Giddens Ko, one of Taiwan’s best-selling authors, better known by his pen name Jiu ba dao, started his prolific career when he wrote a short story as part of his application to get into a local graduate school. It was then that he discovered his talent for writing.

His most talked about achievements include writing 5,000 words everyday and publishing 14 novels in as many months.

Since year 2000, he has already published more than 60 novels, many of which have topped the best-seller chart in Chinese speaking regions. His genres include martial art, sci-fi, love stories, friendship, comedies, thrillers, and suspense that exemplify the huge diversity of Jiu ba dao's novel writing.

Han Han, born in Shanghai, is an opinion leader with multiple identities including best-selling author; professional rally driver; and China’s most popular blogger. In April 2010, American magazine Time put Han Han in the list of "Time 100 most influential people".

Han Han's first novel, "Three Steps to Heaven", based on his personal experience as a high school dropout in Shanghai, became a best seller in China and sparked a debate about the quality of the country's rigid education system. An avid rally car driver, he writes a mega-popular blog that pokes fun at prominent cultural figures and incompetent officials.

[source: Time Specials – www.time.com/time/specials]

A new generation swordsman fiction writer, Qiao practices martial arts - specifically karate and Philippian wand. Born in 1969, Qiao studied translation in university and wrote many detective stories. Earthly power and cruelty are the recurring themes in his work.

Passionate about martial arts, Qiao started writing swordsman fiction a decade ago. ‘The moral of martial arts’ runs through these stories, with purposes behind all action scenes. Qiao emphasizes on the importance of 'the spirit of martial arts', that it is a way to challenge and elevate oneself. He considers this as the highest level of martial arts.