Ha Jin

While China-born author Xuěfēi Jin (his pen name "Ha" refers to Harbin, his favorite city) came of age during Mao Zedong's Cultural Revolution and served in the People's Liberation Army, he became a resident of the United States in 1985 and has wrote all of his work in English. Little of his work was published in his homeland, despite a slew of accolades including the 1999 National Book Award for Fiction and a finalist spot for the 2004 Pulitzer Prize. Inspired by classic British poets as well as non-native American novelists Vladimir Nabokov and Joseph Conrad, Jin's work has been praised for its economy of language, adherence to dark historical moments, and uncompromising nature.