I’m so excited that HARU ZOMBIE DOG HERO is out in the world! I’ve always wanted to write a zombie book, and I’ve always wanted to write a dog book. So of course I wrote  a zombie dog book! And I’m happy to be writing horror again but at the heart of Haru is a story about the love between a boy and his dog.

And if you read The Week Junior, I am proud to be an Author Ambassador this summer for their summer of reading program! I’m very grateful that they also shared a little bit of Haru!

Airports are where people and lives briefly touch, interact and then move on.  In these twelve interwoven short stories by different authors set in a Chicago airport, Asian–American children and teens interact with each other while awaiting flights.  Unfortunately, sometimes when they encounter other passengers these children are met with racism, leading to the overarching question: are you where you belong? This collection of powerful, yet funny stories is a great start to a conversation about both listening and speaking up in order to find one’s place in society.  

On April 26, at 10:30AM, I will be presenting at the Politics and Prose Bookstore on Connecticut Avenue, DC!  This event is free to attend and open to the public, however, reservations are required for school groups interested in attending. Seating is available on a first come, first served basis.

So grateful and honored by the wonderful reception our book YOU ARE HERE has garnered!

The New York Times did a wonderful review of YOU ARE HERE with fabulous art by the brilliant James Yang.

School Library Journal Starred Review – “This collection is not only important, but essential.”

PW Starred Review – “an intersectionally diverse, multifaceted collaboration that’s artfully conceived and executed.”

Booklist Starred Review – “The individual narratives are consistently engaging and rewarding, and together they form a unique collection of interconnected stories about young, contemporary Asian American characters.”

Kirkus Starred Review – “Compelling and nuanced.”

Bookpage Starred Review – “You Are Here vividly illustrates the talents of a diverse group of creators as well as the rich and varied range of Asian American experiences and identities.”

The launch event for YOU ARE HERE and the Allida imprint helmed by the brilliant Linda Sue Park, is happening this coming March 11th at 2pm at P&T Knitwear!

We are going to have a fabulous talk and sign copies and have a great time! It is a free event but sign up here to save your ticket! Come join me and Linda Sue Park, Grace Lin, and our amazing cover artist Marcos Chin in NYC!!  P&T Knitwear, 180 Orchard Street, New York NY

I’m excited to share the cover and full jacket art for You Are Here: Connecting Flights, cover by the brilliant Marcos Chin. The anthology will be released on March 7, 2023 by Allida/HarperCollins. Preorder it here. I am also extraordinarily proud and happy that You Are Here will be the inaugural title for the amazing Linda Sue Park’s Allida imprint! I know that all of the contributors are absolutely thrilled!

This full cover is particularly meaningful to all of us because Marcos brought all of our characters alive from front to back and it was truly the most joyous moment for all of us to see them like this! This book was an absolute labor of love and I truly hope that everyone will read it and love it as much as we do!

An incident at a TSA security check point sows chaos and rumors, creating a chain of events that impacts twelve young Asian Americans in a crowded and restless airport. As their disrupted journeys crisscross and collide, they encounter fellow travelers–some helpful, some hostile–as they discover the challenges of friendship, the power of courage, the importance of the right word at the right time, and the unexpected significance of a blue Stratocaster electric guitar.

Twelve powerhouse Asian American authors explore themes of identity and belonging in the entwined experiences of young people whose family roots may extend to East and Southeast Asia, but who are themselves distinctly American.

Written by Linda Sue Park, Erin Entrada Kelly, Grace Lin, Traci Chee, Mike Chen, Meredith Ireland, Mike Jung, Minh Le, Ellen Oh, Randy Ribay, Christina Soontornvat, and Susan Tan, and edited by Ellen Oh.

Here is the breathtaking cover of my newest middle grade horror novel, HARU, ZOMBIE DOG HERO which is coming out July 11, 2023! The art is by the brilliant Teo Skaffa who made what is the absolute perfect cover for my zombie book! I love everything about it!

HARU, ZOMBIE DOG HERO

Eleven-year-old Luke and his dog, Haru, are the best of friends. Totally inseparable. But when their nasty landlord falsely accuses Haru of biting her, Haru is kidnapped! As Luke and his friends go on a serious mission to find and bring Haru home again, they discover mysterious experiments happening at the old laboratory at Painted Lake, owned by an evil multibillionaire named Mr. Thomas Sinclair. And Luke and his friends soon fear that Sinclair’s scientists could be doing illegal testing that may endanger Haru and their whole town.

As more strange clues emerge, the boys realize their world is changing fast, and soon Painted Lake is plagued by zombie attacks. Is the love and friendship between boy and dog enough to save them?

I also did a little interview over at the SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL who did my cover reveal! One of the questions they asked me was how did the idea for this book come about. And this was my answer:

EO: Well, I’ve always wanted to write a zombie book, ever since I saw Train to Busan. But I wasn’t interested in writing about regular old zombies. I wanted something different; I just didn’t know what that was. Then one day I was just sitting with my dogs, and they were staring at me with such absolute trust and love. At that moment, I thought to myself, even if my dogs turned into zombies, they would never hurt me. And just like that, the idea for Haru, Zombie Dog Hero came to me.

So it is only right of me to include this beautiful drawing done by my youngest of our family dogs, Tokki and Kiko! Proud mama moment  –  My youngest is also a webtoon artist of HOME SWEET GHOST.

I have 2 exciting new books coming up in 2023! First is this amazing anthology which will launch the brilliant Linda Sue Park’s Allida imprint!!

This anthology was so much fun to work on and so important to all of us authors. It is truly a project from our hearts and I can’t wait for it to come out next year!

The second book announcement is for my next scary book! HARU, ZOMBIE DOG HERO!

I wanted to write a book about a dog for a long time. I also wanted to write a zombie book. Somehow these 2 came together to become Haru and I’m really excited for everyone to read it!!

The riveting conclusion to the acclaimed Spirit Hunters series!

We Need Diverse Books cofounder Ellen Oh delivers the final book in her middle grade series Spirit Hunters, a gripping mystery and thrilling adventure, starring a Korean-American heroine and a diverse cast of characters.

Harper is dealing with too many new changes in her house. Her cousin, Leo, is now living with them; her sister, Kelly, has started working at a local makeup store, Jeune; and Harper’s spirit hunter abilities have grown increasingly more powerful and uncontrollable, making her a target for possession.

But when Harper and Dayo uncover a dangerous plot to steal youth from millions of innocent people, Harper must use all her powers to destroy an ancient evil and save her sister.

Can our intrepid spirit hunters rescue Kelly before it’s too late?

A spellbinding, spooky, middle grade series, perfect for Halloween!

Don’t miss the first two thrilling books in this series from Ellen Oh:

Spirit Hunters
Spirit Hunters #2: The Island of Monsters

May 4th, launch day!! I’ll be talking with the amazing Linda Sue Park and brilliant Hena Khan about family and food and culture and why we need to share our stories, especially now. It’ll be at 7pm EDT and hosted by the wonderful East City Bookshop! Register for tickets here!

Tokki hopes you’ll consider pre-ordering copies of my newest book FINDING JUNIE KIM! And you can get signed copies from East City Bookshop! Here’s the link to order! And Thank You!