Ai Jiang for Women in Horror Month
1. Introduce yourself. What do you want people to know about you and your work?
Hi all! This is Ai Jiang. I'm a Chinese-Canadian writer, Ignyte Award winner, Nebula and Locus Award finalist, and an immigrant from Fujian currently residing in Toronto, Ontario. My work can be found in F&SF, The Dark, Uncanny, among others. I am the recipient of Odyssey Workshop's 2022 Fresh Voices Scholarship and the author of A Palace Near the Wind, Linghun and I AM AI—and forthcoming, An Empire Above Opera.
2. Who or what were your earliest horror influences?
My earliest horror influences were Toni Morrison (Beloved), Shirley Jackson (The Haunting of Hill House), Kazuo Ishiguro (Never Let Me Go), Jordon Peele (Get Out, Us)
3. It's been a real pleasure to watch your career flourish over the last few years. It's a special thing to be a full-time writer at just 27. What advice would you give other young women who would like to follow in your shoes?
Every writer's path is different, and I've been very fortunate to be able to write full time, but the early years were definitely difficult when I wasn't making much from writing. Having an alternate source of income until the writing takes off is definitely recommended, but also having faith, determination, and persistence and the willingness to take risks has helped me personally in walking this path.
4. Take us through a day-in-the-life of Ai Jiang.
Wake up — can range anywhere between 9AM to 1PM
Admin tasks — answering emails, social media, scheduling — usually this is when I'm not actively drafting
When I'm actively drafting I'll often disappear from the world for two weeks and write like a chaos gremlin for 12+ hours a day, and the word count ranging anywhere from 2-10K words, and sometimes I'll be up 24-60 hours at a time if inspiration calls, before I crash for 1-3 days.
During non-drafting nights — I will usually read books I've agreed to blurb or books that have been sitting on my TBR or binge watch different shows (anime, reality tv, documentaries—anything and everything really), or I might go and bother my cats (Owl and Phantom).
And three times a week or so I'll play badminton with friends because I've tried going to the gym and also running on my own and it hasn't worked out so far.
5. Imagine you're standing in front of a crowd of every horror creative—authors, filmmakers, podcasters, journalists, etc. What would you want them to know about your experience as an Asian woman in the genre?
For the most part, it has been welcoming and kind, and I hope our representation will only continue to grow in the genre.
Ai Jiang is the author of Linghun and I AM AI. Her science-fantasy novella A Palace Near the Wind is out from Titan Books on April 8. Her debut novel An Empire Above Opera is due from Titan in Fall of 2026.