Gene Luen Yang, the award winning graphic novelist of American Born Chinese, is not what you would call the sporty type. In fact, Gene describes himself as a decidedly "non-athletic fiction author." But maaaan, he knows how to tell a story. So his next big project is nonfiction graphic novel about basketball.
Exclusive: Gene Luen Yang to publish his first nonfiction graphic novel ever ('Dragon Hoops') in 2018
First Second Books recently announced that Yang's next book will be Dragon Hoops, a true-life account of the 2015 Bishop O'Dowd High School boys' basketball team and its run at the California state championship.
Dragon Hoops, Yang's first major solo work since the 2013 historical epic Boxers & Saints, will focus on "sports culture, race, the tensions between high school academics and athletics, and the race to victory."
The book centers on six senior players on the squad at O'Dowd -- where Yang taught computer science for nearly twenty years -- using real names and games, and following their struggles and cultural differences to their shared dreams and achievements. Gene didn't know much about basketball, but he says he learned a lot.
"Basketball can bring together a community," Gene tells the Washington Post's Comic Riff. "I was a fly on the wall to a certain extent. I'm still not a basketball guy, but they made an effort to include me. I'm much more knowledgeable now."
Can't wait to read it!
More here: Gene Luen Yang To Release Non-Fiction Basketball Graphic Novel ‘Dragon Hoops’ In 2018