An Na
Encyclopedia
An Na is an American
author
of children's literature
. Like most authors, she was a fervent reader as a child. She eventually became a middle school English and History teacher. She turned to writing novels after taking a young adult literature class while enrolled in a M.F.A. program at Vermont College. She struck gold with her very first novel A Step From Heaven
, which won the Michael L. Printz Award
for excellence in young adult literature. The novel became a finalist for the National Book Award, and later found its way onto numerous "best book" lists.
An Na still makes frequent visits to middle schools to talk about her book. She tries to reach young Asian-American students to encourage them to become artists and other creative endeavors.
An Na considers Frank McCourt's
Angela's Ashes
and Sandra Cisneros's
The House on Mango Street
among the influences on her writing and also admires the work of Madeleine L'Engle
and of her first writing teacher, Jacqueline Woodson
.
She was born in Korea.
She currently divides her time between Oakland, California and Warren, Vermont.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
of children's literature
Children's literature
Children's literature is for readers and listeners up to about age twelve; it is often defined in four different ways: books written by children, books written for children, books chosen by children, or books chosen for children. It is often illustrated. The term is used in senses which sometimes...
. Like most authors, she was a fervent reader as a child. She eventually became a middle school English and History teacher. She turned to writing novels after taking a young adult literature class while enrolled in a M.F.A. program at Vermont College. She struck gold with her very first novel A Step From Heaven
A Step From Heaven
A Step From Heaven is the first novel by An Na, published in 2001 by Front Street Press. It won the 2002 Michael L. Printz Award from the American Library Association.-Summary:...
, which won the Michael L. Printz Award
Michael L. Printz Award
The Michael L. Printz Award is an annual award in the United States for a book that exemplifies literary excellence in young adult literature. It is named for a school librarian from Topeka, Kansas, who was a long-time active member of the Young Adult Library Services Association...
for excellence in young adult literature. The novel became a finalist for the National Book Award, and later found its way onto numerous "best book" lists.
An Na still makes frequent visits to middle schools to talk about her book. She tries to reach young Asian-American students to encourage them to become artists and other creative endeavors.
An Na considers Frank McCourt's
Frank McCourt
Francis "Frank" McCourt was an Irish-American teacher and Pulitzer Prize–winning writer, best known as the author of Angela’s Ashes, an award-winning, tragicomic memoir of the misery and squalor of his childhood....
Angela's Ashes
Angela's Ashes
Angela's Ashes is a 1996 memoir by the Irish-American author Frank McCourt. The memoir consists of various anecdotes and stories of Frank McCourt's impoverished childhood and early adulthood in Brooklyn, New York and Limerick, Ireland, as well as McCourt's struggles with poverty, his father's...
and Sandra Cisneros's
Sandra Cisneros
Sandra Cisneros is an American writer best known for her acclaimed first novel The House on Mango Street and her subsequent short story collection Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories...
The House on Mango Street
The House on Mango Street
The House on Mango Street is a coming-of-age novel by Mexican-American writer Sandra Cisneros, published in 1984. It deals with a young Latina girl, Esperanza Cordero, growing up in Chicago with Chicanos and Puerto Ricans. Esperanza is determined to "say goodbye" to her impoverished Latino...
among the influences on her writing and also admires the work of Madeleine L'Engle
Madeleine L'Engle
Madeleine L'Engle was an American writer best known for her young-adult fiction, particularly the Newbery Medal-winning A Wrinkle in Time and its sequels A Wind in the Door, A Swiftly Tilting Planet, Many Waters, and An Acceptable Time...
and of her first writing teacher, Jacqueline Woodson
Jacqueline Woodson
Jacqueline Woodson is an American author who writes books targeted at children and adolescents. She is best known for 'Miracle's Boys' which won the Coretta Scott King Award in 2001 and her Newbery Honor titles 'After Tupac & D Foster', 'Feathers' and 'Show Way'...
.
She was born in Korea.
She currently divides her time between Oakland, California and Warren, Vermont.