ref> |- ! rowspan=4 | 2020 | rowspan=2 | {{Sort|Ascent|''The Ascent to Godhood''}} | British Fantasy Award | Novella | {{sho}} | <ref name=bfa2020>{{cite web |url=https://www.tor.com/2021/02/22/here-are-the-winners-of-the-2020-british-fantasy-awards/ |title=Here Are the Winners of the 2020 British Fantasy Awards |author=Andrew Liptak |date=22 Feb 2021 |accessdate=24 Aug 2025 |publisher=Tor.com}}</ref> |- | Locus Award | Novella | {{sho|Finalist}} | <ref name=locus2020>{{Cite web |url=https://locusmag.com/2020/06/locus-awards-winners-2020/ |title=2020 Locus Awards Winners |date=27 Jun 2020 |website=Locus Online |accessdate=20 Jul 2025}}</ref> |- | {{Sort|Black Tides|''The Black Tides of Heaven''}} | ''Time Magazine'' | 100 Best Fantasy Books of All Time | {{Longlisted|Listed}} | <ref name=time2020>{{Cite magazine|date=15 October 2020|title=''The Black Tides of Heaven'' by Neon Yang|url=https://time.com/collection/100-best-fantasy-books/5898509/the-black-tides-of-heaven/|last=Matthews|first=Cate|access-date=4 December 2021|magazine=Time}}</ref> |- | {{Sort|Circus|"Circus Girl, the Hunter, and Mirror Boy"}} | Ignyte Award | Novelette | {{sho|Finalist}} | <ref name=ignyte2020>{{cite web |url=https://locusmag.com/2020/10/ignyte-awards-winners/ |title=2020 Ignyte Awards Winners |website=Locus |date=18 October 2020 |accessdate=23 Aug 2025}}</ref> |- ! 2021 | {{Sort|Stick|"A Stick of Clay, in the Hands of God, is Infinite Potential"}} | Locus Award | Novelette | {{sho|Finalist}} | <ref name=locus2021>{{cite web |url=https://locusmag.com/2021/06/2021-locus-awards-winners/ |title=2021 Locus Awards Winners |publisher=Locus |date=26 Jun 2021 |accessdate=23 Aug 2025}}</ref> |- ! rowspan=2 | 2022 | {{Sort|Genesis|''The Genesis of Misery''}} | Goodreads Choice Award | Science Fiction | {{sho|Finalist}} | <ref name=goodreads2022>{{cite web |url=https://www.goodreads.com/choiceawards/best-science-fiction-books-2022 |title=Readers' Favorite Science Fiction 2022 |publisher=Goodreads |accessdate=23 Aug 2025}}</ref> |- | {{Sort|Tensorate|''The Tensorate Series''}} | Lambda Literary Award | Speculative Fiction | {{sho|Finalist}} | <ref name=lambda2022>{{cite web |url=https://lambdaliterary.org/2022/03/2022-lambda-literary-award-finalists/ |title=2022 Lambda Literary Award Finalists Announced |website=Lambda Literary |date=15 Mar 2022 |accessdate=23 Aug 2025}}</ref> |- ! rowspan=2 | 2023 | rowspan=2 | {{Sort|Genesis|''The Genesis of Misery''}} | Compton Crook Award | — | {{sho|Finalist}} | <ref name=crook2023>{{cite web |url=https://locusmag.com/2023/04/jennings-wins-2023-compton-crook-award/ |title=Jennings Wins 2023 Compton Crook Award |publisher=Locus |date=10 Apr 2023 |accessdate=23 Aug 2025}}</ref> |- | Locus Award | First Novel | {{sho|Finalist}} | <ref name=locus2023>{{cite web |title=2023 Locus Awards Winners |url=https://locusmag.com/2023/06/2023-locus-awards-winners/ |website=Locus |date=25 June 2023 |accessdate=6 Aug 2025}}</ref> |}
== Bibliography == === Novels === ''The Nullvoid Chronicles'' trilogy # ''The Genesis of Misery'', Tor Books, 2022
=== Novellas === ==== ''Tensorate'' series ==== # ''The Black Tides of Heaven'', Tor.com, 2017, {{ISBN|978-0-7653-9541-2}} # ''The Red Threads of Fortune'', Tor.com, 2017, {{ISBN|978-0-7653-9540-5}} # ''The Descent of Monsters'', Tor.com, 2018, {{ISBN|978-1250165855}} # ''The Ascent to Godhood'', Tor.com, 2019, {{ISBN|9781250165886}} The four volumes were collected in an omnibus edition: ''The Tensorate Series'', Tor.com, 2021, {{ISBN|9781250807540}}
==== Standalone ==== *''Between the Firmaments'', Book Smugglers Publishing, 2018 {{ISBN|978-1942302827}}
===Other short fiction=== ==== Collections ==== * ''The Ayam Curtain'', Math Paper Press, 2012, ed. as June Yang with Joyce Chng, {{ISBN|978-981-07-4008-5}}
==== Stories ==== {|class='wikitable sortable' width='75%' |- !width=25%|Title !|Year !|Length !|First published |- |"Interview" |2012 |Short story |''The Ayam Curtain'', Math Paper Press |- |"The War Going on Beneath Us" |2012 |Short story |''The Ayam Curtain'', Math Paper Press |- |"Where No Cars Go" |2012 |Short story |''Fish Eats Lion: New Singaporean Speculative Fiction'', Math Paper Press |- |"Captain Bells and the Sovereign State of Discordia" |2012 |Short story |''The Steampowered Globe'', AS¡FF / Two Trees |- |"Old Domes" |2013 |Short story |''We See a Different Frontier: A Postcolonial Speculative Fiction Anthology'', Futurefire.net Publishing |- |"Tiger Baby" |2013 |Short story |''From the Belly of the Cat'', Math Paper Press |- |"Storytelling for the Night Clerk" |2014 |Short story |''Strange Horizons'', 16 June 2014 |- |"Harvestfruit" |2014 |Short story |''Crossed Genres'', July 2014 |- |"Patterns of a Murmuration, in Billions of Data Points" |2014 |Short story |''Clarkesworld'', issue #96 |- |"Mother's Day" |2014 |Short story |''Lontar: The Journal of Southeast Asian Speculative Fiction'', issue #3 |- |"Cold Hands and the Smell of Salt" |2015 |Short story |''Daily Science Fiction'', Jan 2015 |- |"A Sister's Weight in Stone" |2015 |Short story |''Apex Magazine'', May 2015 |- |"Letter from an Artist to a Thousand Future Versions of Her Wife" |2015 |Short story |''Lightspeed Magazine'', issue #61 |- |"RE (For CEO's Approval) Text for 10th Anniversary Exhibition for Operation Springclean" |2015 |Short story |''Bahamut'', issue #1 |- |"A House of Anxious Spiders" |2015 |Short story |''The Dark'', Aug 2015 |- |"Song of the Krakenmaid" |2015 |Short story |''Lackington's'', Fall 2015 |- |"Temporary Saints" |2015 |Short story |''Fireside Magazine'', issue #28 |- |"Secondhand Bodies" |2016 |Short story |''Lightspeed Magazine'', issue #68 |- |"Her Majesty's Lamborghini and the Girl with the Fish Tank" |2016 |Short story |''Lontar: The Journal of Southeast Asian Speculative Fiction'', issue #6 |- |"The Blood That Pulses in the Veins of One" |2016 |Short story |''Uncanny Magazine'', issue #10 |- |"Transfers to Connecting Flights" |2016 |Short story |''An Alphabet of Embers: An Anthology of Unclassifiables'', Stone Bird Press |- |"Four and Twenty Blackbirds" |2016 |Short story |''Lightspeed Magazine'', issue #73 |- |"Dismantling London" |2016 |Short story |''Geeky Giving: A SFF Charity Anthology'', CreateSpace |- |"The Beachings" |2016 |Short story |''The Sockdolager'', Fall 2016 |- |"The Slow Ones" |2017 |Short story |''GlitterShip'', Winter 2017 |- |"Auspicium Melioris Aevi" |2017 |Short story |''Uncanny Magazine'', issue #15 |- |"Glass Lights" |2017 |Short story |''The Djinn Falls in Love & Other Stories'', Solaris |- |"Waiting on a Bright Moon" |2017 |Novelette |Tor.com |- |"A Game of Lost and Found" |2018 |Short story |''Lackington's'', Spring 2018 (co-authored with Mike Allen, Vajra Chandrasekera, Amal El-Mohtar, Natalia Theodoridou) |- |"Circus Girl, the Hunter, and Mirror Boy" |2019 |Novelette |Tor.com |- |"Bridge of Crows" |2019 |unknown |''The Mythic Dream'', Saga Press |- |"The Search for [Flight X]" |2020 |Short story |''Avatars Inc.'', XPRIZE |- |"A Stick of Clay, in the Hands of God, Is Infinite Potential" |2020 |Novelette |''Clarkesworld'', issue #164 |- |"The Exile" |2020 |unknown |''The Book of Dragons'', Harper Voyager |- |}
==See also== * List of fantasy authors * List of LGBT writers * List of science-fiction authors
==Notes==
{{notelist}}
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{Official URL}} * {{ISFDB name|235452|name=JY Yang}}
===Interviews=== *[https://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/nonfiction/author-spotlight-jy-yang/ Author Spotlight: JY Yang], Xander Odell, ''Lightspeed Magazine'', issue #68, 2016 *[https://mithilareview.com/roundtable_08_16/ Asian Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Horror: A Round Table Discussion], Aliette de Bodard, ''Mithila Review'', 2016 *[https://locusmag.com/2018/01/jy-yang-energy-systems/ JY Yang: Energy Systems], Francesca Myman, ''Locus Magazine'', 2018 *[https://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/nonfiction/interview-jy-yang/ Interview: JY Yang], Christian A. Coleman, ''Lightspeed Magazine'', issue #98, 2018
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yang, Neon}} Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:Living people Category:Alumni of the University of East Anglia Category:Non-binary novelists Category:Singaporean non-binary people Category:Singaporean short story writers Category:Singaporean LGBTQ novelists Category:21st-century Singaporean writers Category:21st-century Singaporean LGBTQ people Category:Queer novelists Category:Non-binary science fiction writers