this one summer by mariko and jillian tamaki

Some of your books are frequently challenged. As a curator, looking at what kinds of stories queer creators want to tell and how they choose to tell them gives me a glimpse of what queer comics are and can be.īook challenges are making the news again, with a particular focus on those that address race and queer experiences. Our first book, Lifetime Passes, by Terry Blas and Claudia Aguirre, is a hard candy shell covering a sweet story, and it is so different from our second-the very complex and compelling story that is Flung Out of Space, by Grace Ellis and Hannah Templer.

What are your hopes for the imprint? I hope the legacy of this imprint is incredible work by diverse artists and writers whom I have learned so much from. You recently became curator of Abrams’s Surely Books imprint, which focuses on bringing more LGBTQIA voices into comics. Which is maybe why I write such short novels. The difference between novels and comics is that with novels, there’s such a density of things to keep track of. My main job as the writer is to make sense and then to be as supportive as possible while the illustrator does the heavy lifting. A graphic novel is a creative work created by two people. I have been fortunate to work with amazing illustrators, colorists, and letterers, not to mention incredible editors who have labored with me on both comics scripts and prose books.

How does it compare with the process of writing alone? All writing involves collaboration. A lot of things I write start off as a test of myself and then turn into a full-on obsession.Ĭollaboration is a big part of creating graphic novels and comics. After a few years of writing superhero comics and working on the “ticking clock” in that medium, I thought it would be interesting to do that in a novel.

What drew you to writing your first murder mystery? I’ve always loved reading mysteries, but the element of suspense wasn’t something I had ever focused on in prose. Your new book, Cold, is about two teenagers: the ghost of a boy and a girl who wants to solve his murder. Tamaki took some time after her session at January’s LibLearnX conference to talk with American Libraries about her latest book Cold (Roaring Brook Press, February), her new comics imprint Surely Books, and what it’s like having her works contested. Her unflinching approach to telling these stories has also landed her books on challenge lists. Printz Award and a Caldecott Honor for This One Summer (illustrated by Jillian Tamaki) and Eisner Awards for Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me (illustrated by Rosemary Valero-O’Connell). Mariko Tamaki’s skill at portraying the queer teenage experience has earned her many awards, including the Michael L.

This one summer by mariko and jillian tamaki