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China Miéville

チャイナ・ミーヴィル

Chaina Mieville

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1972-09-06 （Norwich, Norfolk, England）
Nationality
British, American
Languages
English
Residence History
Willesden → London (since early childhood) → Chicago (writer-in-residence at Roosevelt University, 2012–13)

Career

Occupations
novelist, short-story writer, literary critic, comic book author, non-fiction writer
Active Years
1998-
Affiliations
Salvage Publications (director), Royal Society of Literature (Fellow)
Memberships
Left Unity (founding member), Former member of International Socialist Organization and Socialist Workers Party
Influenced By
M. John Harrison, Michael Moorcock, H. P. Lovecraft, Ursula K. Le Guin, J. G. Ballard, Mervyn Peake
Nominations
King Rat — Bram Stoker Award (nominated), King Rat — International Horror Guild (nominated), Multiple nominations for BSFA, Nebula and other awards

Education

Clare College, Cambridge
Social anthropology
Degree: BA
Period: 1990–1994
Year of Graduation: 1994
Country: United Kingdom
Undergraduate degree in social anthropology. Taught English in Egypt at age 18.
London School of Economics
International law
Degree: PhD
Period: 1994–2001
Year of Graduation: 2001
Country: United Kingdom
PhD thesis on a Marxist theory of international law, later published as a book.
Harvard University (Frank Knox fellowship)
Country: United States
Held a Frank Knox fellowship.

Awards

Arthur C. Clarke Award
2001
Work: Perdido Street Station
Organization: Arthur C. Clarke Award committee
Result: Won
Arthur C. Clarke Award
2005
Work: Iron Council
Organization: Arthur C. Clarke Award committee
Result: Won
Arthur C. Clarke Award
2010
Work: The City & the City
Organization: Arthur C. Clarke Award committee
Result: Won
Hugo Award (Best Novel)
2010
Work: The City & the City
Organization: World Science Fiction Society
Result: Won (tie)
World Fantasy Award
2010
Work: The City & the City
Organization: World Fantasy Awards committee
Result: Won
Kitschies Award
2009
Work: The City & the City
Organization: The Kitschies
Result: Won
Guggenheim Fellowship
2018
Category: Fiction
Organization: John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
Result: Won
Locus Awards (multiple)
2010
Work: The City & the City / others
Organization: Locus
Result: Won

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

King Rat

1998 Horror/Fantasy

An early novel mixing urban myth and fantasy, set in contemporary London where the protagonist confronts strange forces.

the citymonstrositymusic and revenge

Perdido Street Station

2000 New Weird / Urban fantasy

Set in the great city of New Crobuzon, a complex tale where science and magic collide, exploring diverse species and class conflicts.

urban othernessclass strugglepower and exploitation

The Scar

2002 Sea quest fantasy / New Weird

A seafaring adventure featuring a floating city and its inhabitants, exploring empire and resistance.

journey and discoveryresistance movementscritique of imperialism

Iron Council

2004 Western / political fantasy

An epic about an iron train and a workers' uprising, thematically concerned with revolution, betrayal, memory and history.

revolutionmemory and historylabor movements

The City & the City

2009 Detective noir / speculative fiction

A crime novel set in a strange situation where two cities overlap spatially; it examines perception, borders and political symbolism.

perception and bordersstate and politicslaw and order
Adaptations
  • [TV series] The City & the City (BBC2) (2018)
  • [Stage play] The City & the City (Lifeline Theatre) / Dorothy Milne (2013)

Kraken

2010 Urban weird / speculative

A story about London's underground, cults and a missing creature (the kraken), exploring intersections of culture and belief.

cult and beliefurban underworldsubculture

Embassytown

2011 Science fiction / linguistic fiction

A science fiction novel about alien language and communication, exploring how language shapes reality and politics.

language and perceptioncolonialismidentity

Railsea

2012 Adventure / steampunk-influenced

An adventure set in a world where the railway is like an ocean; it follows young protagonists on a voyage of growth and exploration.

adventurecoming-of-agecolonial metaphors

October: The Story of the Russian Revolution

2017 Non-fiction / history

A historical non-fiction account of the tumultuous year of the 1917 Russian Revolution, written from a political perspective.

revolutionary historypolitical historyMarxist analysis

Bibliography

  • King Rat (1998)
  • Perdido Street Station (2000)
  • The Scar (2002)
  • Iron Council (2004)
  • Looking for Jake (short stories, 2005)
  • Un Lun Dun (2007)
  • The City & the City (2009)
  • Kraken (2010)
  • Embassytown (2011)
  • Railsea (2012)
  • Three Moments of an Explosion: Stories (2015)
  • October: The Story of the Russian Revolution (2017)
  • A Spectre, Haunting: On the Communist Manifesto (2022)

Adaptations

  • The City & the City — BBC2 TV adaptation (2018)
  • The City & the City — Lifeline Theatre stage production (2013)
  • Estate (short film based on the story "Estate", 2020)

Translations of Works

  • Perdido Street Station (translated into Japanese and other languages)
  • The City & the City (translated into Japanese and other languages)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
New Weird surrealismdetail-rich urban descriptionpolitical/Marxist inflected critique
Recurring Motifs
the city and its monstrosityambiguous borders and perceptionclass struggle and resistancelanguage and reality

Legacy

China Miéville is a leading figure of the New Weird movement and holds the record for the most Arthur C. Clarke Award wins (three). His distinctive urban worldbuilding and political concerns have had a major influence on contemporary speculative fiction and have attracted scholarly attention.

Academic Societies

  • Royal Society of Literature (Fellow)

Archives

  • British Library (possible holdings of related materials)

In Popular Culture

  • TV adaptation of The City & the City (BBC2, 2018)
  • Perdido Street Station cited as an influence for tabletop RPG designers (e.g., D&D 5e inspiration)

Quotes

  • I plan to write a novel in every genre.
    Source: Interviews / public statements (summary) (2005)
  • I praise Tolkien for his contributions to fantasy, although I am critical of certain aspects.
    Source: Blog post / essay (2009)

Trivia

  • The given name "China" was chosen by his parents from a dictionary.
  • Appeared as an extra in the film Notting Hill (1999).
  • Played many tabletop RPGs (Dungeons & Dragons etc.) in youth, influencing his systems of magic and theology.
  • Collaborated with Keanu Reeves on a reported novel announced in 2024 (The Book of Elsewhere).
  • Holds the record for most Arthur C. Clarke Award wins (three).