Author and Illustrator Gene Luen Yang Explains His Reading Without Walls Program

As an ambassador for the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature Program, Author and Illustrator Gene Luen Yang helps young readers explore the world through his Reading Without Walls Program. To get more kids reading and kids reading more, he offers the Reading Without Walls Challenge, which helps kids learn more about diverse people and ideas outside their personal experiences.

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Gene Luen Yang

Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Nonfiction, Graphic Novels

Gene Luen Yang

Gene Luen Yang writes, and sometimes draws, comic books and graphic novels. American Born Chinese — a memoir about growing up as an Asian American — became the first graphic novel to win the American Library Association’s Printz Award and a National Book Award finalist. His two-volume graphic novel Boxers & Saints won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and was a National Book Award finalist. His other works include Dragon Hoops, the Secret Coders series (with Mike Holmes), The Shadow Hero (with Sonny Liew), New Super-Man from DC Comics (with various artists), and the Avatar: The Last Airbender series from Dark Horse Comics (with Gurihiru) and Superman Smashes the Klan (with Gurihiru).

In 2016, Yang was named the 5th National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature and selected as a MacArthur Fellow.