Somehow my publishing schedule has extended to the end of 2027. I’ve been steadily making headway in my long form backlog with four books yet to be sold and starting work on my ninth (!!)

Some personal updates before the writing updates:

This has definitely been a year of re-evaluating my priorities and trying to rebalance work and life and catching up with friends. I’d picked up snowboarding last year and struggled with it, but I seem to be making headway in it this season, while trying to increase the amount of badminton I’m playing each week—mostly because I realized that I’m 100% not made for the gym, and it’s much easier for me to commit to sports than it is to weight training…

I’ve been thinking a lot too about relationships in general, not just romantic ones, but also platonic ones, and why they sometimes might fall apart. At least for me, I’ve discovered just how much work and effort maintaining multiple good relationships can be—with friends, with family, and my spouse—though not in a bad way. It’s enjoyable work, like writing, but it’s something that is conscious rather than subconscious, and something that can be endlessly rewarding and fulfilling. There’s something to going out of your way to show someone you enjoy their company, that you want to help them out simply because, that you want to make their life easier, less stressful, or give them something to smile about without expecting anything in return.

This might also be the year where I have to be kinder to myself, step back a little from chasing ambition, and try to find, if not large, at least small moments of contentment, peace, and quiet, and work again from there. I hope everyone is being kind to yourself and each other this cold season (or warm, depending on where you are).

Now onto the writing updates:

It’s been a wild year, and I’ve been very fortunate to have sold both my first poetry as well as short story collections, both of which will be forthcoming in 2027—short story in the spring, and poetry in the winter.

Preorder ​We In/Exhale Odysseys​ (Bad Hand Books)

Announcement for ​Memories Are Only Valuable If They Can Be Lost ​(Shortwave Publishing)

I have a few short stories in various anthologies as well for those looking to pick up something thematic and looking to read new authors:

“All the Men Who Cried Wolf”—​HOWL: An Anthology of Werewolves from Women-in-Horror​

“Red God Waiting”—​The Rack II: More Stories Inspired by Vintage Horror Paperbacks​

“A House That Cannot Fall”—​Coven of the East​

“Unsewn”—​ROOTS OF MY FEARS: Terrifying Stories of Ancestral Horror​

And finally, the second novella in the Natural Engines duology (following ​A Palace Near the Wind​) is forthcoming April 21, 2026, titled ​A River From the Sky​ (indie preorder link ​here​ & general preorder link ​here​ with art by ​Nancy Zhang​ and ​David Bowman​). My debut novel (!!!) is forthcoming September 8, 2026, retitled ​An Empire in the Clouds.​ The cover hasn’t been revealed yet, but I’ve already commissioned art for preorder postcard giveaways by ​Peng Lu ​and ​荒人​.

Thank you as always for reading and supporting! Do hold onto your flashlights—and don’t wander too far into the dark…

—Ai

Cover Artist/Designer: Natasha MacKenzie

Do check out the cover reveal with ​The Fantasy Hive​ & cover reveal on ​personal channels​ if you’d like to help with sharing them around!

As for what I’ve been up to in the past two months—

I did a lovely event with ​Take Cover Books in Peterborough​ as well as ​Joie de livre in Montreal​ (This is first time I’ve ever had a full display of my books in a storefront window!)

I’ll be doing a signing at Indigo Markham on Sunday, July 6th, from 1-4PM ET, as well as Chapters Peterborough on August 23rd. (More signings to come—hopefully!)

How A PALACE NEAR THE WIND is doing — I’ve heard word that the sales team is happy and the smol thing is selling well, which is more than I could ever ask for, and I’m always endlessly appreciative of the readers who pick up a copy and shout about it online. Word of mouth truly makes a big difference in this industry.

In May, I popped over to the UK and ​visited various bookstores ​and was able to do some wonderful events as well — a panel and signing MCM London ComicCon, a reading and Q&A at my alma mater The University of Edinburgh with fellow alums Alex Penland and Zebib Abraham, as well as an event at Waterstones Covent Garden with Gareth Powell.

​StokerCon​ is always a joy, and I’ve discovered it’s truly become one of the staple cons I can’t help but attend every year because I get to see so many frens. But also, this year it seems like the hotel was particularly on brand because of the various things that had popped up that give it a very… haunting vibe—a room filled with lamps that are turned on where those resting beneath can hear footsteps at night that shouldn’t be present, a “nightmare” room with the creepiest of vibes, mold. I always have the bestest time.

Conventions coming up that I’m attending—Seattle WorldCon, DragonCon, Can*Con, World Fantasy. If you’re attending any of these, do flag me down to say hi! I’ll be trying to get signing slots for them as well, so if you’re looking to get something signed and personalized, do keep watch on the schedule as they roll out.

What I’m working on next? A horror novella (folk gothic??) and the novelization of “Give Me English” before I dive into the prequel of An Empire Above Opera (my debut novel set to be published next fall with Titan Books), tentatively titled An Opera of Salamanders. I’ve been exploring alternatives, but for now I think this is what I’ll be sticking to!

One thing I discovered I need to work on this year is my inability to say no to things and being more selective about the things I take on because I’ve been trying to balance writing and social media as well as spending more with those around me. To everyone who has good time management skills… I applaud you.

I’ve also been finding it more difficult to write short stories, and one main issue (?) I think is that I’ve become more and more critical about my writing and seeing more and more flaws. As to how I plan on tackling this? I’ll be trying to remind myself that I can always edit, but I need something on the page first to edit.

Anywho, I think I’ll be disappearing for the month of July to catch up on some writing and hopefully take a much needed breather later this year during the winter before the endless publishing machine calls my name again!

Thank you as always for reading and supporting! Do hold onto your flashlights—and don’t wander too far into the dark…

—Ai

We’re also about a week out from the release of ​A Palace Near the Wind ​which is wild (​and Linghun recently turned 2​)!! It was so far and suddenly it’s so close. But one other thing I’ve released that being a writer consists of (outside of the whole “hurry up and wait” landscape) is the following:

What I thought I’d be doing as a full-time writer: writing

What I actually do as a full-time writer: hours of admin work/emails

Fortunately, even with the emails, I was somehow able to finish the second book in the Natural Engines duology—A River from the Sky—at a, you guessed it, sparseish 25K which will likely get puffed a bit after gets back to me from my editor’s hands with comments. I’m working on a bit of an experimental book which I’d like to describe as “instead of To All the Boys I’ve Ever Loved, it’s a To All My Family Who Always Gave.” It’s quite a personal one, so I’m excited to finish it. I’ve plans to do one more book this year, which is the long-belated novelization of my short story “Give Me English” because it’d received grant support (!!!) so I have no choice but to end my procrastination (happily, of course.) —​A big thank you to the Ontario Arts Council for their support, along with my Recommender’s Grant recommenders: Augur Society, Diaspora Dialogues, Wolsak and Wynn, and House of Anansi.​

I will say though, it’s a dream of mine to be able to put out two books a year until I can have a steady flow of backlog income and time to really sit down and take a couple of years to work on a single book, but I know with that comes even more organization and admin work, and with the current landscape in publishing and the way advances are usually spread out/royalties are distributed, it might take a while before I can become firmly rooted in this career path. Regardless, I’m grateful that I have continued support from readers like those of your currently reading this, along with my now endlessly enthusiastic family.

As for the future of these forthcoming books? After parting amicably with my former agents, I’m now signed with​ Lane Heymont and Danai Christopoulou of The Tobias Literary Agency​—we’re currently on sub with a novel I’d like to describe as Mulan but with ghosts. Fingers crossed!!

Some other news include the extreme honour of being a finalist in the inaugural ​Best Poem category for the Hugo Awards​ with my piece “We Drink Lava” published in Uncanny Magazine Issue 56 (​which you can both read and listen to here​).

Which brings me to…

Maybe because of stubborn, or my brain just likes to take risks and rebel whenever there are warning alarms sounding (maybe both—probably both), but I’ll be taking three US trips this year: StokerCon, Seattle WorldCon, and DragonCon. I’ll also be dropping by the UK for 10 days (MCM London 23rd, Oxford 24, Bath 25, Cambridge 26, Edinburgh 28 at the University of Edinburgh with fellow alums, ​Waterstones Covent Garden 29 in-conversation with Gareth Powell​). For Canadian events, we just had our pre-release with Little Ghosts Books on the 6th, will be doing another with Bakka Phoenix on the 12th, and then Take Cover in Peterborough on June 20th, and with Joie de Livres in Montreal on June 22nd.

I was lucky enough this year to get to attend the JoCo Cruise as a featured guest as part of the lit track and what a time it was. I was able to reconnect with old friends and make new ones and have lovely discussions on panels with John Scalzi, Sarah Gailey, among others. (The only downside was the fact I was decommissioned for two days because of seasickness… but luckily Dramamine saved the day and I was able to get my boat legs in shape.) —pictures ​here​ and ​here​!

I’d also took a trip back to China to do some research on the parade of gods my hometown is known for—more on this soon!

Other events: World Fantasy and Can*Con

Faculty: Banff Residency for Science Fiction with Premee Mohamed and Amal El-Mohtar — September 8-19 ​(application deadline is April 16)​

NEW STORIES/POEMS

“Shadows Below Seaway Trains”—​APEX MAGAZINE​, April 2025

“the bud of a dead dream”—​Uncanny Magazine​, March/April 2025

“A Realm Alive After Dusk”—​APEX MAGAZINE’s The Map of Lost Places Anthology​, April 2025

“A Species Called Hope”—​Of Shadows, Stars, and Sabres​, February 2025

“On the Bridge Above the River”—​And One Day We Will Die Anthology​, February 2025

“Memories Are Only Valuable if They Can Be Lost”—Chinese translation in ​CNY SF Gala by FAA​, February 2025

• Chinese translation in print—《外国文艺》(Foreign Literature and Art)

“An Elegy for Horns”—​INTREPIDUS INK​, January 2025

“A Thousand Forbidden Weddings”—​The Earth Bleeds at Night Anthology​, January 2025

​If you haven’t yet sent in your pre-order campaign form for PALACE (applicable for readers, reviewers, etc), I’ll keep it open for the next week or so before closing it! ​

I’m sure I’m missing something, but I’ve got more emails to answer and more deadlines to chase, so until next time!!

Thank you as always for reading and supporting! Do hold onto your flashlights—and don’t wander too far into the dark…

—Ai

No one tell my agent and publisher, but I may also be considering a #0.5 in the series rather than a traditional sequel—a side event that takes place after the events of OPERA told at novella length.

Official Announcement links: ​Titan Instagram​, ​My Instagram​, ​The Bookseller​

On A PALACE NEAR THE WIND, we’re officially a little over three months out from publication, which is absolutely wild!

I’d first written this novella between 2021-2022 and the second in the NATURAL ENGINES SERIES titled A RIVER FROM THE SKY will be written in 2025. I’m very curious how these two books from the same duology will read given the gap in between which they were written.

For those keen to grab an eARC or physical proof of PALACE, do check out the links below!

​REQUEST PALACE ON NETGALLEY​

​REQUEST A PRINT PROOF​

For those who have already preordered a copy, don’t forget to fill out my preorder campaign form for some swag! (photos below)

​Preorder Campaign Form​

For those who haven’t yet preordered, you’ll be able to get signed copies (pretty endpaper tipped in pages) from ​Books-A-Million (US)​ and ​Forbidden Planet (UK)​. In Canada, you can preorder a signed copy from ​Bakka Phoenix​ (those will automatically come with the swag).

For those waiting on special edition information, there will be two different special editions that will be announced in the future! I’ll update as soon as I can!

​A PALACE NEAR THE WIND ARC Request form​ is now open for those who are looking to read early and leave a smol review!

Also, the first of two art card reveals! These will be included as part of the preorder campaign (more info coming soon)!

I’ll be serving on the faculty for Banff Centre for the Arts’ Science Fiction residency in 2025 alongside Premee Mohamed and Amal El-Mohtar. I’d always imagined myself as an attending writer, so being a part of the faculty is both a strange but honoured feeling. For those interested in applying,​ applications are now open​!

Two smol things out:

“Ashes Like Tea Leaves, Lava Like Honey” — my first story in ​Lightspeed Magazine​ (audio also available!)

“Give Me English” reprinted in ​The Best Science Fiction of the Year Volume 8 edited​ by Neil Clarke

Thank you as always for reading and supporting! Do hold onto your flashlights—and don’t wander too far into the dark…

—Ai

Outside of reclaiming why I want to write, I’ve found myself thinking a lot about how I want to be spending my time as its finite nature is becoming more and more apparent. I remember as a kid, I’d think of the long hours at school feeling like each day was forever, as well as the four months of summer that often stretched. And I found myself waiting for time to pass, until the next grade in elementary, until graduation for middle school, until I turned sixteen in high school, until I could head off for university, clawing towards the end of my bachelor’s degree. Then—

Suddenly, I went from twenty two to twenty seven, and I’m not quite sure where the time had gone. Suddenly, it felt like I had no time at all. Suddenly, it seemed as though every second was worth more than gold, and I no longer thought of my time in terms of milestones and events but rather in minutes and the value of each passing second, finally realizing in an existential crisis just how finite and indefinite each of our hourglasses are.

My spouse told me someone once said to him that life becomes unending subtraction as we whittle ourselves down to what truly matters most—that we simply do not have time for everything and that’s okay, and what we do have the time and energy for, we’ll need to choose wisely, and that would be enough. Subtraction, as much as we might resist it, might make us far happier, far less stressed, far more fulfilled.

So what’s this got to do with writing?

I’m still trying to figure what I need to subtract, and I suppose this sudden meditation came about as I’m working on edits for A PALACE NEAR THE WIND—during which I added about 3-4K words, bringing the word count over the novella limit (44K) and needing to bring it back down below 40K. Going through it cutting out the unnecessary and tightening what already existed on the page reminded me of what I needed to do with my life moving forward. Anyhow, enough with my rambling. Go forth and write, or not write, and I hope everyone holds on tight to each of those grains in your hourglasses.

I’m still trying to figure out how to be a better person, and I’m still trying to figure out how to better balance my life, and of course, I’m always trying to get more organized only to fall into greater chaos.

In my next newsletter/post, I thought I’d do something a little different, and I’ll be breaking down the openings of stories I’ve written that either sold quickly or done well with broad audiences, as well as some of my favourite books to see if there might be a pattern to what hooks and keeps readers as well as slush readers and editors.

Events coming up:

September 28 — ​Unconventional Descriptions and Subjectivity-Infused Storytelling Workshop​

September 29 — ​WOTS Literary Scavenger Hunt​

October 6 — ​Lit Live Reading​

October 12 — Little Ghosts Reading Event

October 17-20 — World Fantasy Con

November 1-3 — Can*Con

If y’all drop by one of these events, do come and say hi!

Thank you as always for reading and supporting! Do hold onto your flashlights—and don’t wander too far into the dark…

—Ai

There’s been quite a lot of rushing about with the wedding ceremonies that took place on July 25th and 29th which consisted of me switching into five different outfits over the course of twelve hours and my spouse dying in his attempt to carry me over 200m instead opting for the walking while holding hands option (which I thought he chose but supposedly he felt adventurous on the day of and so…)—pictures ​here​, ​here​, and ​here​, for those who want a peek, which also includes my vow!

We managed to take a two day trip to Xiamen and Quanzhou before my spouse had to return to Canada to start his masters and work. Photos to come, but for now, a sneak peak…

After that, I ended up hustling a few days later to ​WorldCon in Glasgow​ where I met a whole bunch of frens both familiar and new, along with my publisher Titan Books and the team (who I later went to visit again at their office in London—and stole 37 books—and I also caught Spirited Away on stage at the London Coliseum).

One take away I left with at the conclusion of WorldCon, sitting in the ceremony as a first-time finalist is: Do not forget why you want to write—how we are not here to chase external glories but internal ones instead.

I have come to a point in my writing journey where unexpected bonuses appear like guest invitations and mentorships, but with that also the unexpected admin work. There is a desire to want to give back to the community but also needing to figure out how to manage our own time and career in the process.

Another thing I did want to share are the speeches I’d prepared for both I AM AI and Astounding because I think it is something that perhaps many need to hear.

For I AM AI — finalist for the Hugo Award for Best Novelette:

What a time it is to be named Ai and what a time it is to be living in a world where, Tomorrow, you become Yesterday as soon as your desperate seconds in the limelight wanes.

I had been thinking about writing this novelette about a time when I lost sight of my direction in life, and I am fortunate that I have found it once again. This is for those who lost their way placing their work above all else, for those who believe they are not enough, for those who fall victim to society’s whispers saying to not be productive means failure, for those convinced they are worth less than they really are. You are all more than enough.

Thank you for supporting me, for allowing me to stand here, and for not letting me be Yesterday, nor Tomorrow, but for moment, be Today, and I hope this novelette rekindles your faith in yourself and your love for those around you the same way it has for me.

And for Astounding Award for Best New Writer (finalist):

I would not be standing here if not for all the writers who came before me, paving the way for newcomers like me.

I hope I can give back the same generosity that has been shown to me and become someone who can help pave the way for those who come after me and also those who walk beside me.

___________________________________________

What’s coming up?

​FAN EXPO CANADA​

​Reach Your Apex Workshop​

​DREAD CON CANADA​

​LitLive Hamilton — October 6​

​SuperCrawl Hamilton — Septermber 15​

​JoCo Cruise — March 2-9, 2025

​Thank you as always for reading and supporting! Do hold onto your flashlights—and don’t wander too far into the dark…

—Ai

I’m not quite sure where to start, and I’m still processing everything from the past two weeks because it has truly been a breathless time—quite literally with travelling from one con to another with only three days’ breather in between (during which I did nothing but stare at the ceiling and sleep essentially). Somehow, my debut novella LINGHUN has won both the Stoker and Nebula Awards, but I think the true honour is just knowing the fact that this smol book has touched so many of its readers, and to know that I have garnered so much support for my writing is a miracle in and of itself.

There are an endless number of people I need to thank from my publisher and editors and beta readers and audiobook team, to all the readers who recommended the smol novella through word of mouth to all the reviewers, podcasters. fellow writers who never fail to give me courage to continue on this journey. Thank you for believing in me.

For those who were at the conventions in person or tuned in online, thank you for being there to celebrate with me. Below is the speech I used both times because these are words I wished someone had said to me, and I hope these are words that will mayhaps help another who is reading this:

This book would not exist if not for all the kind hearts who have touched my life and believed in my writing. I wrote this during a time when I was forced to be alone with my thoughts, when the darkness seeping through matched the light I did not see outside while I wrote down each word. To all my flashlights who have guided me through the dark, to all those who have lost someone, some place, a language, a home, to those who are mourning, who remain in timeless grief, and to those who have chosen, with reluctance, to move on. You are not alone. Thank you, thank you, and thank you again to my family and my spouse for your faith and patience, to everyone and HWA and SFWA for all your kindness, support, and for this honour.

On the writing front, I officially went on sub with my first novel on May 30th, and I’m crossing my fingers that I’ll soon have good news to share, but it’s a book very close to my heart and that I’ve almost edited to death at this point after 8 drafts. Below is the mood board for it and the current title I haven’t yet publicized, but it’s a post-apocalyptic science fantasy inspired by Chinese opera.

It seems like I’ve been oscillating between genres as of late, and my next two is looking to be looping back to horror—one secondary world fantasy-ish (?) body horror and the other being a dark literary piece? I’ll let the readers decide what they are and hope they’ll find lovely homes once completed. I just turned in my dark fantasy novel to my agent, and I reckon that will go out on sub after another round or two of edits. Fingers crossed!

Other updates:

​Ai Jiang: Transcending Genres and Exploring the Human Experience ​— An Interview with Tiffany Chu

​Flash Science Fiction Night: Howard V. Hendrix, Ai Jiang, Hailey Piper​ — I read from a new story “Ancestor Code Error” that later got accepted by Lightspeed Magazine

I have a story forthcoming in the ​Long Division: Stories of Social Decay, Societal Collapse, and Bad Manners​ anthology published by Bad Hand Books

​My story “A Species Called Hope” is forthcoming in an anthology edited by Jendia Gammon and Gareth L. Powell​

New Chaos Trifecta Columns live on PSYCHOPOMP.com — ​#14: Metaphysics, Epistemology, and Ethics​ and ​#15: Creatures​

I’ll be teaching another workshop with Reach Your Apex on September 28 at 6PM EST — ​Unconventional Descriptions and Subjectivity-Infused Storytelling​

Recorded ​an episode of Eating the Fantastic​ by Scott Edelman at StokerCon

Recorded an episode of TheNecronomi.com with James Sabata and Bridget D. Brave on ​The Social Commentary of Okja​

For those curious about writing stats:

What I’ve made so far this year from writing/workshops/critques: $8,116

One thing I’d love to do at some point would be to make enough from writing alone that I can offer all the classes I’ve taught/will be teaching currently at a cost for free. Until then!

Thank you as always for reading and supporting! Do hold onto your flashlights—and don’t wander too far into the dark…

—Ai

I remember when I first signed the deal with Titan Books for A PALACE NEAR THE WIND, 2025 felt so far away, and now there’s less than a year before the smol book comes out! I’m so excited to share with everyone the cover designed by Natasha MacKenzie!! You can read the full announcement and also read an excerpt of the opening on ​REACTORMAG.com​!

Thank you as always for reading and supporting! Do hold onto your flashlights—and don’t wander too far into the dark…

—Ai

I’m beginning work on my second novel of the year, but with almost 40K worth of notes/outline to sift through, it’s looking to be quite the difficult thing to wrangle. I’ve discovered that I tend to oscillate between the more experimental and difficult to write projects and the more straight forward, single-pov, linear projects to give my brain a break. Maybe I’ll make this book a novella to save myself the mental stress of length. We shall see! The current goal is to finish the first draft of 2024 project #2 by the end of May, earlier if possible, and have 2024 project #1 edited and winged by to my agent by the end of April.

But all the writing chaos aside, I’ve been extremely fortunate to be nominated for my very first ​Hugo this year with I AM AI in the Best Novelette category​. What a wild time it is to be named Ai and to have something with AI in the title about a character named Ai posing as AI. I’ve also the honour of being nominated for ​the Astounding Award for Best New Writer​.

When I started this writing journey, I would have never imagined of any of this happening, and to have the one thing I’d pursued whole heartedly out of my own passion and joy, removed from the acknowledgement I desperately vied for and never gotten when I was younger when it came to academics and sports, become one of my family’s, and more specifically my father’s, greatest prides.

I’m honestly speechless. But I suppose what this has taught me is to pursue my passions rather than trying to please others, because in the end, it is my life and not theirs to live, and I’m glad I took this path, regardless of how rocky and unstable the climb might be and how far the fall. We shall keep looking up rather than down, even if we slip and come across boulders.

But there is one other thing I wanted to celebrate on this specific day, which is the publication of LINGHUN, my very first novella. I can’t believe it’s already been a year, and what an absolutely wild year it has been. I feel like I’ve been saying this a lot, but I am utterly amazed at how quickly time has passed and how much has happened within such a short span. LINGHUN came out on 4/4 of last year, and I’m celebrating it’s first birthday in 2024 as well as my 4th year on this writing journey. It’s funny, because in Chinese, 4 is an unlucky number because the pronunciation (though not exactly in terms of tone) also sounds like the word for “death”. Yet, it has been my lucky number so far, and I often find when I’m working on my projects through the night that when I finally look up at the time, it always happens to be exactly 4:44 whether it is AM or PM.

Anywho, enough emotional rambling for me. Below are some smol updates for this month, and my final shout in hopes that Locus Magazine will meet their funding goal (this is the last day of their funding drive) and receive support for all their hard work.

​Support Locus Magazine Here!​

​And you can also watch my reading of the opening for I AM AI here.​

On other news, as award deadlines loom, this is my shout for y’all to go forth and vote for all your favourite things on the Nebula and Stoker ballots, as well as nominate for ​Locus​ and ​Aurora Awards​.

Out today is also my story “Where the Grass is Always Whiter” about immigration and belonging, inspired by my family’s move from Chinatown, Downtown Toronto to Scarborough, Ontario after arriving in Canada, in Interzone Issue #298.

And from Science Fiction World Translations is the Chinese translation of “Premium Platinum Plan” (first published in ​OBSOLESCENCE​), translated by 崔龚荣秀, with amazing art by 摇开.

For those who are looking for something to brighten your day, here are Owl and Phantom at your service:

Thank you as always for reading and supporting! Do hold onto your flashlights—and don’t wander too far into the dark…

—Ai