Despite having moved to the city as a young boy, Chiu Tsu-Yin has always maintained a connection to rural Taiwan, not least of all through his parents’ stories of growing up in the rice paddies. A self-styled “farmer of language”, cultivating stories is his life calling, even as he continues to pursue a career in publishing and media. He is the recipient of the Unitas award for best newcomer, and Fu Jen Catholic University’s literature prize. One of his short stories was anthologized in Best Taiwan Short Stories in 2012, and he published his first novel Mother Earth in 2013.