Shan Sa is the pseudonym of Yan Ni, a French author and painter born on October 26, 1972, in Beijing, China. The Girl Who Played Go was the first of her novels to be published outside of France and it won the Prix Goncourt des Lycéens, a prestigious literary prize awarded by secondary school students. Her second novel translated into English was Empress in 2006.

In July 2009, she was honored as a Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, and in May 2011, she received the title of Chevalier of the Ordre national du Mérite.

As a painter, Shan Sa has held exhibitions in major cities like Paris, New York, and Shanghai.