Lu Ban built a following in China with his 2020 debut novel Futuritis, currently under development by Ronghuan Films. In 2021, he published “Upstart” and won the the 2021 China SF Galaxy Award for Best New Writer. His work explores relationships between technology and systems of control.

Blake Stone-Banks is a translator of Chinese speculative fiction. He speculates in his own fiction too. Born in Kentucky and domesticated in Beijing, he thrives on bluegrass and revolutionary model operas.