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Nicola Yoon

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Nicola Yoon
Yoon in 2022
Born1972 (age 51–52)
NationalityAmerican
Alma materCornell University
Emerson College
OccupationAuthor
Notable workEverything, Everything
The Sun Is Also a Star
SpouseDavid Yoon
Websitenicolayoon.com

Nicola Yoon /ˈnɪkələ/ (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

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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

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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 and received the John Steptoe Award for New Talent in 2017.[18] In December 2016, it was announced that film rights to the book had been acquired by Warner Brothers and MGM.[19] The movie, directed by Ry Russo-Young, and starring Yara Shahidi and Charles Melton, was released on May 17, 2019.[20]

Yoon is associated with the We Need Diverse Books organization, which promotes the representation of diversity in literature.[9][21][22]

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.[23] More recently, she signed a deal with Anonymous Content, with David Yoon.[24]

Personal life

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Yoon lives in Los Angeles, California, with her husband, author David Yoon, and their daughter.[2][3]

Works

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  • Everything, Everything. Delacorte Press. 2015. ISBN 9780553496642.
  • The Sun Is Also a Star. Delacorte Press. 2016. ISBN 9780553496680. Winner of the 2017 John Steptoe Award for New Talent.[25]
  • Blackout. Quill Tree Books. 2021. ISBN 978-0063088092. (co-authored with Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Ashley Woodfolk, and Angie Thomas[26])
  • Instructions for Dancing. Delacorte Press. 2021. ISBN 978-1524718961
  • One of Our Kind. Penguin Random House. 2024. ISBN 9780593470671[27]

References

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  1. ^ "Yoon, Nicola". Linked Data Service. Library of Congress. Retrieved November 23, 2023.
  2. ^ a b Yoon, Nicola. "Bio". nicola yoon. Retrieved 2022-01-27.
  3. ^ a b de Botton, Gen (October 2, 2015). "An Indies Introduce Q&A With Nicola Yoon". American Booksellers Association. Retrieved August 19, 2017.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ Bell, Amanda (September 3, 2015). "Meet Nicola Yoon, Whose Book Is Gonna Be Your 'Everything Everything' Soon Enough". MTV.com. Archived from the original on September 4, 2015. Retrieved August 19, 2017.
  7. ^ a b c d Freitas, Donna (December 11, 2015). "Fall 2015 Flying Starts: Nicola Yoon". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved August 19, 2017.
  8. ^ Diaz, Shelley (August 31, 2015). "Nicola Yoon Spills "Everything, Everything" About Her YA Debut". School Library Journal. Retrieved August 19, 2017.
  9. ^ a b Franklin, MJ (August 26, 2015). "YA author Nicola Yoon on diversity and her new novel, 'Everything, Everything'". Mashable. Retrieved August 19, 2017.
  10. ^ "Young Adult Hardcover". The New York Times. September 20, 2015. Retrieved August 19, 2015.
  11. ^ Dash, Danielle (April 24, 2017). "'Everything, Everything' Author Nicola Yoon on Casting Amandla Stenberg for the Movie". Teen Vogue. Retrieved August 19, 2017.
  12. ^ Linden, Sheri (May 18, 2017). "'Everything, Everything': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 19, 2017.
  13. ^ "Young Adult Hardcover". The New York Times. January 15, 2017. Retrieved August 19, 2017.
  14. ^ "The Sun Is Also a Star". National Book Foundation. Retrieved August 19, 2017.
  15. ^ "Notable Children's Books of 2016". The New York Times. November 23, 2016. Retrieved August 19, 2017.
  16. ^ Jordan, Tina; Greenblatt, Leah; Biedenharn, Isabella; Serrao, Nivea (December 20, 2016). "EW's Best Books of 2016". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on August 19, 2017. Retrieved August 19, 2017.
  17. ^ Kellogg, Carolyn (December 16, 2016). "The 10 most important books of 2016". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 19, 2017.
  18. ^ "Coretta Scott King Book Awards - All Recipients, 1970-Present | Coretta Scott King Roundtable". www.ala.org. Retrieved 2024-10-25.
  19. ^ 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.
  20. ^ "Your 2019 Literary Adaptation Preview". Literary Hub. 2018-12-17. Retrieved 2018-12-17.
  21. ^ 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.
  22. ^ "The Glimmering Sheen Of A Wide World Seen From Inside A Bubble". NPR. August 30, 2015. Retrieved August 19, 2017.
  23. ^ Shannon Maughan (28 April 2016). "Bloomsbury Anthology Pairs YA Authors and Booktubers". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  24. ^ 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.
  25. ^ "Coretta Scott King Book Awards - All Recipients, 1970-Present". ALA-EMIERT. 5 April 2012. Retrieved 2018-12-22.
  26. ^ 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.
  27. ^ Anders, Charlie Jane (June 19, 2024). "June's science fiction and fantasy books pack a mighty punch". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 22, 2024.
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