Peng Shepherd
Shepherd at the 2024National Book Festival
Born	(1986-05-12)May 12, 1986 (age 39)[1] Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.
Occupation	Writer
Language	English
Education	Arizona State University (BA) SOAS University of London (MA) New York University (MFA)
Genre	Fantasy
Years active	2016–present
Notable awards	National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship (2020)[2] Neukom Institute for Computational Science Award (2019)[3]
Website
pengshepherd.com

Peng Shepherd (born May 12, 1986) is an American author. Her first novel,The Book of M, was released in 2018, followed byThe Future Library in 2021 andThe Cartographers in 2022. She is aNational Endowment for the Arts Fellow.

Peng Shepherd was born and raised inPhoenix, Arizona,^[4] a daughter of Lin Sue Cooney, a retired news anchor at Phoenix TV stationKPNX.^[5] Peng earned a Bachelor of Arts in Chinese Language and Literature fromArizona State University in 2006.^[5] Peng then completed an MA in International Studies and Diplomacy and Chinese Language at theSOAS University of London in 2008.^[5][6] FromNew York University, she received her MFA in Creative Writing in 2014, where she was a Stein Fellow and a Veterans Fellow, in 2013 and 2014, respectively.^[2][5][7]

Herdebut novel,The Book of M, adystopianfantasy, was published byHarperCollins in 2018, and received mainly favorable reviews. PerThe Hollywood Reporter,The Book of M was optioned for screen adaptation on television byElizabeth Sarnoff fromUniversal Content Productions.^[8][9]

Her other works have been noted and reviewed by various publications and literary critics, includingThe Washington Post,^[10]Kirkus Reviews,^[11]Associated Press,^[12]The Wall Street Journal,^[13]Sun Sentinel,^[14]The Guardian,^[15] andChicago Tribune,^[16] among others.^{[7][17][18][19][20]} Vivian Shaw, the editor from the Washington Post, wrote aboutThe Cartographers in her book review:

"Shepherd, also the author of “The Book of M”, nails the sense of deep-seated, profound connection and love between a small group of people drawn together by shared experience and interest, creating an intense familial bond."^[10]

Shepherd is a recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship (2020)^[2] and the 2019 Neukom Institute Literary Arts Award for "Debut Speculative Fiction" from theNeukom Institute for Computational Science atDartmouth College.^[3] Her books have been translated to French, Polish, Czech, and Turkish, with the translation right sold in Chinese, Arabic, Dutch and Danish.^[21][22][23]

• The Book of M (June 2018), ISBN 9780008225629.^[25][26]
• The Future Library (August 2021), ISBN 9781250828675.^[27]
• The Cartographers (March 2022), ISBN 9780062910721.^[28][29][30]
• All This and More (2024),ISBN 9780063278974

• Polish:Księga M (The Book of M).^[31]
• Czech:Kniha M (The Book of M).^[32]
• Turkish:The Book of M: Kıyamet Başlıyor.^[33]
• French:Le Livre de M.^[34]
• Danish:Kartograferne.^[35]

• Official website
• Profile atNEA
• Peng Shepherd at theInternet Speculative Fiction Database

• Living people
• 21st-century American novelists
• 21st-century American women novelists
• American women science fiction and fantasy writers
• Chinese-American literature
• New York University alumni
• Alumni of SOAS University of London
• Arizona State University alumni
• 1986 births

• All articles with dead external links
• Articles with dead external links from October 2025
• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Date of birth not in Wikidata
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• Articles with unsourced statements from January 2026