Hey Jamie

THE WRAP UP!

Yes, that's means that I'll leave you all alone after this. 😜

I got to spend time IRL with my editor Phoebe Yeh. She also edits the incredible work of so many brilliant minds like Nic Stone, Jumata Emill, Patricia Park, Ellen Oh, Mahogany Browne, Jason Raynolds… the list goes on and on—basically, she’s a literary icon. 🤩

Everytime I meet Angeline Boulley I am stunned by her kindness. We met on a panel three years ago and she has been connecting and uplifting me ever since. Her blurb for Mermaid is 🥹🥹🥹.

Old friends and new, NCTE is the place where so many of my heros become my friends. There’s is a particular kind of magic at work here, shaped by an atmosphere of community. 🫶🏻

Y’all, evenings at NCTE are something completely else…it is here that I learned some authors *ahem Minh* do NOT sleep. And if you’re willing to tumble down a rabbit hole, you never know where you might end up. Thanks Pablo for taking us to an awesome drag show at Hamberger Mary’s . There’s nothing that bonds a group together like being in the presence of Queens!

ANNNNDD That’s a WRAP on NCTE 2025. Love to all!

Hidden Histories @ NCTE 2025

Jennifer Buehler moderates the BEST panels. She is so thoughtful and intentional about connecting the books to each other so it’s no surprise that I connected with my fellow panelists so deeply. 🥹 This panel intersected both fiction and non-fiction stories, highlighting how easily they could be in conversation with one another.

Did I photoshop Libba Bray into this picture? Yes. Yes, I did! 🤣 She had a flight to catch, so she zipped off before we could grab a photo, but I wanted to include her!

Wow y’all. I was BLOWN away by this panel. 😍

Ann Bausum—While our books discuss wildly different conflicts, there are also SO many parallels. One of them can be found in the very title of her book: How the South Lost the War, then Rewrote history. Well, America lost in Vietnam and did the same thing (at least in America).

Libba Bray—Listening to Libba describe Under the Same Stars, gave me chills. This epic journey spans three different time periods to show how teens have always been at the forefront of resisting facist and genocidal regimes. Sounds dark right? Except all I heard was hope. And that desire to extract hope from pain is what I hope my books do too!

Deborah Heiligman—When Deborah spoke about Emma I felt her touch my soul. Emma’s push or equality and the true American Dream was revolutionary for her time and sparked a movement that ripples clear through to today. I loved hearing about how Emma was absolutely afraid during her activism and she pushed through that fear—how real.

Our panel time blew by because the discussions were rich, layered, and revelant. I said this at the panel (based on goodgle stalking) and I’m even more certain of it now, “What an honor it was to present alongside legends.” Their work and energy inspires me as I’m sure it’s inspires others and I feel so genuinely lucky to be able to call these ladies my friends.

Thank you to everyone who came.

🤍💚FRIENDS💚🤍

I have SO many thoughts. Bare with me.

Minh Lê—My first author champion. He read a bound version of my manuscript without knowing a thing about me and wrote the most beautiful blurb. Tired as hell, I’m sure, he stayed up SO late to meet me in Austin, Texas and then brought me into what I consider my NCTE family. For someone who railed against being Vietnamese for so long, it’s hard to describe how it feels to be so fully embraced in this way. DRAWN TOGETHER showed me how our micro experiences had universal impact and two days ago REAL TO ME brought me to tears. I bow your greatness.

Trung Le Nguyen—I fell in love with MAGIC FISH because it unfolded a history and beauty that was priviously unknown to me. I was so moved that I immediate bought copies for all my nieces and nephews. With ANGELICA AND THE BEAR PRINCE out now, y’all know what you’re getting for Christmas.

Mahogany L. Browne—I found CHLORINE SKY at an intersection of my life that was raw and I found empowerment. I needed this story like I needed THE BLUEST EYE when I was a teenager. The fullness of her heart is felt in her hugs and the strength of her voice carries through her spoken words.

Patricia Park— I have IMPOSTER SYNDROME too! We share so many similiar experiences that it’s SO validating to read your books. I can only imagine what they’re doing for teens.

Angel Gee-Kay—I think you might be my biggest fan (now friend) and I am ridiculously grateful. Knowing that you’re a teacher makes me feel better about the world we live in. I hope that animal made it home safely!

Leah Werther—An educator extraordinaire! Your work is vital to our communities and it was such a joy to hear you talk about how you implement author’s stories into classroom activiites.

Skye Oh—You are your mother’s daughter. I LOVED getting to spend time with you! Having grown up in lower income areas, I know the challenges you face as a teacher. I also know how impactful my good teachers were. Thanks for fighting the good fight friend! I hope we get to do this again soon!

Am I done? Nope. More to come folks!

What a JOY running into and getting to hang out with Tony Weaver Jr., Yesenia Moises and Derrick Barnes! These ALL STARS were so kind, so generous and so brilliant. I enjoyed every minute of our conversation!

Y’all, I learned SO much from this group of taleneted educators and authors. Shout out to my partner Tien Pham for setting the stage and pulling text from my work to talk about. I LOVED hearing about his teaching methodology—I wish I’d had you as my teacher in HS! If you’re near him, ask him to show you his notebook, it’s notes, but really it’s a work of art.

I loved seeing how Leah, Diana, Grace, and Kevin used and incorporated these books in their classroom exercises AND all the cool results of those lessons.

Initially, I was SO bummed that Minh Lê couldn’t make it to the panel because his flight arrived later in the day BUT as I was staring at his work on Green Lantern I thought, “Actually it’s good he’s not here because then I won’t be overshadowed by his fame.” My ego began to bloom, my head physically grew larger, and I was feeling really full of myself when SUDDENLY he BURSTS into the room, like a FLYING SUPERHERO and my ego was torn from it’s binding, crumpled into a ball and tossed into the trash.

And THEN, he has the audacity to me—ME! the dead inside, feelingless creature that trauma-writing has created—cry. REAL TO ME is so real, y’all. Damn you Minh Lê!

Teachers are the backbone of community,
they impart lessons big and small,
teach kindness, awareness, history, science and math.
What an honor it is to be among y’all for a few days at the largest teacher conference in the country.

Let’s do this . Let’s inspire our youth to do better than we have. ☮️

Thank you Decatur Book Festival!

Vania - thank you for organizing or panel by making a space for us to answer your thoughtful questions. What an honor to converse beside TWO National Book Award finalists and ! I have never been more present in a panel and I learned so much.

It was also such a joy to finally get to meet my publicist Joey Ho IRL for the first time!

Decatur—what a beautiful and welcoming town filled with book lovers. 👊🏻 to all the volunteers.

I hope we get to meet again. ✌️🏻

Thanks you also for the mini tour and many conversations on writing.

MERMAID 🧜‍♀️ Launches into a sea of LOVE!

So many people came together to make this evening special.

Thank you to:
💙 Blue Willow Bookshop for hosting us like family.
💐 Phuong Ha, my sister from another mother. Your thoughtfulness and reflection make for easy conversation.
🫶🏻 My friends and family who traveled from the west coast to clap and cheer me on!
🤠 My Texas family, y'all showed up in a big way and my heart is so full!
📌 KPRC/Javana for helping me connect with Houstonian readers through a lens of inquiry and compassion.

Y'all…it has been a journey. 🪷 These books bloomed like lotus flowers, rising through murky depths to become two stories, their leaves brimming with compassion and their blossoms opening a path to a better tomorrow.

Thanks for all the love!

So grateful to be back in the studio with Senior Producer Michael Hagerty. 🎙️ Conversations like this remind me why I write in the first place—because stories carry weight, open doors, and connect us in unexpected ways. Michael and I had such a dynamic chat he trimmed it down to a sharp 8 minutes—catch it tomorrow at 9:00 on 88.7 FM (my segment airs around 9:50).

And then? Mark your calendars + map your route to Blue Willow Bookshop this Saturday, Sept 27th at 4pm for the OFFICIAL launch of MY MOTHER, THE MERMAID CHASER 🧜‍♀️✨

"This book will make you question the people and world you thought you knew while showing you a more complex and compassionate reality. You will be changed forever."

– Joanna Ho, author of THE SILENCE THAT BINDS US

Fun fact: Joanna's YA book is shelved next to mine--amazing right?!--this is the first time my last name has been beneficial in the alphabet hierarchy. I knew of Joanna long before I met her because as my friends began having kids EYES THAT KISS IN THE CORNERS and Minh Lê's book DRAWN TOGETHER, where my go-to purchases for baby showers. I learned later that she's a social justice warrior who wears her tears on her sleeve and looks for ways to make sure everyone knows they're welcome. She sparks joy, just like her books.

Check out her library:
Eyes that Kiss in the Corners
Playing at the Border
Eyes that Speak to the Stars
The Silence that Binds Us
One Day
Say My Name
On the Tip of A Wave
Eyes that Weave the World's Wonders
We Who Produce Pearls
A City Full of Santas
Becoming Boba