Annie Jieping Zhang is a journalist, editor, and institution builder working across journalism, publishing, and civil society in the Chinese-speaking world. Her reporting and commentary have received numerous honors, including Journalist of the Year from the Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA). Zhang contributed longform reporting and commentary to The New York Times Chinese edition before co-founding Initium Media in 2015. In recent years, her work has expanded beyond journalism into institution building. She is the founder of Matters Lab, an independent publishing platform exploring new models for public discourse; Nowhere Bookstore, a transnational network of Chinese-language cultural spaces; Frontline Fellowship, a program supporting nonfiction writers; and Damn True Festival, an international festival dedicated to nonfiction storytelling.