Zhao Song (赵松)

Born in 1972 in Fushun, Liaoning province, Zhao Song is a writer, literary critic, and curator. Initially a bureaucrat who drafted official documents and reports for a state-owned enterprise, he resigned in 2003 and moved to Shanghai to work in an art museum. Zhao continues to write part time, and is now the author of eight books, including short story collection Yichun (《伊春》), from which this story was selected, and Fushun Stories (《抚顺故事集》). His short story “In the Park (《公园》)” won the Short Story Biennial Award organized by Fiction World and the Si Nan Literary Journal in 2021, while his short story collection Building Block (《积木书》) was selected as one of the best books of the year by the One Way Street Book Award in 2017.