China Miéville facts for kids

Quick facts for kids China Miéville
Miéville at Utopiales (2010)
Born	China Tom Miéville (1972-09-06) 6 September 1972 (age 52) Norwich, Norfolk, England
Occupation	Short-story writer, novelist, essayist and comic book author
Education	Clare College, Cambridge (BA) London School of Economics (PhD)
Period	1998–present
Genre	Urban fantasy Weird fiction Steampunk
Literary movement	New Weird
Notable works	Perdido Street Station (2000) The City & the City (2009) October: The Story of the Russian Revolution (2017)

China Tom Miéville (born September 6, 1972) is a British writer known for his imaginative and unique stories. He often describes his work as "weird fiction," which means it blends elements of fantasy, science fiction, and horror in unusual ways. He is also connected to a group of writers called the "New Weird" movement, who like to explore strange and unexpected ideas in their stories.

Miéville has won many important awards for his books, including the Arthur C. Clarke Award, the British Fantasy Award, and the Hugo Award. He has won the Arthur C. Clarke Award three times, which is a record! His novel Perdido Street Station was even named one of the best fantasy novels of the 20th century by Locus magazine. Besides writing, he has also been a writer-in-residence at Roosevelt University in Chicago and became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2015.

Miéville is also interested in politics and has been involved with groups that work for social change in the UK. He was a founding member of a political party called Left Unity, which aims to create a fairer society.

Early Life and Education

China Miéville was born in Norwich, England, and grew up in London. His parents separated when he was young, and he was raised by his mother, Claudia, and his sister, Jemima. His mother was a translator, writer, and teacher. Miéville's parents chose his first name, China, because they thought it was beautiful. He also has US citizenship because of his mother's background.

When he was eighteen, in 1990, Miéville spent a year teaching English in Egypt. This experience sparked his interest in Arab culture and Middle Eastern politics. He later studied social anthropology at Clare College, Cambridge, and then earned a master's degree and a PhD in international law from the London School of Economics. During his university years, he became interested in Marxism, a way of thinking about society and economics. His PhD work was later published as a book called Between Equal Rights: A Marxist Theory of International Law.

Literary Works and Inspirations

Miéville's stories often take place in fantastic or supernatural worlds. He has mentioned that he wants to write a novel in every possible genre! His books have explored different styles, from a classic American Western in Iron Council to a sea adventure in The Scar and Railsea, and even a detective story in The City & the City. His unique style is often called "new weird" fiction.

He has been inspired by many famous writers, including H. P. Lovecraft, Mervyn Peake, Ursula K. Le Guin, and Gene Wolfe. He also enjoys Russian writers and has included hints of their work in his own books.

Miéville played a lot of Dungeons & Dragons and other roleplaying games (RPGs) when he was younger. He believes this helped him create detailed magic systems and religious ideas in his novels. In fact, his novel Perdido Street Station was even mentioned as an inspiration for the designers of the fifth edition of Dungeons & Dragons. In 2010, he even wrote a small part for an RPG called Pathfinder Roleplaying Game.

While he has sometimes been critical of Tolkien's fantasy style, Miéville has also praised Tolkien for his important contributions to the fantasy genre. He also credits Michael de Larrabeiti's Borrible Trilogy as a major influence on his writing.

Political Involvement

China Miéville has been active in politics for many years. He was a member of the Socialist Workers Party (SWP) in the UK for a time. In 2001, he ran for a seat in the UK Parliament as a candidate for the Socialist Alliance, aiming to represent Regent's Park and Kensington North.

In 2013, he became a critic of the SWP's leadership and later left the party. In August 2013, Miéville was one of the people who helped start a new political party called Left Unity. This party aims to be socialist, environmentalist, feminist, and against all forms of discrimination.

In 2015, he became one of the founding editors of a journal called Salvage, which focuses on revolutionary arts and letters. His 2017 book, October, tells the story of the Russian Revolution. It was reviewed by Jonathan Steele in The Guardian, who noted Miéville's enthusiastic and detailed retelling of this important historical event.

In April 2024, Miéville turned down a nomination for a fellowship at the University of Cologne. He did this because he disagreed with the university's decision to cancel a professorship for a Jewish-American political thinker, Nancy Fraser, who had signed a letter supporting Palestine during the Gaza war. Miéville stated he did not believe the institution would stand against what he saw as "repression and anti-Palestinian racism."

Personal Life

In the early 2000s, Miéville lived in London with his partner Emma Bircham. They even appeared as extras in the 1999 movie Notting Hill.

China Miéville is married to artist Season Butler. He has taken steps to protect his privacy since 2018.

Writings

A full list of Miéville's work can be found at the ISFDB.

Fiction

Bas-Lag series

• Perdido Street Station (2000)
• The Scar (2002)
• Iron Council (2004)

Stand-alone novels

• King Rat (1998) ISBN: 978-0312890735
• Un Lun Dun (2007) ISBN: 978-0230015869
• The City & the City (2009) ISBN: 978-1405000178
• Kraken (2010) ISBN: 978-0333989500
• Embassytown (2011) ISBN: 978-0230750760
• Railsea (2012) ISBN: 978-0230765108
• The Book of Elsewhere (2024), with Keanu Reeves
• Untitled novel (2025)

Novellas

• The Tain (2002)
• This Census-Taker (2016)
• The Last Days of New Paris (2016) ISBN: 978-0345543998

Short story collections

• Looking for Jake (2005)
• Three Moments of an Explosion: Stories (2015)

Children's picture books

• The Worst Breakfast (2016), co-written and illustrated by Zak Smith

Comic books

• Hellblazer (1988 series) – #250 "Holiday Special": "Snow Had Fallen" (Feb. 2009)
• Justice League (2011 series) – #23.3 "Dial E #1: Dial Q for Qued" (Nov. 2013)
• Dial H (2012–2013 series) – #1-#15

Other

• Pathfinder Chronicles: Guide to the River Kingdoms (2010), with Elaine Cunningham, Chris Pramas, and Steve Kenson. Paizo Publishing.

In an anthology

• "Watching God" (first publ. in Three Moments of an Explosion, 2015), in Out of the Ruins, edited by Preston Grassmann, Titan Books, 2021 ISBN: 978-1789097399

Nonfiction

Books

• Between Equal Rights: A Marxist Theory of International Law (2005). Leiden: Brill. ISBN: 1-931859-33-7
• Red Planets: Marxism and Science Fiction (2009), with Mark Bould. Middletown, Conn.: Wesleyan University Press.
• October: The Story of the Russian Revolution (2017). Verso.
• A Spectre, Haunting: On the Communist Manifesto (2022). Head of Zeus. ISBN: 1786692031

Essays

• "London's Overthrow" (2011). Reprinted in a shorter version as "Oh, London, You Drama Queen", The New York Times Magazine 2012-03-01: 42.
• "Preface to a Book not yet Written nor Disavowed" (2015). China Miéville: Critical Essays, eds. Caroline Edwards and Tony Venezia.

Adaptations of His Work

Many of China Miéville's stories and novels have been adapted into other forms of media:

• In 2006, his short story "Details" was turned into a screenplay.
• In February 2013, a play based on The City & the City premiered in Chicago. Miéville even attended one of the performances!
• A television show based on The City & the City was shown on BBC 2 in 2018.
• American artist Mariam Ghani created a video artwork in 2015, also called The City & The City, which was inspired by his novel.
• His short story "Estate" was made into a 25-minute movie in 2020.

Awards and Recognitions

Miéville just after winning the Arthur C. Clarke Award in 2010

China Miéville has received many awards for his amazing fantasy and science fiction books. He holds the record for winning the Arthur C. Clarke Award three times! His novel Perdido Street Station was ranked 6th in a poll of the best 20th-century fantasy novels by Locus magazine.

• Miéville's first novel, King Rat (1998), was nominated for both an International Horror Guild and a Bram Stoker award.
• The Scar received a special mention for the Philip K. Dick Award.
• His short story "Reports of Certain Events in London" was nominated for a 2005 World Fantasy Award and won the 2005 Locus Award for Best Novelette.
• The City & the City won the 2009 Kitschies Award.
• Miéville has been a special guest at several science fiction conventions, including Orbital 2008 and Readercon 2006.
• He was also awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in Fiction in 2018.

See also

In Spanish: China Miéville para niños