36 East Asian Young Adult Authors
Introduction
I wanted to do something after hearing about East Asian and Asian American people being harassed because of the coronavirus. I think it’s ridiculous that people are using a global pandemic as an excuse to be racist. So I’m choosing to spend the next week being an ally of East Asian and Asian American book creators by promoting their work here on my blog and through social media.
A couple of days ago, I sent out a call on Twitter asking for some recommendations. I was looking for creators to include on my list and I was shocked by the result! Authors and illustrators shared and re-tweeted my original tweet for days afterward. I was hoping for a list of 40-50 book creators for a list that spanned picture books to YA titles. And instead, I ended up with over 115 creators and I’m hoping I was able to collect most of the names. Now, I’ve got four separate lists to share with you!
What I loved most was that I’ve read a number of these authors and illustrators and love their work. Others are on my TBR list and sitting on the bookshelves behind my desk and still, others are new-to-me and I’m so excited to dive into some new books!
Today’s Highlight
I’m sharing the next list – 36 East Asian Young Adult Authors today. Just as a reminder, many of these authors are also illustrators or have also written for other age groups, so be sure to research their name for more titles!
36 East Asian Young Adult Authors
- Abigail Hing Wen – Loveboat, Taipei
- Axie Oh – Rebel Seoul
- Caroline Tung Richmond – Only Thing to Fear
- C.B. Lee – Not Your Sidekick
- Corrie Wang – City of Beasts
- David Yoon – Frankly in Love
- Elizabeth Lim – So This Is Love
- Elsie Chapman – Caster
- Emily X.R. Pan – The Astonishing Color of After
- F.C. Yee – The Epic Crush of Genie Lo
- Fonda Lee – Jade City
- Gene Luen Yang – Dragon Hoops
- Gloria Chao – Our Wayward Fate
- Heidi Heilig – For a Muse of Fire
- I.W. Gregorio – This is My Brain in Love
- June Hur – Silence of Bones
- Justina Chen – Lovely, Dark, and Deep
- Kelly Loy Gilbert – Picture Us in the Light
- Lori M. Lee – Forest of Souls
- Lydia Kang – The Impossible Girl
- Lyla Lee – I’ll Be the One
- Marie Lu – The Kingdom of Back
- Marie Myung-Ok Lee – Somebody’s Daughter
- Mariko Tamaki – Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me
- Mary H.K. Choi – Permanent Record
- Maurene Goo – Somewhere Only We Know
- Mimi Yu – The Girl King
- Misa Sugiura – This Time It Will Be Different
- Natasha Ngan – Girls of Paper and Fire
- Paula Yoo – Good Enough
- Randy Ribay – Patron Saint of Nothing
- Rin Chupeco – Wicked as You Wish
- Sarah Kuhn – Shadow of the Batgirl
- Stacey Lee – The Downstairs Girl
- Traci Chee – We Are Not Free
- Wai Chim – The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling
As a note, this list is specifically looking at East Asian creators and I know there are many other Asian and Asian American creators out there writing and drawing beautiful things. Take a look at these other lists for other great authors – Asian Protagonists and Indian Voices!
If you’re looking for another list, check out Mackin Library’s post!
