Writing Catharsis With Jen Wang

First Draft Episode #212: Jen Wang

Jen Wang, Eisner Award-winning author and illustrator of The
Prince and the Dressmaker, In Real Life, and Koko Be Good stops
by to talk about her new middle grade graphic novel, Stargazing.
Links and Topics Mentioned In This Episode



The seminal Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson was one of
the only Western comics that Jen read as a young artist




In high school Jen started a webcomic called Strings of Fate
and took is super seriously!




Jen’s first publishing experience was contributing to Flight,
an anthology put together by her webcomic peers and edited by
Kazu Kibuishi, who has gone on to author and illustrate the
Amulet series, Copper, and he illustrated the re-release of
the Harry Potter series.




Jen’s agent is Judy Hansen of the Hansen Literary Agency, who
represents many of the top graphic artists and illustrators
out there today




Jen’s first editor at First Second, Calista Brill (author in
her own right of Tugboat Bill and the River Rescue, Cat
Wishes, and Little Wing Learns to Fly) is still her editor
today!




She was also fortunate to work with book designer Colleen AF
Venable (also the author of Melvin the Sloth is About to Do
the Best Thing in the World and  while she was with
First Second




After Jen’s first book, she adapted “IRL,” a short story for
Cory Doctorow, one of the founders of BoingBoing and author
of Little Brother and Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom.




One of her freelance cartoon jobs was illustrating Tom
Angleberger’s books, including Tom Angleberger’s Fake
Mustache.




Veronica Roth’s new collection of short stories, The End and
Other Beginnings: Stories From the Future, has one of the
best titles ever, IMO (hear her First Draft interviews here
and here)




In 2019, Jen was awarded multiple Eisner Awards, for best
writer/artist, and for best publication for teens.




Jen enlisted the help of her friend, Lark Pien -- colorist
for books like Printz-winning American Born Chinese and
Boxers and Saints, written and illustrated by MacArthur
Fellow Gene Luen Yang -- to work on Stargazing and help her
get the book in on time.


I want to hear from you!

Have a question about writing or creativity for Sarah Enni or her
guests to answer? To leave a voicemail, call (818) 533-1998. You
can also email the podcast at
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Every Tuesday, I speak to storytellers like Veronica Roth, author
of Divergent; Linda Holmes, author and host of NPR’s Pop Culture
Happy Hour podcast; Jonny Sun, internet superstar, illustrator of
Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Gmorning, Gnight! and author and illustrator
of Everyone’s an Aliebn When Ur a Aliebn Too;  Michael
Dante  DiMartino, co-creator of Avatar: The Last Airbender;
John August, screenwriter of Big Fish, Charlie’s Angels, and
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory; or Rhett Miller, musician and
frontman for The Old 97s. Together, we take deep dives on their
careers and creative works.



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