Novelist, screenplay writer, poet, essayist.

Guo 'Lucy' Xiaolu was born in China in 1973, in an isolated, traditional fishing village which became the inspiration for her debut novel, A Village of Stone (2005). She was raised during the Cultural Revolution by grand-parents who were central characters in her gritty story.

Xiaolu's story is of determination and passion, and is driven by an explosive creativity. She published her first poem at the age of 15, having just moved to Beijing - "a most depressing age for me," she said. At 18, she won a place at the Beijing Film Academy where she graduated with an MA. She published six novels in China and made a prize-winning film, Love in the Internet Age. In 2003, she relocated to London, to study at the National Film School. Her short autobiographical film about a Chinese girl in London won her the Becks Futures Prize at the ICA gallery in 2003, and led to a contract with Random House, which led to the publication of A Village of Stone. This was shortlisted for the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize and nominated for The International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award..

In 2007, Xiaolu's debut feature film, How is Your Fish Today, was chosen for the Sundance Film Festival. The director took a lead role, wrote the screenplay and directed. This year also saw the publication of her latest novel, A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers, her first written in English. This is again autobiographical, based on her diaries written when first in London.

Xiaolu's story for the LISTEN campaign focuses on a poignant and mysterious meeting inside an un-named airport between a small child and a man who are thrown together. The implication that both are lost and stateless resonates powerfully with the lives of millions of displaced and orphaned children around the world.