Cao Kou (曹寇), born in 1977, was contracted in the first phase of the Nanjing Youth Literary Talent Programme as one of the city’s hundred outstanding cultural talents. He has written novels, short stories, essays and screenplays. His published works include the short story collections The Song of the Gold Chain Man, In the County Town, I Like it To Death, More and More and A Tree Growing on the Roof. His essay collections include A Slice of Life and My Skull. He has also written the screenplay for the film Police Officer Bao Yin and the novel Memorial on Seventeen Years. He has been awarded the Southern People Weekly’s Charming Character Award and the Short Story Collection Novella Award.