J. R. Thornton

Born in London, UK, J. R. graduated from Harvard College in 2014, where he studied history, English, and Chinese. An internationally ranked junior tennis player, he later competed for Harvard and on the men’s professional circuit.

Shortly after graduating from Harvard, J. R. published his first novel, Beautiful Country, loosely inspired by experiences he had living in Beijing as a teenager. The novel became a best-seller in China, and the film rights were subsequently purchased by WME/IMG.

J. R. returned to China in 2016 as a member of the inaugural class of Schwarzman Scholars, earning an M.A. from Tsinghua University. He lives in Milan, where he works for AC Milan.