Dr Mo Yan is the 2012 Nobel laureate in Literature. He is currently the Director of the International Writing Centre of Beijing Normal University. Born in 1955, Dr Mo Yan joined the army in 1976 where his literary talent was first discovered.
The release of Red Sorghum (1987) launched his career as a nationally recognised novelist. Dr Mo Yan’s notable works include The Garlic Ballads (1988), The Republic of Wine: A Novel (1993), Life and Death are Wearing Me Out (2006), Frog (2009) and A Late Bloomer (2020).

Dr Mo Yan is the recipient of numerous awards and Honorary Doctorates, among which include Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (the French Arts and Literature Knight Medal), Italy’s Nonino Prize, the Fukuoka Asian Culture Prize, and the Mao Dun Literature Prize. He has been bestowed Honorary Doctorates from The Open University of Hong Kong, Aix-Marseille University of France, Sofia University of Bulgaria, The City University of New York, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, and Hong Kong Baptist University etc. He received his Master’s Degree in Literature from Beijing Normal University in 1991. He is a fellow of the Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts and an honorary member of the Modern Language Association of America.