Tiên Huỳnh

Born in a rural part of central Vietnam, Tiên Huỳnh grew up in Quang Ngai Province, the eldest of three children, and attended the University of Economics and Law (UEL), a member university of Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City (VNU-HCM), graduating with a degree in Business Law. Her mother, a widow, is a small trader at a local market.

Tiên describes her life as unexceptional, lived against a background in which Vietnam had already opened up to the world. Before the frightening incidents that she has depicted in her book, many of which have to do with the globalising of popular culture and techniques of surveillance, she had been an office worker.

She began writing because she needed to find a way to reclaim her rights after the disruption to her life, even in the face of exposing herself to further risks.

When not writing, Tiên likes to read, sing, play Go and learn new skills, including learning to play musical instruments. She says she hopes to be able to enjoy herself freely again, in the way she did when she was younger.