Gene Yang’s excellent American Born Chinese (First Second) is a finalist for a National Book Award in the Young People’s Literature category. The New York Times (free registration required) confirms that the book is the first graphic novel ever to be nominated.
This makes me really happy, because the book is excellent. It’s already been nominated for the American Library Association’s list of Great Graphic Novels for Teens, but this kind of recognition is sure to put it on the radar of even more librarians and booksellers, and that’s all to the good. It’s an added bonus that the book comes from First Second, because they really seem to sincerely love every book they publish, and to lavish attention and care on them as a result.
Here are some of the reviews for American Born Chinese:
- Kevin Church at BeaucoupKevin
- Rob Clough at Sequart.com
- Dirk Deppey at tcj.com
- Shawn Hoke at Comic World News
- Jog – the Blog
- Randy Lander at Comic Pants
- Jeff Lester at Savage Critics
- Greg McElhatton at Read About Comics
- Graeme McMillan at Savage Critics
- Renee’s Book of the Day
- Me, here
- And a number of others at First Second’s site
In other award news, I share Brigid’s limited enthusiasm for the Quill Award given to Naruto Vol. 7. But look at the awards program’s guiding principles:
“The Quill Awards pair a populist sensibility with Hollywood-style glitz and have become the first literary prizes to reflect the tastes of the group that matters most in publishing-readers.”
So they’re roughly equivalent to the People’s Choice Awards or the ones Wizard gives out, and I don’t really expect Alison Bechdel to win one of those, either. Plus, just being nominated in the category is bound to give the other books a bump.
Reed Business Information, sponsor of the Quills, is the parent company of Publishers Weekly.