For general inquiries to do with my current books, please contact Rachel at rbrooks@bookendsliterary.com
For inquiries related to the Iron Widow series in a US/Canada context, please contact my Tundra Books publicist Sam at sdevotta@penguinrandomhouse.com
For inquiries related to the Iron Widow series in a UK/Commonwealth context, please contact my Rock the Boat publicist Kate at kappleton@oneworld-publications.com
For inquiries related to the Zachary Ying series, please contact my Simon & Schuster publicist Alex at alex.kelleher@simonandschuster.com
For inquiries involving making Iron Widow apparel, jewelry, posters, prints, paper goods, collectibles, pins, and buttons, please reach out to Dual Wield Studio, the exclusive merch partner for those categories, at: bizdev@dualwieldstudio.com
For other inquiries, please check the Frequently Asked Questions below.
Q: What are your pronouns?
They/them, please! Despite how I currently look, I’ve struggled with my gender identity my whole life and highly prefer neutral pronouns. But please don’t refer to me as Mx. Zhao. I really do not like that title. Just call me Xiran.
Q: Is Iron Widow YA or adult?
This series initially sold as YA and its contents fall well within the norm of Upper YA, which is meant for older teens and up. There is a massive difference between Lower YA and Upper YA, just as there is a massive difference between a 12 year old and an 18 year old. However, I understand that different people have different expectations when they hear “YA series” and may not be aware of the industry history that caused the normalization of mature content in Upper YA, such as the failure of the New Adult genre to establish itself, the shelving of books by femme-presenting authors into YA no matter the contents, and authors not being able to jump age categories mid-series even as their themes matured. Due to this widespread confusion, I will no longer personally be marketing it as YA at all, though please keep in mind that I cannot control where booksellers and librarians stock it. To be cautious, I will refrain from putting graphic, extended sexual activity on page, but please be aware that the level of violence and sensuality in this series is not appropriate for younger teens, and I as a person do not approach social media as if I have a mostly teen audience. All main characters in this series are over the age of 18.
Q: Can I interview you for a school project?
A: Because of how bad I’ve been at keeping up with these (I have ADHD), I am no longer doing them. I don’t want your grade to depend on me getting a response in on time 😬
Q: Can you give me some advice on my own book / my portrayal of a Chinese character in a creative project?
A: I’m not really comfortable judging things like this over email exchanges and without reading your entire project. I don’t have the right to give a Stamp of Approval on behalf of all Chinese people, and I don’t want any response I give to be mistaken as such.
Q: Will you do a video on [specific topic]?
A: I’m afraid I won’t respond to questions like these via email, because my Patreon patrons have the exclusive right of determining what my next video topics are going to be. See my Patreon for more details: http://patreon.com/xiranjayzhao
Q: Do you have any recommendations for books about Chinese history?
A: Not any in English, because I generally don’t read them in English! Not because I don’t think there aren’t quality English works, but because it’s personally confusing to me to read Chinese names in only pinyin. I recommend The History of China Podcast instead, or China Fetching as a great website to start. In Chinese, I recommend Yuan Tengfei’s 袁腾飞 books for beginners.
If you have any other inquiries, please email my assistant Trisha at xjzhaoinfo@gmail.com. But please only do so if absolutely necessary. I have a lot of trouble keeping up with emails.