Ma Jian

Ma Jian was born in Qingdao, China, in 1953. After working as a photojournalist for a state-run magazine, he left China for Hong Kong in 1987 but continued to return to China, notably to support the pro-democracy activist in Tiananmen Square in 1989. He is the author of Red Dust, winner of the Thomas Cook Travel Book Award; The Noodle Maker, a novel; and Stick Out Your Tongue, stories about Tibet that prompted the Chinese government to ban Ma Jian’s work, and that set him on the road to exile. He now lives in London.