Kelly Yang, Helena Ku Rhee and Dan Santat will share their thoughts on how writing during the pandemic shaped their stories.

Register to access recording: https://teachaapi.org/event/aapi-history-month-all-star-author-talk/

Kelly Yang is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of NEW FROM HERE, the FRONT DESK series, including FRONT DESK, THREE KEYS, and ROOM TO DREAM, YES WE WILL, and young adult novels PARACHUTES and PRIVATE LABEL. FRONT DESK is Kelly’s award-winning middle grade debut novel about a 10 year old Chinese American immigrant girl who manages the front desk of a motel while her parents clean the rooms. FRONT DESK was awarded the 2019 Asian Pacific American Award for Literature, the Parents’ Choice Gold Medal, was the 2019 Global Read Aloud, and was named an Amazon Best Book of the Year, a Washington Post Best Book of the Year, a Kirkus Best Book of the Year, a School Library Journal Best Book of the Year, a NPR Best Book of the Year, and a Publisher’s Weekly Best Book of the Year.

Dan Santat is a #1 New York Times Best Selling Author author/illustrator of over one hundred titles which include “The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend” which won the prestigious Randolph Caldecott Medal in 2015. Other titles include, Are We There Yet? and After the Fall (How Humpty Dumpty Got Back Up Again)  He is also the creator of the Disney animated hit, The Replacements. Dan lives in Southern California with his wife, two kids, and various pets.

Helena Ku Rhee is a writer of books for kids and the young at heart. Her latest children’s book, ROSA’S SONG, will be released on June 14, 2022 by Penguin Random House. She is also the author of THE PAPER KINGDOM(Penguin Random House 2020), which was a #1 Indie Bestseller and included on many year-end Best Books lists, including NPR, BookPage, Kirkus, Parents Magazine, the Los Angeles Public Library, and Amazon, among others. Her other books include THE TURTLE SHIP (Lee & Low 2018) and SORA’S SEASHELLS (Candlewick Press, forthcoming 2023). Her writing has also appeared in The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times and Salon.