Award-winning Author Ken Liu Visits Champaign Library

An Evening with the Multi-Award-Winning Author of “The Dandelion Dynasty” and Translator of “The Three-Body Problem”

CHAMPAIGN, IL – Award-winning author and futurist Ken Liu will talk about his writing and career at the Champaign Public Library on Thursday, October 10, at 7 p.m., followed by a book signing. His talk, “Crafting Time: Art in the Age of AI,” will focus on the creative process and a new way to think about human art in the face of advancing AI. The library’s second-floor venue offers seating for 300+ audience members. The talk and signing are free and open to everyone.

Ken Liu (http://kenliu.name) is an American author of speculative fiction. A winner of the Nebula, Hugo, and World Fantasy awards for his fiction, he has also won top genre honors abroad in Japan, Spain, and France. In addition, he is acclaimed for his translations, including global bestseller The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin. Netflix premiered a popular series this year based on the book.

Liu’s most characteristic work is the four-volume epic fantasy series, The Dandelion Dynasty, in which engineers—not wizards—are the heroes of a “silkpunk” world on the verge of modernity. His debut collection of short fiction, The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories, has been published in more than a dozen languages. A second collection, The Hidden Girl and Other Stories, followed. He also penned the Star Wars novel, The Legends of Luke Skywalker. His latest book is Laozi’s Dao De Jing: A New Interpretation for a Transformative Time (August 20, 2024).

"I know this is going to sound hyperbolic, but when I’m reading Ken Liu's stories, I feel like I’m reading a once-in-a-generation talent. I’m in awe.”
—Jamie Ford, NYT bestselling author of Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

Ken Liu’s story, “The Paper Menagerie,” is the first piece of fiction to win three genre literary awards: the Hugo, the Nebula, and the World Fantasy Award.

“Ken Liu’s The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories is a book from which I staggered away, dazed, unable to speak. I have wrestled with how to review it, circled my metaphors like a wary cat, and finally abandoned the enterprise of trying to live up to its accomplishment. I will be honest, and blunt, because this is a book that has scoured me of language and insight and left itself rattling around inside the shell of me.

I have never been so moved by a collection of short fiction. I was at times afraid to read more. Every single story struck chords in me profound enough to hurt, whether about the love and cruelty of families; the melancholy of thermodynamics; the vicious unfairness of history and the humbling grace with which people endure its weight. Stories so often take us out of ourselves; Liu’s stories went deep into my marrow, laying bare painful truths, meticulously slicing through the layers of pearl to find the grain of sand at its heart.”
—Amal El-Mohtar, NPR

Prior to becoming a full-time writer, Liu worked as a software engineer, corporate lawyer, and litigation consultant. He frequently speaks at conference and universities on a variety of topics, including futurism, machine-augmented creativity, history of technology, bookmaking, and the mathematics of origami.

Both library locations will close at 5 p.m. on October 10 to prepare for the presentation. The Main Library will reopen at 6:30 p.m. exclusively for this event. Copies of a few of his books will be available for purchase.

Ken Liu’s visit is part of the Great Authors at the Library series (champaign.org/great-authors), bringing world-class authors to Champaign, Illinois, including Terry McMillan, Colson Whitehead, Luis Alberto Urrea, Jamie Ford, Nikki Grimes, Lisa Scottoline, and Lisa See.

The Great Authors at the Library series is made possible with support from the Champaign Public Library Foundation and Library Friends.

Great Authors at the Library: Since 2016, the Great Authors at the Library series has brought 22 award-winning, New York Times bestselling authors to Champaign, where they have been welcomed by more than 4,700 community members. Each author presents a public talk about their writing, signs books, and meets local readers. For authors of children’s books and teen titles, the Library set up school visits so that area schoolchildren can meet these literary giants. Acclaimed speakers in the series have included New York Times bestselling authors Jamie Ford, Nikki Grimes, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Terry McMillan, Nnedi Okorafor, Lisa See, Lisa Scottoline, David Sheff, Scott Turow, Luis Alberto Urrea, and Colson Whitehead. champaign.org/great-authors

About the Champaign Public Library: Serving as a vital community center welcoming every member of our community, the Champaign Public Library ranks in the top 3.5% of public libraries nationwide, and earns a three-star rating from Library Journal. Learn more about the Library at champaign.org.

Links:

• About the author

• Facebook event

• Ken Liu’s story The Paper Menagerie read by LeVar Burton (50 min)

• Find Ken Liu’s books at the library: champaign.org/ken-liu-books

Contact:

Maura Stutzman, Program & Events Librarian, Champaign Public Library
(217) 403-2000 | info@champaign.org