Kelly Yang is the award-winning author for kids and young adults with popular titles such as the Front Desk series, Parachutes, Little Bird Laila, and more. She graciously took the time to answer my questions about her work, and share what’s coming next. Enjoy!

1. When did you feel ready to start pitching your own book, and how did your first publication come about? 

I wrote my first book FRONT DESK originally for my son, to get him to read and to tell him about my childhood. At the time, I didn’t think it would be a book, but he enjoyed the experience of me writing and reading a chapter a day to him so much that he encouraged me to do something with it.

So it was really because of my son that I felt ready to start sharing it. I sent it to an agent in New York and from there, we submitted it to publishers.

In total, FRONT DESK was sent to 20 publishers, and 19 rejected it. But one woman, Cheryl Klein, at Scholastic, decided to take a chance on it!

2. Two words to describe your Front Desk series are “community,” and “humanity.” How has that informed your books and evolved over time? 

That’s such a great question! I feel that the work of a writer is to capture our shared humanity. Something I may be going through, if I’m brave enough to put it on the page, hopefully resonates with someone else who might be going through the same thing. Then when they read it, hopefully, we both feel connected, and in community with each other. We both feel less alone. That’s always been my guiding light as a writer, ever since I was a kid. It’s something I try very very hard to achieve through my books.

3. Parachutes, in particular, was based on your experiences as a scholarship student in university, and sexual assault. How were you able to take care of yourself as you wrote about this very personal topic? 

Wow, another really great question. To be honest, I feel like writing Parachutes was therapeutic for me. Yes, it was painful, unpacking so much trauma, but it was also really empowering in a way. Being able to crack open all those memories and stare at them in the broad daylight, not being afraid to look away?

It made me understand myself better, which is always the goal as a creator. I gave myself permission to dig deep down inside and look at the parts that were scary. And not be scared anymore. 

4. You’ve mentioned in writing your picture book, Little Bird Laila, that it was a struggle to keep it simple. Did you find a certain method that helped? 

Yes! I had to practice shortening the story in my head. I would make myself tell the story faster to myself, until I got to this compact, powerful little nugget of what could have been a very complicated, longer story. It was a very challenging, but rewarding process!

 5. Your new novel, The Take, is coming up, was there any pressure or different processes that came up in writing for your adult debut?  

I had so much fun writing The Take, because it wasn’t under contract or anything, so there was no one looking over my shoulder. Not one person knew, except my agent! So in a sense, there was no real pressure, and I could just let myself write!

I got to gasp and cringe and write this unhinged tale of a girl who decides to sell her youth…and this older, richer, mentor who takes from her! In so many ways!

Now that it’s about to come out soon, I feel some pressure, but I just have to remind myself, it’s ok to be nervous. It’s ok to be scared. All I can control is my own process, and I loved writing THE TAKE. I can’t wait for everyone to read it!

You can learn more about Kelly Yang and her work on her website: https://www.kellyyang.com/, and frequent updates on social media.