Zen Cho

2 universes Last reviewed 2026-08-15

Zen Cho is a Malaysian fantasy author presently residing in Birmingham, United Kingdom. She holds a law degree from the University of Cambridge and works as a lawyer alongside her writing career. Active as a published author from 2015 to the present, Cho specializes in speculative fiction and romance, often blending Malaysian folklore, Regency-inspired settings, and contemporary social commentary. Her debut novel, Sorcerer to the Crown (2015), launched her career as a novelist and introduced a magical alternate Regency England grappling with race and colonialism. Other significant publications include the short story collection Spirits Abroad and the novel Black Water Sister, which draws on Malaysian Chinese folk religion and family dynamics. Cho's accolades demonstrate substantial industry recognition: she won the Crawford Award in 2015 for Spirits Abroad, the British Fantasy Award for Best Newcomer in 2016, the Hugo Award for Best Novelette in 2019 for "If at First You Don't Succeed, Try, Try Again," and the Ray Bradbury Prize in 2021 for Spirits Abroad: Stories. She has also received Locus Award nominations for Best First Novel and Best Fantasy Novel, a World Fantasy Award nomination, and recognition as a Lambda Literary Award finalist, establishing her as a leading voice in contemporary fantasy fiction from Southeast Asia.

Universe(s)

Books

• Sorcerer to the Crown (2015) · Sorcerer to the Crown Core Canon
• The True Queen (2019) · Sorcerer to the Crown Core Canon
• Black Water Sister (2021) · Black Water Sister Core Canon

Aggregate across all universes

These are separate, unrelated universes; the totals below are plain sums of already-published per-universe facts, never a blended or averaged score across them. See each universe's own figures above.

• Total Core Canon books across all universes: 3 books
• Award recognitions across all universes: 3 (1 finalist mention, 2 nomination)

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