Linda Rui Feng is a professor at the University of Toronto, where she specializes in Chinese cultural history. Her research has led her to examine a wide range of sources, from long-forgotten books from the ninth century to the history of aromatics and scent. Feng was born in Shanghai and has lived in several other cities, including San Francisco, New York, and Toronto. She received her undergraduate degree from Harvard College and went on to earn her graduate degree from Columbia University.
In addition to her work as a professor and researcher, Feng is also a talented writer. Her debut novel, "Swimming Back to Trout River," was published in 2020 to critical acclaim. The novel tells the story of a family's experiences of music and migration in the aftermath of one of China's most tumultuous eras in the twentieth century. It has been a finalist for several prestigious awards, including the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize and the William Saroyan International Prize for Writing. The novel has also been nominated for the Scotiabank Giller Prize, the PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel, and the Aspen Words Literary Prize.