Late 2020 was this big watershed moment for a lot of people in publishing it started off with protests all over the U.S. I think it was a combination of all sorts of conversations I’ve been having and witnessing about publishing. It never is just one thing that makes me decide I have to go write this story. KUANG: I don’t think it was any one thing. SARAH NEILSON: Was there any initial seed or spark that inspired you to write such a book? Shondaland spoke with Kuang about the profit-driven publishing industry, complex characters, the nature of appropriation, and the un-nuanced arguments about writers staying in their lane. What unfolds is a riveting story of exploitation, moral authority, internet discourse, cancel culture, and capitalism.
When the manuscript gets picked up for publication with a large advance and a huge marketing budget, June “rebrands” as Juniper Song and walks a racially ambiguous line while constantly justifying her profoundly unethical choices to herself. But when Athena accidentally dies and June is the only witness, June decides to take an unfinished manuscript from Athena’s desk about Chinese soldiers in World War I and passes it off as her own. Her new novel follows white writer June Hayward, who has sort of befriended the wildly successful publishing darling Athena Liu. And anyone who’s had experience in the publishing and media industry may wince at the precision with which it is portrayed in this page-turning thriller.
Kuang, the best-selling author of the brilliant and immersive historical fantasy novel Babel: An Arcane History and The Poppy War trilogy, is departing from her tried-and-true genre with Yellowface.
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