When chosen by the Library of Congress to be the 2016 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, Gene Luen Yang’s platform was “Reading without walls”, by which he hoped to encourage young readers to expand their literary horizons, whether that involves reading about characters with whom identification is not immediate, about topics that are challenging, or stories that are presented in an unfamiliar format. Many of Yang’s graphic novels (most of which are aimed at a young adult audience) have, in one way or another, encouraged its readers to question and look beyond whatever might be perceived as boundaries.
Born in 1973 to Chinese Catholic immigrant parents, Gene Luen Yang grew up in California and attended the University of California, Berkeley, where he studied
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Citation: Larsson, Christer. "Gene Luen Yang". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 24 June 2024 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=15213, accessed 13 December 2024.]