Jamaican-American author
Nicola Yoon (born 1972)
[1] is a Jamaican-American author. She is best known for writing the 2015
young adult novel
Everything, Everything , a
New York Times best seller and the basis of a 2017
film of the same name . In 2016, she released
The Sun Is Also a Star , a novel that was adapted to a
film of the same name .
Early life and education
Yoon grew up in
Jamaica and in
Brooklyn , New York.
[2]
[3] She majored in
electrical engineering as an undergraduate at
Cornell University . Taking a
creative writing class as an elective got her "hooked on writing".
[4] After graduation, she attended the Master of Creative Writing program at
Emerson College .
Career
Yoon worked as a programmer for investment management firms for 20 years before the publication of her first book.
[5] She was inspired to write her debut novel,
Everything, Everything , after the birth of her
biracial daughter. Yoon wanted to write a book that reflected her child on the pages.
[4]
[6] Her first-time mother worries about protecting her baby from danger gave her the idea to write a story about a 17-year-old girl who needed the same level of protection.
[7]
[8] It took Yoon three years to write the book, writing early in the mornings while working full-time and raising her infant daughter.
[4]
[7] Her husband,
Korean American graphic designer David Yoon, drew the illustrations.
[4]
[7]
[9]
Everything, Everything was released in September 2015, and debuted as No. 1
New York Times best seller for young adult hardcover books.
[7]
[10] The book spent 40 weeks on the best seller list.
[11] A
film of the same name based on the book, adapted by
J. Mills Goodloe and starring
Amandla Stenberg and
Nick Robinson , was released in May 2017.
[12]
Yoon's second book,
The Sun Is Also a Star , was released in November 2016, and also reached number one on the New York Times Best Seller list.
[13] It was a 2016
National Book Award finalist,
[14] was included in
The New York Times Book Review list of Notable Children's Books of 2016,
[15] and was listed in the top 10 books of 2016 by
Entertainment Weekly
[16] and the
Los Angeles Times .
[17] The Sun Is Also A Star was honored as a finalist of the
Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award in 2017. In December 2016, it was announced that film rights to the book had been acquired by
Warner Brothers and
MGM .
[18] The movie, directed by
Ry Russo-Young , and starring
Yara Shahidi and
Charles Melton , was released on May 17, 2019.
[19]
Yoon is associated with the
We Need Diverse Books organization, which promotes the representation of diversity in literature.
[9]
[20]
[21]
She contributed to Because You Love to Hate Me , an
anthology of short stories written by 13 YA authors who were paired with 13 BookTubers, who provided writing prompts. It was published in July 2017.
[22] More recently, she signed a deal with Anonymous Content, with David Yoon.
[23]
Personal life
Yoon lives in
Los Angeles , California, with her husband, author David Yoon, and their daughter.
[2]
[3]
Works
References
^
"Yoon, Nicola" . Linked Data Service .
Library of Congress . Retrieved November 23, 2023 .
^
a
b Yoon, Nicola.
"Bio" . nicola yoon . Retrieved 2022-01-27 .
^
a
b de Botton, Gen (October 2, 2015).
"An Indies Introduce Q&A With Nicola Yoon" .
American Booksellers Association . Retrieved August 19, 2017 .
^
a
b
c
d Charaipotra, Sona (May 19, 2017).
"Nicola Yoon Wrote 'Everything, Everything' So Her Daughter Could See Herself Reflected On The Page" .
Bustle . Retrieved August 19, 2017 .
^ Blake, Ashley Herring (August 25, 2015).
"The Debut Club: An interview with Nicola Yoon, author of Everything, Everything " . The Sweet Sixteens . Retrieved August 19, 2017 .
^ Bell, Amanda (September 3, 2015).
"Meet Nicola Yoon, Whose Book Is Gonna Be Your 'Everything Everything' Soon Enough" .
MTV.com . Retrieved August 19, 2017 .
^
a
b
c
d Freitas, Donna (December 11, 2015).
"Fall 2015 Flying Starts: Nicola Yoon" .
Publishers Weekly . Retrieved August 19, 2017 .
^ Diaz, Shelley (August 31, 2015).
"Nicola Yoon Spills "Everything, Everything" About Her YA Debut" .
School Library Journal . Retrieved August 19, 2017 .
^
a
b Franklin, MJ (August 26, 2015).
"YA author Nicola Yoon on diversity and her new novel, 'Everything, Everything' " .
Mashable . Retrieved August 19, 2017 .
^
"Young Adult Hardcover" .
The New York Times . September 20, 2015. Retrieved August 19, 2015 .
^ Dash, Danielle (April 24, 2017).
" 'Everything, Everything' Author Nicola Yoon on Casting Amandla Stenberg for the Movie" .
Teen Vogue . Retrieved August 19, 2017 .
^ Linden, Sheri (May 18, 2017).
" 'Everything, Everything': Film Review" .
The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved August 19, 2017 .
^
"Young Adult Hardcover" . The New York Times . January 15, 2017. Retrieved August 19, 2017 .
^
"The Sun Is Also a Star" .
National Book Foundation . Retrieved August 19, 2017 .
^
"Notable Children's Books of 2016" . The New York Times . November 23, 2016. Retrieved August 19, 2017 .
^ Jordan, Tina; Greenblatt, Leah; Biedenharn, Isabella; Serrao, Nivea (December 20, 2016).
"EW's Best Books of 2016" .
Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved August 19, 2017 .
^ Kellogg, Carolyn (December 16, 2016).
"The 10 most important books of 2016" .
Los Angeles Times . Retrieved August 19, 2017 .
^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (December 15, 2016).
"Warner Bros, MGM Land YA Novel 'The Sun Is Also A Star'; Tracy Oliver To Adapt" .
Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved August 19, 2017 .
^
"Your 2019 Literary Adaptation Preview" . Literary Hub . 2018-12-17. Retrieved 2018-12-17 .
^ Williams, Mary Elizabeth (March 30, 2017).
"The inspiration behind #1 New York Times bestselling author Nicola Yoon's "Everything, Everything "? Her biracial daughter" .
Salon . Retrieved August 19, 2017 .
^
"The Glimmering Sheen Of A Wide World Seen From Inside A Bubble" .
NPR . August 30, 2015. Retrieved August 19, 2017 .
^ Shannon Maughan (28 April 2016).
"Bloomsbury Anthology Pairs YA Authors and Booktubers" . Publishers Weekly . Retrieved 10 February 2018 .
^ Andreeva, Nellie (2021-06-07).
"Authors Nicola & David Yoon Ink Anonymous Content Deal Focused On Love Stories Toplined By People Of Color" . Deadline . Retrieved 2021-06-10 .
^
"Coretta Scott King Book Awards - All Recipients, 1970-Present" . ALA-EMIERT . 5 April 2012. Retrieved 2018-12-22 .
^ Reich, Hannah (March 9, 2021).
"Writing Black Lives Matter: Maxine Beneba Clarke and Angie Thomas on their latest books for children and young people" . ABC News. Retrieved 2 April 2021 .
External links
International National Other