SESSION 1 (11AM ET):
THE CREATIVE LIFE
GENE LUEN YANG AND MARK SIEGEL
GENE LUEN YANG AND MARK SIEGEL
Join bestselling author Gene Luen Yang (DRAGON HOOPS) and First Second Creative Director Mark Siegel as they discuss the creative process, focusing on how they brainstorm ideas for new projects.
SESSION 1 (11AM ET):
THE CREATIVE LIFE
GENE LUEN YANG AND MARK SIEGEL
Gene Luen Yang
Mark Siegel
:01 Editorial & Creative Director
Gene Luen Yang writes, and sometimes draws, comic books and graphic novels. American Born Chinese, his first graphic novel from First Second, was a winner of the Printz Award. His two-volume graphic novel Boxers & Saints won the LA Times Book Prize. His other works include Secret Coders (with Mike Holmes), The Shadow Hero (with Sonny Liew), New Super-Man from DC Comics (with various artists), and the Avatar: The Last Airbender series from Dark Horse Comics (with Gurihiru). He was the fifth National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature and in 2016 he was named a MacArthur Foundation Fellow.
Gene Luen Yang writes, and sometimes draws, comic books and graphic novels. American Born Chinese, his first graphic novel from First Second, was a winner of the Printz Award. His two-volume graphic novel Boxers & Saints won the LA Times Book Prize. His other works include Secret Coders (with Mike Holmes), The Shadow Hero (with Sonny Liew), New Super-Man from DC Comics (with various artists), and the Avatar: The Last Airbender series from Dark Horse Comics (with Gurihiru). He was the fifth National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature and in 2016 he was named a MacArthur Foundation Fellow
In his latest graphic novel, Dragon Hoops, New York Times bestselling author Gene Luen Yang turns the spotlight on his life, his family, and the high school where he teaches.
Gene understands stories—comic book stories, in particular. Big action. Bigger thrills. And the hero always wins.
But Gene doesn’t get sports. As a kid, his friends called him “Stick” and every basketball game he played ended in pain. He lost interest in basketball long ago, but at the high school where he now teaches, it’s all anyone can talk about. The men’s varsity team, the Dragons, is having a phenomenal season that’s been decades in the making. Each victory brings them closer to their ultimate goal: the California State Championships.
Once Gene gets to know these young all-stars, he realizes that their story is just as thrilling as anything he’s seen on a comic book page. He knows he has to follow this epic to its end. What he doesn’t know yet is that this season is not only going to change the Dragons’s lives, but his own life as well.