R.F. Kuang in Conversation
Bestselling author of Babel, Yellowface, and the Poppy War trilogy discusses her evolution as a writer and upcoming novel Katabasis, with book signing.
Why we picked this
Kuang has written four novels across genuinely different registers — epic fantasy, alternate history, literary satire — and each one has been more assured than the last. Hearing her explain how she moves between those modes, and what remains constant, is the point of this conversation.
R.F. Kuang published the first book in the Poppy War trilogy at twenty-two, establishing herself as a fantasy writer willing to engage directly with historical violence and its contemporary resonance. Since then she has moved across genres with unusual confidence: Babel was an alternate history of British imperialism framed through the magic of translation; Yellowface was a satirical thriller about race, appropriation, and publishing. Each departure has expanded what her work can do without abandoning the political seriousness that runs through all of it.
This Chicago Humanities Festival conversation covers her evolution as a writer — what changes when you move between epic fantasy and literary satire, how she approaches research, and where she’s headed with Katabasis, her upcoming novel. A book signing follows the on-stage conversation.
The Chicago Temple provides a setting that suits both the scale and the seriousness of the occasion. CHF events tend toward substantive literary conversation rather than promotional appearances, which is the right context for a writer at Kuang’s level of ambition.