Born in the Philippines, Crystal Gail Shangkuan Koo studied English literature at the University of the Philippines and Mandarin at the Beijing Language and Culture University. After moving to Australia, she undertook a Master's degree in Creative Writing at UNSW and graduated in 2007. Her short stories and articles have been published in the Philippine-Australian press and in the UNSW creative writing journals Unsweetened and RUBRIC. Her short story 'Benito Salazar's Last Creation' won third prize in Short Story in English category of the 2007 Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature, the most prestigious and longest-running literary contest in the Philippines.

In 2008, Koo left Australia to live in Hong Kong to begin a teaching career. She continues to write and publish short stories, poetry and drama. Her play 'The Foundling' was performed by Burnt Mango Theatre Productions in Hong Kong in 2009.