Writer · Founder · Student
A life in stories.
Building fictional worlds. Making room for other voices. Exploring the ideas that connect us.
Explore my workBorn in California · Raised in China · SHSID ’27
2Published novels
National Silver MedalScholastic Art & Writing Awards · 2026
ISTORIAFounder · A community of student writers
01 / The writing
Fantasy and science fiction, with questions about civilization, governance, and human empathy.
All
Stars
Fall.
Debut fantasy novel
Civilizations rise. Civilizations fall.
What survives in the last bastion?
Set in humanity’s last remaining bastion after monsters overrun the world, this novel explores the rise and decline of civilizations through mathematical theory, Roman history, and Chinese dynastic history.
The Dark
Ocean
The first novel
A 28,000-word science-fiction novel that imagines stars as neurons and galaxies as living organisms powered by quantum particles. An intergalactic conflict becomes a way to explore governance and human empathy.
02 / Beyond the page
Writing becomes more meaningful when it brings people together.
Founder · 2023–2026
A place for students
to find their voice.
Guoshwan founded ISTORIA to encourage student voices through creative writing. Weekly writing sessions grew into published stories, printed journals, and a community of more than 20 long-term members.
29Published stories
4Printed journals
200+Copies sold / distributed
Journal sales also supported a $210 donation to the Give2Asia Beijing AiEr Foundation for autism-related efforts.
Visit ISTORIASkybound & Blue Balloon
As a Skybound teaching lead, he coordinated English and environmental-awareness activities for children and led more than 25 volunteers. Through Blue Balloon, he taught English online each week and traveled to rural schools to teach in person.
SHSID Drama Club · Leader
From Antipholus of Ephesus in The Comedy of Errors to Eurydice’s Father in Eurydice, he explores storytelling on stage while leading 15 members in preparing and performing productions.
More ways to contribute
Captain & Coach
Coached a six-member team in case preparation, strategy, and attorney and witness practice. Fourth place at the 2025 PPMT National High School Mock Trial Competition; Individual Spirit Award.
Editor & Newsletter Leader
Assistant editor for SHSID Times, contributing to four issues. Led six writers to publish six monthly College Counseling newsletters for fellow students.
Student Leader
Supported more than 120 students preparing for midterms and finals through workshops, study resources, and more than 20 peer sessions.
03 / Recognition
Selected distinctions in creative writing and essays.
“A Spell of Light in the Dark”
“All Stars Fall” · “To Sing the Stars” · “Johnny and the Potato Plant” · “A Fishing Trip”
“The Surprising Effects of Anonymity on Social Media Toxicity and the Mental Health of Young People”
“Deep Sea Mining — The Risks of Riches in the Deep”
“Coded to Love”
“When the Silk Still Shines” · “Dinosaurs of 2034”
History & inquiry
A historical research paper examining the limits of short-term governance in an empire won by conquest.
Submitted to The Concord Review · Under consideration for publication04 / The person behind the pages
Born in California and raised in China, Guoshwan is a student at Shanghai High School International Division, graduating in 2027.
His interests connect literature, history, debate, and science. Alongside writing and student leadership, he has explored biology in a laboratory, developed fiction in a summer workshop, studied technology, and trained as a basketball center.
He hopes to keep exploring the humanities and sciences in college, bringing people and communities together through curiosity and creativity.
Academic foundation
Three-week residential fiction program; developed three short stories and a writing portfolio.
Biology laboratory internship exploring targeted protein degradation and Western blotting.
Elite Tech Summer Program: AI in Smart Cities and C++ in Spaceflight Engineering.
Team member and center; weekly training alongside school and writing.
Keep the conversation going
guoshwan.nian@gmail.com