Author/Illustrator Spotlight: Stan Yan Part 2

In Part 1 of the interview with Stan Yan, we talked mostly about his work as an illustrator. But to get published, he also needed to write a great story. Great writers start by reading a lot of wonderful books. Can you guess what kind of books Stan Yan reads?

Stan, What was your favorite children’s book as a kid? Who is your favorite children’s book author now?

SY: If you were to look at the library card, you’d know that WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE by Maurice Sendak was my favorite. I’m not certain any other kids got to check out this book while I went to school there. I was fascinated by his creepy drawings of the creatures. 

Now, my favorite children’s book author might be Andrea Wang, and my favorite kidlit graphic novelist might be Remy Lai.

JS: My favorite children’s book is The Hardy Boys, which is why one of my favorite authors is Mac Barnett. His Brixton Brothers books were inspired by The Hardy Boys.

How did you come up with your idea for your latest book – The Many Misfortunes of Eugenia Wang?

SY: The idea for my book was rooted in a challenge to myself to write and illustrate a comic that actually scared me. Despite the storied history of horror in comics, they never seemed to scare me the same way that movies and novels did. I thought there had to be a way, and I was going to find it. 

The Chinese cultural aspects of it didn’t appear in the story at the beginning, but as I began reading more and more books by Chinese-American kidlit authors like Andrea Wang, Grace Lin, Kelly Yang, and Lisa Yee, I began to realize I’d been AVOIDING putting the Chinese part of myself into my stories for some reason. So, in one of my rewrites, I started mining my own family history and superstitions I’d learned along the way.

JS: At the beginning of my writing journey, I also avoided putting myself into my stories. I ended up writing a lot of science fiction and fantasy. When I started writing stories for my students to read, I ended up putting their experiences into the stories. In the end, their experiences and my experiences blended together. Now I write stories about Chinese culture, STEAM, and the environment.

SY: I love that your students were able to teach you a little something about writing.

Did you learn Chinese when you were growing up? How?

SY: I did learn a few household words growing up, just from conversing with my parents. Mostly food words, mahjong words, and words that were for scolding me. It was difficult, living in suburban Denver retaining this language however, since I never spoke it outside of the house. To make matters even more difficult, I didn’t realize until I was about 15 years old that my mom’s family and my dad’s family spoke different dialects!

JS: I love how you included Chinglish in your story. When I was growing up, I didn’t know my mom was speaking Chinglish. For many years I thought that a fanny pack was called a U-pack because U (腰) was really the Chinese word for waist. 

I love how you mention the need for representation in children’s literature. What was the first book you read that featured a protagonist like you?

SY: While WATERCRESS, written by Andrea Wang and illustrated by Jason Chin was the first picture book with a Chinese protagonist that looked and shared life experiences like me, I think it was her middle grade novel, THE MANY MEANINGS OF MEILAN which really struck a cord with me most and made me feel seen.

JS: There weren’t many children’s books with Chinese characters when I was growing up, which was why I ended up watching so many Chinese dramas. But I love reading Drawn Together and Eyes that Kiss in the Corners.

What is a recent book you have read that you recommend?

SY: Well, you can’t go wrong with Kelly Yang, and especially her Front Desk series. So, when she came out with Chef’s Secret (Front Desk #6), which shifted the protagonist to the antagonist from the first book, Jason. I was so excited to read this. He is such a flawed character, it’s nice to dig a little deeper into his life and find out what makes him tick. I honestly think this might be the best book in the series (but I’m probably not objective having read all of the rest in advance vs. reading this in a vacuum).

JS: I’m in the middle of Lisa Yee’s Misfits: A Royal Conundrum. It’s definitely a good one. Another favorite is the City Spies series by James Ponti.

Has any of your books won an award?

SY: So far, The Many Misfortunes of Eugenia Wang has been chosen as a 2025 Junior Library Guild Selection, which is an amazing honor for a debut author. Since my pub date isn’t until late September, my book hasn’t been in the running for most of the awards yet, so I guess we’ll see!

JS: Congratulations on winning. Hopefully the award will help more readers find your book.

SY: Well, by virtue of the selection, there will be over 3000 more copies of my book sent to subscribing libraries, so it should definitely help.

Where can readers go to learn more about you and follow your journey?

SY: They can learn more about my journey, what’s happening now, and read and watch some fun stuff by subscribing to my newsletter at substack.com/@zombicatures

How can people best support the release of this book?

SY: Find out easy ways to support this book at my Team Misfortune page at stanyan.me/team-misfortune and get freebies on my pub date and monthly chances to win merch or a school visit! 

JS: I have already signed up. You can also check out Stan’s new book at EugeniaWangComic.com 

What are some upcoming projects you are working on?

SY: I’m currently scripting out my next graphic novel (unannounced at this point). It exists in a creepy setting, but I would argue it’s more of a comedic mystery than anything else. If you’d like a hint about the world of this story, check out my weekly webcomic at salemcharteracademy.com

JS: Looking forward to your next graphic novel.

SY: I hope you’re patient. It’ll take a couple of years. I just finished the script, and it’s 331 pages as currently constituted (I’m sure my editor will trim it down). That’s going to be a lot of work to draw.

What tips do you have for author/illustrators?

SY: My biggest tip is to read a lot in the genres you want to write for. And read recent releases within the last 5 years, so you know what publishers are buying. Whether or not you want to pursue traditional publishing, also write what you’re passionate about, since the only guarantee there is in our craft is you will spend a lot of time creating your work. If the process isn’t rewarding on its own, it really doesn’t matter whether your book sells or not, and it probably won’t because that will show through in your work. Don’t get me wrong, it’ll be a lot of work even if you’re passionate about it, but your passion is what could sell AND will fill your soul.

Read the first half of the interview with Stan Yan here.