Asian American YA Authors Roundtable

Guest Post by Wendy Xu



I work with stories both at my day job (publishing) and night job (comics), and conversations, thinkpieces, and articles around representation in media are prevalent almost every second of my waking life. We've heard many voices on how Hollywood stifles and whitewashes (Ghost in the Shell, The Great Wall, etc) and how progress in film and television is appallingly slow. It can be a real bummer, and definitely brings to light some glaring social issues that continuously need to be addressed and corrected and held accountable.

But I think that sometimes, we need some levity and inspiration in our lives to remind us to keep fighting when the battle seems tough. And in the war against whitewashing in media, one front that keeps churning out victory after victory: the outstanding, award-winning, NYT-bestselling Asian American authors in the young adult publishing industry.

For those unfamiliar, "Young Adult" (YA) is a marketing term for stories that cater to the (roughly) 13-18 crowd, and has become a huge portion of the children's lit world in the last few years, after the phenomenal success of books like Harry Potter. It spans all genres -- fantasy, sci-fi, slice of life, horror, you name it. I grew up reading a lot of young adult fantasy, and it was actually in those books that I discovered Asian representation for the first time. Authors like Tamora Pierce and JK Rowling, flawed as they are, paved the way for me to see girls like me having magical adventures.

A Comics Artist Shamelessly Plugs Some of Her Amazingly Talented Asian American Friends and Colleagues

Guest Post by Wendy Xu



I'm on vacation! This week, I'm taking a much-needed break to recharge the batteries and get a change of scenery. To keep things going around here, I've enlisted the help of several friends of the blog to submit guest posts on various topics of their choosing. Here's one from comics artist Wendy Xu.

Wendy here. I'm a comics artist. I'm currently working on a webcomic (more on that later), and my recent projects include pencils in a comic displayed as part of the New York Historical Society's Chinese in America exhibit, as well as had a short comic in Shattered: The Asian American Comics Anthology. I've also printed and sold my short witch comics at indie cons like MOCCA and SPX.

I was drawing one night when I got an email from Phil inviting me to write a guest post for Angry Asian Man. Since comics and graphic novels dominate my entire life, from my day job to what I do off-hours, this is -- you guessed it -- about comics. Mostly, I wanted to use the opportunity to showcase and shamelessly plug some of my amazingly talented Asian American friends and colleagues, all of them up-and-comers in the comics industry who undoubtedly have long and illustrious careers ahead of them.

I once heard Marvel talent Alitha Martinez say at a panel, "To be in this industry, you have to be good. You have to be very, very good, because at least hundreds of other people want to be doing what you're doing." Outside of the Big Two of Marvel and DC, there are many other artists in the independent comics world creating, publishing and selling their own stories -- and they are all, indeed, very, very good. Editors and new readers, pay attention!

Featured in this interview are: Trung Nguyen, Shivana Sookdeo, Alice Meichi Li and Arielle Jovellanos.

Comics & Graphic Vignettes - From Scribble to Strip, July 11

With Wendy Xu and Rowan Hisayo Buchanan, presented by the Asian American Writers' Workshop


If you're in New York City this weekend, and want to learn how to make comics, check out this one-time workshop with comics artists Wendy Xu and Rowan Hisayo Buchanan, Comics & Graphic Vignettes - From Scribble to Strip, presented by the Asian American Writers' Workshop. They'll be reading, discussing, and drawing all things comics. Come nerd out with them. It's happening Saturday, July 11 in Manhattan.

Here are some more details:

Angry Reader of the Week: Wendy Xu

"I'm a comics artist and writer who moonlights as an editorial assistant by day."



What's up, everybody? It's time to meet another Angry Reader of the Week, spotlighting you, the very special readers of this website. Over the years, I've been able to connect with a lot of cool folks, and this is a way of showing some appreciation and attention to the people who help make this blog what it is. This week's Angry Reader is Wendy Xu.