Emily X.R. Pan is a New York Times Bestselling American author of young adult fiction, best known for her debut novel The Astonishing Color of After.

Emily X.R. Pan
BornIllinois, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Alma materNew York University Stern School of Business
GenreYoung adult fiction
Years active2017–present
Notable worksThe Astonishing Color of After
Notable awards2017 Asian/Pacific American Award for Young Adult Literature
Website
exrpan.com

Personal life

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Pan was born in Illinois and is the only child of Taiwanese parents who immigrated to the United States.[1] Her father is a professor at The College of New Jersey and her mother is a piano and guzheng teacher.[1]

She attempted to write her first novel in second grade and ultimately finished her first novel for a sixth grade assignment at school.[1] By 15, she was querying literary agents to pursue publication.[1] Pan studied International Marketing at NYU Stern, where she graduated a semester early.[1] After graduation, she worked in digital advertising before getting accepted into NYU's Creative Writing program, where she became editor-in-chief at the Washington Square Review.[1] In 2010, while in grad school, she developed the idea for what would become her debut novel and kept rewriting and putting it aside in favor of different manuscripts.[1][2]

She lives in Brooklyn, New York.[3]

Career

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Pan's debut novel, The Astonishing Color of After, was published by Little, Brown in March 2018 and debuted on the New York Times Bestseller List at #10.[4] The novel follows 15-year old Leigh, who deals with her mother's recent death by suicide through traveling to Taiwan and meeting her maternal grandparents.[5] Believing that her mother has been turned into a great red bird, she tries to find clues in her family history to uncover her mother's secrets.[6]

Pan wrote the novel as a tribute to her grandmother, inspired by her life in colonial Taiwan.[7] Originally it was planned to be historical fiction, set in 1927, and span over 40 years of a Taiwanese woman's life, but Pan ultimately opted for a contemporary setting.[7][2] To write the novel, Pan traveled to Taiwan for research, and rewrote the novel over a period of seven years.[8][2]

Together with fellow author Nova Ren Suma, Pan is the co-founder of Foreshadow: A Serial Anthology, a monthly online anthology for young adult short stories, which was realized via the crowdfunding site Indiegogo in August 2018.[9]

Her second novel, An Arrow to the Moon, was released in April 2022. It was named to NPR's Best Books of 2022 and The Horn Book's Fanfare list of the best of 2022, and was a 2023 Locus Award Finalist.[10][11]

Awards

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Won

Nominated

Bibliography

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  • An Arrow to the Moon, 2022
  • Foreshadow: Stories to Celebrate the Magic of Reading and Writing YA
  • The Astonishing Color of After, 2018

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Young adult novelist Emily X. R. Pan visits Timberlane students". Community News. 2018-11-28. Retrieved 2019-04-10.
  2. ^ a b c Diaz, Shelley. "Emily X.R. Pan On Grief, Mental Health, & Her YA Debut "The Astonishing Color of After"". School Library Journal. Retrieved 2019-04-10.
  3. ^ "About | Emily X.R. Pan". Retrieved 2019-08-09.
  4. ^ "Young Adult Hardcover Books - Best Sellers - April 8, 2018 - The New York Times". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-04-10.
  5. ^ "Colleen Mondor Reviews The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X.R. Pan". Locus Online. 2018-11-01. Retrieved 2019-04-10.
  6. ^ "Children's Book Review: The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X.R. Pan. Little, Brown, $18.99 (480p) ISBN 978-0-316-46399-7". www.publishersweekly.com. Retrieved 2019-04-10.
  7. ^ a b Leona (2018-09-26). "An Interview with Emily X.R. Pan, The Astonishing Color of After". TaiwaneseAmerican.org. Retrieved 2019-04-10.
  8. ^ Aguirre, Natalie. "EMILY X.R. PAN INTERVIEW AND THE ASTONISHING COLOR OF AFTER GIVEAWAY". Retrieved 2019-04-10.
  9. ^ "FORESHADOW: A Serial YA Anthology". FORESHADOW. Retrieved 2019-04-10.
  10. ^ Book, Horn. "Fanfare 2022 Booklist". The Horn Book. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
  11. ^ locusmag (2023-04-28). "2023 Locus Awards Top Ten Finalists". Locus Online. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
  12. ^ "2019 Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature Winners Selected » Asian Pacific American Librarians Association". Asian Pacific American Librarians Association. 2019-01-28. Retrieved 2019-04-10.
  13. ^ "WNDB Announces the 2019 Walter Award Winners & Honorees!". We Need Diverse Books. 2019-01-14. Retrieved 2021-07-03.
  14. ^ "Lincoln Award: Illinois Teen Readers' Choice 2020 Master List" (PDF). AISLE. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
  15. ^ Schaub, Michael (20 February 2019). "L.A. Times Book Prize finalists include Michelle Obama and Susan Orlean; Terry Tempest Williams receives lifetime achievement award". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2019-04-10.
  16. ^ "Announcing the Goodreads Choice Winner in Best Young Adult Fiction!". Goodreads. Retrieved 2019-04-10.