View source for Cassandra Khaw



{{Infobox person
  | honorific_prefix =   
  | name             =  Cassandra Khaw
  | honorific_suffix =  
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  | birth_name       =   Zoe Khaw Joo Ee
  | birth_date       =   {{birth date and age|1984|8|31}} 
  | birth_place      =   [[Malaysia]] 
  | death_date       =   
  | death_place      =   
  | nationality      =   Malaysian
  | education        =  
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}}
'''Cassandra Khaw''' (born 31 August 1984) is a Malaysian writer of [[Horror fiction|horror]] and [[science fiction]]. They also create video games and tabletop games, and formerly wrote about them as a games and tech journalist.

==Biography==
{{Expand section|small=no|with=more details about career|date=November 2023}}
Cassandra Khaw was born in [[Malaysia]] on 31 August 1984 as Zoe Khaw Joo Ee.<ref name=Encyclopedia2019>{{cite web | title=SFE: Khaw, Cassandra | website=The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction | date=28 July 2025 | url=http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/khaw_cassandra | accessdate=12 Dec 2025}}</ref> They work as a [[Horror fiction|horror]] and [[science fiction]] writer for [[Video game|video games]], [[Tabletop role-playing game|tabletop RPGs]], short stories, and novels.<ref name="Brennan Khaw Older Underwood 2018">{{cite web | last1=Brennan | first1=Marie | last2=Khaw | first2=Cassandra | last3=Older | first3=Malka | last4=Underwood | first4=Michael R. | title=Cassandra Khaw | website=Tor.com | date=2018-04-04 | url=https://www.tor.com/author/cassandra-khaw/ | access-date=2019-10-08 | archive-date=8 October 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191008211811/https://www.tor.com/author/cassandra-khaw/ | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Thomas Thomas Yap Kingfisher 2018">{{cite book | last1=Thomas | first1=L.M. | last2=Thomas | first2=M.D. | last3=Yap | first3=I. | last4=Kingfisher | first4=T. | last5=Kritzer | first5=N. | last6=Valentinelli | first6=M. | last7=Khaw | first7=C. | last8=Samatar | first8=S. | last9=Pho | first9=D.M. | last10=Silver | first10=S.H. | title=Uncanny Magazine Issue 25: November/December 2018 | publisher=Uncanny Magazine | year=2018 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lDR1DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA109 | language=it | access-date=2019-10-08 | page=109 | archive-date=10 November 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231110200303/https://books.google.com/books?id=lDR1DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA109#v=onepage&q&f=false | url-status=live }}</ref> Their articles and stories have been published in such magazines as [[Reactor (magazine)|Tor.com]], [[Clarkesworld Magazine|''Clarkesworld'']], ''Fireside Fiction'', ''[[Uncanny Magazine]]'', and [[Nature (journal)|''Nature'']]. Their video game writing appears in ''[[Eurogamer]]'', ''[[Ars Technica]]'',<ref name=ArsTechnicaBibliography>{{cite web | title=Cassandra Khaw | website=Ars Technica | date=2017-04-08 | url=https://arstechnica.com/author/cassandrakhaw/ | access-date=2019-10-08 | archive-date=23 July 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190723203052/https://arstechnica.com/author/cassandrakhaw/ | url-status=live }}</ref> ''[[The Verge]],'' and ''[[Engadget]]''. Khaw has stated they use [[they/them]] pronouns.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Khaw|first=Cassandra|title=Cassandra Khaw is mostly on hiatus (@casskhaw)|url=https://twitter.com/casskhaw|url-status=live|access-date=2021-07-21|website=[[Twitter]]|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110522171358/http://twitter.com/casskhaw|archive-date=22 May 2011}}</ref>

== Awards and nominations ==
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Year
! Work
! Award
! Category
! Result
! class="unsortable" |{{Abbr|Ref.|Reference}}
|-
! rowspan=2 |2017
| rowspan=2 |''Hammers on Bone''
| [[British Fantasy Award]]
| [[British Fantasy Award for Best Novella|Best Novella]]
| {{shortlisted}}
| <ref name=bfa2017>{{Cite web |url=https://locusmag.com/2017/07/2017-british-fantasy-awards-shortlist/ |title=2017 British Fantasy Awards Shortlist |date=14 Jul 2017 |accessdate=21 Jan 2026}}</ref>
|-
| rowspan=2|[[Locus Award]]
| [[Locus Award for Best Novella|Best Novella]]
| {{CFinalist}}
| <ref name=locus2017>{{cite web |url=https://locusmag.com/2017/06/do-not-touch-2017-locus-awards-winners/ |title=2017 Locus Awards Winners |publisher=[[Locus (magazine)|Locus]] |date=24 Jun 2017 |accessdate=21 Jan 2026}}</ref>
|-
! 2018
| ''Food of the Gods''
| [[Locus Award for Best Horror Novel|Best Horror Novel]]
| {{CFinalist}}
| <ref name=locus2018>{{cite web |url=https://locusmag.com/2018/06/2018-locus-awards-winners/ |title=2018 Locus Awards Winners |publisher=[[Locus (magazine)|Locus]] |date=23 Jun 2018 |accessdate=21 Jan 2026}}</ref>
|-
! rowspan=2 |2021
| rowspan=6 |''[[Nothing but Blackened Teeth]]''
| [[Bram Stoker Award]]
| [[Bram Stoker Award for Best Long Fiction|Best Long Fiction]]
| {{nom}}
| <ref name=stoker2021>{{Cite web |date=15 May 2022 |title=2021 Stoker Awards Winners |url=https://locusmag.com/2022/05/2021-stoker-awards-winners/ |accessdate=3 Aug 2025 |publisher=[[Locus (magazine)|Locus]]}}</ref>
|-
| [[Shirley Jackson Award]]
| [[Shirley Jackson Award for Best Novel|Best Novel]]
| {{CFinalist}}
| <ref name=jackson2021>{{Cite web |title=2021 Shirley Jackson Awards Winners |url=https://locusmag.com/2022/10/2021-shirley-jackson-awards-winners/ |accessdate=18 Dec 2025 |date=31 Oct 2021 |publisher=[[Locus (magazine)|Locus]]}}</ref>
|-
! rowspan=7 |2022
| [[British Fantasy Award]]
| Best Horror Novel ([[August Derleth Award]])
| {{shortlisted}}
| <ref name=bfa2022>{{Cite web |url=https://reactormag.com/announcing-the-2022-british-fantasy-awards-winners/ |title=Announcing the 2022 British Fantasy Awards Winners |publisher=[[Tor.com]] |date=19 Sep 2022 |accessdate=3 Aug 2025}}</ref>
|-
| [[Ignyte Award]]
| [[Ignyte Award for Outstanding Novella|Best Novella]]
| {{CFinalist}}
| <ref name=ignyte2022>{{cite web |url=https://locusmag.com/2022/09/2022-ignyte-awards-winners/ |title=2022 Ignyte Awards Winners |publisher=[[Locus (magazine)|Locus]] |date=19 Sep 2022 |accessdate=5 Jan 2026}}</ref>
|-
| [[RUSA awards|RUSA CODES Reading List]] 
| Horror
| {{won}}
| <ref name=rusa_allyears>{{Cite web |title=The Reading List |url=https://rusaupdate.org/awards/the-reading-list/ |accessdate=16 Dec 2025 |website=RUSA Update}}</ref>
|-
| [[World Fantasy Award]]
| [[World Fantasy Award—Novella|Best Novella]]
| {{nom}}
| <ref name=wfa2022>{{cite web |url=https://locusmag.com/2022/11/2022-world-fantasy-awards-winners/ |title=2022 World Fantasy Awards Winners |date=6 Nov 2022 |accessdate=16 Dec 2025 |publisher=[[Locus (magazine)|Locus]]}}</ref>
|-
| {{sort|All-Consuming|''The All-Consuming World''}}
| [[Locus Award]]
| [[Locus Award for Best First Novel|Best First Novel]]
| {{CFinalist}}
|<ref name=locus2022>{{cite magazine |url=https://locusmag.com/2022/06/2022-locus-awards-winners/ |title=2022 Locus Awards Winners |magazine=[[Locus (magazine)|Locus]] |date=June 25, 2022 |access-date=August 16, 2022}}</ref>
|-
| rowspan=5|''Breakable Things''
| [[Bram Stoker Award]]
| [[Bram Stoker Award for Best Fiction Collection|Best Fiction Collection]]
| {{won}}
| <ref name=stoker2022>{{cite web |url=https://locusmag.com/2023/06/2022-stoker-awards-winners/ |title=2022 Stoker Awards Winners |publisher=[[Locus (magazine)|Locus]] |date=19 Jun 2023 |accessdate=5 Sep 2025}}</ref>
|-
| [[Shirley Jackson Award]]
| [[Shirley Jackson Award for Best Single-Author Collection|Best Single-Author Collection]]
| {{nom}}
| <ref name=jackson2022>{{cite web |url=https://locusmag.com/2023/07/2022-shirley-jackson-awards-winners/ |title=2022 Shirley Jackson Awards Winners |publisher=[[Locus (magazine)|Locus]] |date=15 Jul 2023 |accessdate=7 Sep 2025}}</ref>
|-
! rowspan=5 |2023
| [[British Fantasy Award]]
| Best Collection
| {{shortlisted}}
| <ref name=bfa2023>{{cite web |url=https://locusmag.com/2023/09/2023-british-fantasy-awards-winners/ |title=2023 British Fantasy Awards Winners |publisher=[[Locus (magazine)|Locus]] |date=18 Sep 2023 |accessdate=7 Jul 2025}}</ref>
|-
| [[Locus Award]]
| Best Collection
| {{CFinalist}}
| <ref name=locus2023>{{cite web |title=2023 Locus Awards Winners |url=https://locusmag.com/2023/06/2023-locus-awards-winners/ |website=[[Locus (magazine)|Locus]] |date=25 June 2023 |accessdate=6 Aug 2025}}</ref>
|-
| [[World Fantasy Award]]
| [[World Fantasy Award—Collection|Best Collection]]
| {{nom}}
| <ref name=wfa2023>{{cite web |url=https://reactormag.com/announcing-the-2023-world-fantasy-awards-winners/ |title=Announcing the 2023 World Fantasy Awards Winners |author=Molly Templeton |publisher=[[Reactor (magazine)|Reactor]] |date=30 Oct 2023 |accessdate=7 Jul 2025}}</ref>
|-
| rowspan=3 | {{sort|Salt|''The Salt Grows Heavy''}}
| [[Bram Stoker Award]]
| [[Bram Stoker Award for Best Long Fiction|Best Long Fiction]]
| {{nom}}
| <ref name=stoker2023>{{cite web |url=https://locusmag.com/2024/06/2023-stoker-awards-winners/ |title=2023 Stoker Awards Winners |publisher=[[Locus (magazine)|Locus]] |date=3 Jun 2024 |accessdate=3 Aug 2025}}</ref>
|-
| [[Shirley Jackson Award]]
| [[Shirley Jackson Award for Best Novella|Best Novella]]
| {{nom}}
| <ref name=jackson2023>{{Cite web |date=13 July 2024 |title=2023 Shirley Jackson Awards Winners |url=https://locusmag.com/2024/07/embargoed-2023-shirley-jackson-awards-winners/ |accessdate=18 Dec 2025 |publisher=[[Locus (magazine)|Locus]]}}</ref>
|-
! rowspan=2 | 2024
| [[Locus Award]]
| [[Locus Award for Best Novella|Best Novella]]
| {{CFinalist}}
| <ref name=locus2024>{{cite web |title=2024 Locus Awards Winners |url=https://locusmag.com/2024/06/2024-locus-awards-winners/ |date=24 Jun 2024 |accessdate=21 Jan 2026 |publisher=[[Locus (magazine)|Locus]]}}</ref>
|-
| {{sort|Dead Take|''The Dead Take the A Train''}}
| [[Dragon Awards|Dragon Award]]
| Best Horror Novel
| {{nom}}
| <ref name=dragon2024>{{cite web |url=http://www.sfadb.com/Dragon_Awards_2024 |title=Dragon Awards 2024 |accessdate=21 Jan 2026 |publisher=SFADB}}</ref>
|}

==Bibliography==
<ref name=isfdb>{{cite web | last=Chronological | first=Awards Alphabetical | title=Summary Bibliography: Cassandra Khaw | website=The Internet Speculative Fiction Database | date=31 August 1984 | url=https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?211606 | access-date=29 January 2024}}</ref>

===Novels===
* ''The All-Consuming World'' (2021)
* ''The Dead Take the A Train'' (with [[Richard Kadrey]]) (2023)
* ''[[Critical Role–related products#Novels|Critical Role: Bells Hells–What Doesn't Break]]'' (2024)
* ''[[The Library at Hellebore]]'' (2025)

==== Gods & Monsters: Rupert Wong ====
* ''Rupert Wong, Cannibal Chef'' (2015)
* ''Rupert Wong and the Ends of the Earth'' (2017)
* ''The Last Supper Before Ragnarok'' (2019)
* ''Food of the Gods'' (2017)

===Novellas===
* ''[[Nothing But Blackened Teeth]]'' (2021)
* ''The Salt Grows Heavy'' (2023)

===Anthologies===

* ''Southeast Asian Urban Anthologies''
* ''Flesh: A Southeast Asian Urban Anthology'' (2016) with Angeline Woon
* ''A Darker Shade: New Stories of Body Horror from Women Writers'' (2023)

===Chapbooks===
* ''Bearly a Lady'' (2017)

====Born to the Blade====
* ''Baby Shower'' (2018)
* ''Dreadnought'' (2018)

====Persons Non Grata====
* ''Hammers on Bone'' (2016)
* ''A Song for Quiet'' (2017)

=== Collections ===
* ''Breakable Things'' (2022)

=== Short fiction ===
* "Disconnect" (2014)
* "What the Highway Prefers" (2015)
* "Red String" (2015)
* "An Ocean of Eyes" (2015)
* "In the Rustle of Pages" (2015)
* "Her Pound of Flesh" (2015)
* "The Man Who Buys Giggles" (2015)
* "When We Die on Mars" (2015)
* "Clown Shoes" (2016)
* "Every Instance of You" (2016)
* "The Games We Play" (2016)
* "Breathe" (2016)
* "Some Breakable Things" (2016)
* "Speak" (2016)
* "The Price of Small Joys" (2016)
* "Degrees of Beauty" (2016)
* "And in Our Daughters, We Find a Voice" (2016)
* "For the Things We Never Said" (2016)
* "Hungry Ghosts" (2016)
* "What to Do When It's Nothing but Static" (2017)
* "Goddess, Worm" (2017)
* "The Ghost Stories We Tell Around Photon Fires" (2017)
* "Radio Werewolf" (2017)
* "The Day They Found the Train" (2017)
* "Saudade" (2017)
* "Bearly a Lady" (2017)
* "Custom-Made" (2017)
* "I Built This City for You" (2017)
* "Masterclass" (2017)
* "These Deathless Bones" (2017)
* "The Truth That Lies Under Skin and Meat" (2017)
* "Degrees of Ellision" (2017)
* "Don't Turn on the Lights" (2017)
* "Kiss, Don't Tell" (2017)
* "A Secret of Devils" (2017)
* "Landmark" (2017)
* "The Quiet Like a Homecoming" (2018)
* "A Priest of Vast and Distant Places" (2018)
* "You Do Nothing but Freefall" (2018) with A. Maus
* "She Who Hungers, She Who Waits" (2018)
* "How the Spider Got Her Legs" (2018)
* "Four Revelations from the Rusalka Ball" (2018)
* "Recite Her the Names of Pain" (2018)
* "And Was Jerusalem Builded Here?" (2018)
* "Shooting Iron" (2018) with Jonathan L. Howard
* "Bargains by the Slant-Light" (2018)
* "Monologue by an unnamed mage", recorded at the brink of the end (2018)
* "Unbowed" (2018)
* "Nepenthe" (2019)
* "What We Have Chosen to Love" (2019)
* "Mighty Are the Meek and the Myriad" (2019)
* "Cinders" (2023)
* "Fortune Favors Grief" (2024)

===Poems===
* ''Protestations Against the Idea of Anglicization'' (2017)
* ''My Mama'' (2017)
* ''Apathetic Goblin Nightmare Woman'' (2017)
* ''Found Discarded: A Love Poem, Questionably Addressed.'' (2018)
* ''Octavia's Letter to Marcus Anthony on the Discovery of His Faithlessness'' (2018)
* ''A Letter from One Woman to Another'' (2019)
* ''Instructions for When You've Endured as Much as You Can'' (2019)
* ''[https://www.nightmare-magazine.com/podcast/exorcism/ Exorcism]'' (2025)
===Tabletop games===

* ''[[Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft]]'' (writer, [[Wizards of the Coast]], 2021)<ref>{{Cite web|last=Hall|first=Charlie|date=2021-02-23|title=Next Dungeons & Dragons campaign book reboots the many realms of Ravenloft|url=https://www.polygon.com/2021/2/23/22295817/dungeons-dragons-ravenloft-reboot-van-richtens-guide-release-date-price|access-date=2021-04-06|website=Polygon|language=en|archive-date=22 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210422092504/https://www.polygon.com/2021/2/23/22295817/dungeons-dragons-ravenloft-reboot-van-richtens-guide-release-date-price|url-status=live}}</ref>
* ''[[Critical Role: Call of the Netherdeep]]'' (writer, Wizards of the Coast, 2022)<ref name="CR US Shop page">{{Cite web |title=Critical Role: Call of the Netherdeep |url=https://shop.critrole.com/products/critical-role-call-of-the-netherdeep |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220315085246/https://shop.critrole.com/products/critical-role-call-of-the-netherdeep |archive-date=March 15, 2022 |access-date=March 15, 2022 |website=Critical Role US Shop |language=en |type=Product page}}</ref>

===Video games===
* ''She Remembered Caterpillars'' (2017)<ref>{{cite web |last1=Carpenter |first1=Nicole |title=She Remembered Caterpillars turns personal grief into pretty puzzles |url=https://killscreen.com/previously/articles/remembered-caterpillars-turns-personal-grief-pretty-puzzles/ |website=[[Kill Screen]] |publisher=Kill Screen Media, Inc. |access-date=24 October 2023 |date=16 August 2016 |archive-date=31 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230331181539/https://killscreen.com/previously/articles/remembered-caterpillars-turns-personal-grief-pretty-puzzles/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
* ''[[Where the Water Tastes Like Wine]]'' (2018)<ref>{{cite web |last1=O'Connor |first1=Alice |title=Where The Water Tastes Like Wine adds new stories and autowalk |url=https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/where-the-water-tastes-like-wine-adds-new-stories |website=[[Rock Paper Shotgun]] |publisher=[[Gamer Network]] |access-date=24 October 2023 |date=4 June 2018 |archive-date=4 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221204090300/https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/where-the-water-tastes-like-wine-adds-new-stories |url-status=live }}</ref>
* ''[[Sunless Skies]]'' (2019)<ref>{{cite web |last1=Cox |first1=Matt |title=I can't wait to build spaceships again in Captain Forever Trilogy |url=https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/captain-forever-trilogy |website=[[Rock Paper Shotgun]] |publisher=[[Gamer Network]] |access-date=24 October 2023 |date=4 May 2018 |archive-date=6 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221006014742/https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/captain-forever-trilogy |url-status=live }}</ref>
* ''Falcon Age'' (2019)<ref>{{cite web |last1=Dornbush |first1=Jonathon |title=Falcon Age Review |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2019/04/09/falcon-age-review |website=[[IGN]] |publisher=[[Ziff Davis]] |access-date=24 October 2023 |date=9 April 2019 |archive-date=20 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230820124920/https://www.ign.com/articles/2019/04/09/falcon-age-review |url-status=live }}</ref>
* ''[[Hyper Scape]]'' (2020)<ref name="eurogamer1">{{cite web |last1=Purchese |first1=Robert |title=Inside the horror mind of Cassandra Khaw |url=https://www.eurogamer.net/inside-the-horror-mind-of-cassandra-khaw |website=[[Eurogamer]] |publisher=[[Gamer Network]] |access-date=24 October 2023 |date=31 October 2022 |archive-date=8 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230208225921/https://www.eurogamer.net/inside-the-horror-mind-of-cassandra-khaw |url-status=live }}</ref>
* ''[[Wasteland 3]]'' (2020)<ref>{{cite web |last1=Singletary Jr |first1=Charles |title=Wasteland 3 Update: Design, Art, Engineering Milestones Are Being Hit |url=https://www.shacknews.com/article/104378/wasteland-3-update-design-art-engineering-milestones-are-being-hit |website=[[Shacknews]] |publisher=Gamerhub |access-date=24 October 2023 |date=16 April 2018 |archive-date=28 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210728173836/https://www.shacknews.com/article/104378/wasteland-3-update-design-art-engineering-milestones-are-being-hit |url-status=live }}</ref>
* ''[[Gotham Knights (video game)|Gotham Knights]]'' (2022)<ref name="eurogamer1"/>
* ''[[World of Horror]]'' (co-writer, 2023)<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-01-16|title=WORLD OF HORROR Stalks Early Access on Steam Feb. 20, 2020|url=https://www.gamasutra.com/view/pressreleases/356770/WORLD_OF_HORROR_Stalks_Early_Access_on_Steam_Feb_20_2020.php|access-date=2021-04-06|website=Gamasutra|language=en|archive-date=22 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211022071644/https://www.gamasutra.com/view/pressreleases/356770/WORLD_OF_HORROR_Stalks_Early_Access_on_Steam_Feb_20_2020.php|url-status=dead}}</ref>

== References ==

{{Reflist |25em}}

== External links ==

* {{LCAuth|no2016137826|Cassandra Khaw|6|ue}}
* {{ISFDB name|211606}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Khaw, Cassandra}}
[[Category:1984 births]]
[[Category:Horror writers]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Malaysian writers]]
[[Category:Malaysian expatriates in Canada]]
[[Category:Video game critics]]
[[Category:Video game writers]]
[[Category:21st-century writers]]

{{Wikipedia attribution|original_title=Cassandra Khaw|access_date=2026-02-28}}