An Na (born 1972) is a South Korea-born American children's book author. She gained success with her first novel '' A Step From Heaven'', published by Front Street Press in 2001, which won the annual Michael L. Printz Award from the American Library Association recognizing the year's "best book written for teens, based entirely on its literary merit". It was also a finalist for the National Book Award, Young People's Literature, and later found its way onto numerous "best book" lists.

Life

Na grew up in San Diego, California, and has a Bachelor of Arts from

Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zephaniah Swift Moore, Amherst is the third oldest institution of higher educatio ...

. Starting her career as a middle school English and History teacher, Na turned to writing novels after taking a young adult literature class while enrolled in an M.F.A. program at Vermont College of Fine Arts. She divides her time between Oakland, California and Warren, Vermont, and makes frequent visits to middle schools to talk about her works and encourages young

Asian-American Asian Americans are Americans of Asian ancestry (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of such immigrants). Although this term had historically been used for all the indigenous people ...

students to become artists and harness their creativity.

Influences

Na cites Frank McCourt's '' Angela's Ashes'' and Sandra Cisneros's ''

The House on Mango Street ''The House on Mango Street'' is a 1984 novel by Mexican-American author Sandra Cisneros. Structured as a series of vignettes, it tells the story of Esperanza Cordero, a 12-year-old Chicana girl growing up in the Hispanic quarter of Chicago. Based ...

'' among the influences on her writing and also admires the work of

Madeleine L'Engle Madeleine L'Engle DStJ (; November 29, 1918 – September 6, 2007) was an American writer of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and young adult fiction, including ''A Wrinkle in Time'' and its sequels: ''A Wind in the Door'', ''A Swiftly Tilting Plan ...

and of her first writing teacher, Jacqueline Woodson.

Works

* '' A Step From Heaven'' (2001) * ''Wait For Me'' (2006) * '' The Fold'' (2008) * ''Akbar : The Great Emperor of India'' * ''The Place Between Breaths'' (2018)

References

Teaching Multicultural Literature, Workshop 4, Authors and Literary Works, Biography

External links

*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Na, An 1972 births American children's writers American writers of Korean descent Michael L. Printz Award winners Amherst College alumni Vermont College of Fine Arts alumni Living people Date of birth missing (living people) People from Washington County, Vermont Writers from Oakland, California American writers of young adult literature American women children's writers 21st-century American women writers 21st-century American novelists

Life

Influences

Works

See also

References

External links