I grew up in Hawaii, steeped in a community shaped by the cultures of Asia and the Pacific. 19th and 20th century Hawaiian history is marked by of successive waves of immigration, as people came from China, Japan, the Philippines, Portugal, and elsewhere, primarily to work in the sugar plantations. Those cultures influenced everything, from fashion to food to architecture to language to holidays celebrated in Hawaii. Coming from that background, it is not surprising that Asian and Pacific cultures are important to me. Seeing as how I’m a librarian, you also won’t be shocked to learn that Asian/Pacific Islander Literature is something I value, and something I want to raise awareness about.
You’re the sort of person who reads a library blog, so you probably know about the biggest annual literary awards: the Nobel Prize for Literature, the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, the Booker Prize, and the Printz, Newbery, and Caldecott Medals. If you’re a fan of a particular genre you may be in the habit of tuning in to the Hugo, Edgar, or Spur Awards. Sometimes awards have a specific focus honoring works that feature people or stories that are not as commonly found in the literary landscape as others.
An award can also boost sales, which encourages publishers to invest in future works by authors telling those kinds of stories. We’re all better off when a wide variety of books are available, so that’s a win for everyone.
One award that you might not know about is the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature (APAAL), given each year since 2001 to honor and recognize “individual works by Asian/Pacific American authors that highlight Asian/Pacific American cultures and experiences.” Since we’re coming up on Asian American/Pacific Islander Heritage Month in May, it is a great time to draw some attention this award and the books, authors, and illustrators it honors.
Like the National Book Award, the APAAL is given in several categories and has a winner and often at least one honor book in each category. They highlight Adult Fiction, Adult Non-fiction, Young Adult Literature, Children’s Literature, and Picture Books. Their list of past honorees includes well-known names like Gene Luen Yang, LeUyen Pham, Linda Sue Park, George Takei, Dan Santat, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Lisa See, Amy Tan, Ruth Ozeki, and Jhumpa Lahiri, along with many others whose names are worth learning.
This year’s winners include:
Same Bed, Different Dreams by Ed Park, the Adult Fiction winner, is described on the award site as, “A hypnotic blend of genres and timelines, this novel offers an immersive dive into Korea’s turbulent history, contemporary American culture, and our tech-obsessed lives. Park envisions a reality in which the Korean Provisional Government still exists and links an unfinished KPG manuscript in disparate hands. His masterful weaving of divergent lives and alternate histories culminates in a surreal conclusion that will astonish readers. This metafiction defies conventions and captures our zeitgeist splendidly.”
Loud: Accept Nothing Less Than the Life You Deserve by Drew Afualo, was named the Adult Non-fiction winner. The awards committee says, “Drew Afualo’s Loud seamlessly weaves stories of her life experiences and personal philosophies through a series of bold vignettes and anecdotes. Imbued with humor and feminist insights, her memoir brings together her proud identity as a Samoan woman, and the interplay between it and her family, career, and relationships.”
Everything We Never Had by Randy Ribay, winner for Young Adult Literature, is described as, “Grounded in a century of historical events and climates in the Philippines and the United States, this intergenerational story is told from the perspectives of four generations of Filipino American teenage boys as they navigate their identities, dreams, and familial relationships. Through strong characterization and historical placement, Ribay tackles generational trauma, mental health, and toxic masculinity in families as well as interrogates structural issues of immigration, racism, and class to create a deeply powerful and emotional narrative of family and hope.”
Continental Drifter by Kathy MacLeod was names the Children’ Literature winner. On the award site, it says, “With a Thai mother and American father, Kathy belongs to two different worlds. Kathy and her family live in Bangkok, Thailand and are counting down the days until their summer vacation in her father’s hometown in Maine. Kathy loves the idyllic beauty of Maine, but she doesn’t look like the other kids at summer camp and has a hard time blending in. She misses parts of her life in Thailand. Kathy yearns to find a place to truly belong and isn’t sure if that’s in Thailand, Maine or simply anywhere. This heartfelt story tells the tale of a young girl searching for connections, identity and belonging while drifting and trying to find a home. Kathy’s struggles resonate with many of us caught between two worlds.”
Aloha Everything by Kaylin Melia George, illustrated by Mae Waite, is the winner in the Picture Book category and one of my favorite picture book discoveries of last year. The award committee says, “Through the medium of hula, a young girl learns the true meaning of aloha. Verses richly interspersed with the Hawaiian language and lush, eye-catching illustrations honor the beauty and vitality of the Hawaiian people, history, ecology, and folklore.” I’d add that it is a wonderful book for anyone interested in understanding the spiritual and cultural significance of hula.
I want to add one more recommendation, just because I loved it so much. One of the APAAL Honor books this year is a graphic novel called Lunar New Year Love Story by Gene Luen Yang and LeUyen Pham, both of whom are widely honored and beloved creators in the fields of comics and illustration. I am used to seeing Pham’s work in the Princess in Black series, which is bright and cute and intended for elementary school children, so it was a great pleasure to see her branching out into more complex illustrations with a richer color scheme and a plot for older readers. Yang’s writing and Pham’s illustrations come together beautifully to tell a story about love and fate in the lives of Chinese, Vietnamese, and Korean American teens. It’s marketed as YA, but I’d recommend it for anyone ages 14 and up.
If you’ve been wanting to read more books by AAPI authors, any of those would be a great place to start. If you’d like even more suggestions, there are more than twenty years of APAAL winners and honor books to choose from. On top of that, JCLS staff have put together a list of the books by AAPI creators we’re most excited to share, this month and always. With all these recommendations, you’ll be in good hands as you dig into the varied world of Asian American/Pacific Islander literature.