Xiaolu Guo is a novelist, essayist, and filmmaker known for her inventive storytelling and exploration of migration, language, and identity. Born in 1973 in a fishing village in Zhejiang Province, China, she studied at the Beijing Film Academy before moving to the United Kingdom in 2002 to continue her studies at the National Film and Television School. Her cross-cultural experiences have deeply influenced her work, which often reflects on displacement and the challenges of living between languages and cultures.

Guo gained international recognition with her novel A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers (2007), which was shortlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction. She has since written several novels, memoirs, and essays, as well as directed award-winning films. Known for blending autobiography with fiction and experimenting with language, Xiaolu Guo has established herself as a distinctive voice in contemporary global literature.