Peng Shepherd (born May 12, 1986) is an American author. Her first novel, ''The Book of M'', was released in 2018, followed by ''The Future Library'' in 2021 and ''The Cartographers'' in 2022. She is a National Endowment for the Arts Fellow.

Early life and education

Peng Shepherd was born and raised in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

, a daughter of Lin Sue Cooney, a retired news anchor at Phoenix TV station

KPNX KPNX (channel 12) is a television station licensed to Mesa, Arizona, United States, serving the Phoenix area as an affiliate of NBC. The station is owned by Tegna Inc., and maintains studios at the Republic Media building on Van Buren Stree ...

. Peng earned a Bachelor of Arts in Chinese Language and Literature from

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...

in 2006. Peng then completed an MA in International Studies and Diplomacy and Chinese Language at the

SOAS University of London The School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS University of London; ) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury area ...

in 2008. From

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

, she received her MFA in Creative Writing in 2014, where she was a Stein Fellow and a Veterans Fellow, in 2013 and 2014, respectively.

Literary career

Her

debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to pu ...

, ''The Book of M'', a

dystopia A dystopia (lit. "bad place") is an imagined world or society in which people lead wretched, dehumanized, fearful lives. It is an imagined place (possibly state) in which everything is unpleasant or bad, typically a totalitarian or environmen ...

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

, was published by

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is a British–American publishing company that is considered to be one of the "Big Five (publishers), Big Five" English-language publishers, along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group USA, Hachette, Macmi ...

in 2018, and received mainly favorable reviews. Per ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'', ''The Book of M'' was optioned for screen adaptation on television by

Elizabeth Sarnoff Elizabeth Sarnoff is an American television writer and producer. She has written episodes of ''NYPD Blue'', ''Crossing Jordan'', '' Deadwood'', '' Lost'' and '' Barry''. She was the co-creator of the Fox crime/ mystery series ''Alcatraz''. Car ...

from

Universal Content Productions Universal Content Productions LLC (UCP) is an American television production company operating within the NBCUniversal Television Group#Universal Studio Group, Universal Studio Group division of NBCUniversal, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of ...

. Her other works have been noted and reviewed by various publications and literary critics, including ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'', ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus. The magazine's publisher, Kirkus Media, is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fiction, no ...

'', ''

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

'', ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'',

Sun Sentinel The ''Sun Sentinel'' (also known as the ''South Florida Sun Sentinel'', known until 2008 as the ''Sun-Sentinel'', and stylized on its Nameplate (publishing), masthead as ''SunSentinel'') is the main daily newspaper of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, ...

, ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', and ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

'', among others. Vivian Shaw, the editor from the Washington Post, wrote about ''The Cartographers'' in her book review:

"Shepherd, also the author of “The Book of M”, nails the sense of deep-seated, profound connection and love between a small group of people drawn together by shared experience and interest, creating an intense familial bond."

Shepherd is a recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship (2020) and the 2019 Neukom Institute Literary Arts Award for "Debut Speculative Fiction" from the Neukom Institute for Computational Science at

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

. Her books have been translated to French, Polish, Czech, and Turkish, with the translation right sold in Chinese, Arabic, Dutch and Danish.

Award

Bibliography

*''The Book of M'' (June 2018), ISBN 9780008225629. *''The Future Library'' (August 2021), ISBN 9781250828675. *''The Cartographers'' (March 2022), ISBN 9780062910721. *''All This and More'' (2024),

Translations

*Polish: ''Księga M'' (The Book of M). *Czech: ''Kniha M'' (The Book of M). *Turkish: ''The Book of M: Kıyamet Başlıyor''. *French: ''Le Livre de M''. *Danish: ''Kartograferne''.

References

External links

Official websiteProfile
at NEA * {{DEFAULTSORT:Shepherd, Peng Living people 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American women writers American women science fiction and fantasy writers Chinese-American literature New York University alumni Alumni of SOAS University of London Arizona State University alumni 1986 births