Paula Yoo | |
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![]() At SCBWI-LA Writer's Day in 2008 | |
Born | Virginia, United States |
Education | Avon High School |
Alma mater | Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism |
Notable work | From a Whisper to a Rallying Cry: The Killing of Vincent Chin and the Trial that Galvanized the Asian American Movement |
Paula Yoo is an American journalist, children's and young adult's author, and television screenwriter. She is also a professional freelance violinist and has performed with classical orchestras and contemporary rock bands.
Yoo was born in Virginia, United States and is of Korean descent. [1] [2] She was educated at Avon High School in Avon, Connecticut, United States. [1] She studied a master's degree at Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism, graduating in 1992. [3]
As a journalist, Yoo worked for publications including the Detroit News , Seattle Times and People. [4] [5]
As a television screenwriter, Yoo has writing credits for television shows including Supergirl , Mozart in the Jungle , and The West Wing. [4] [6] She was co-executive producer of Supergirl and Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists. [7]
Yoo's debut children's narrative nonfiction book [8] Sixteen Years in Sixteen Seconds: The Sammy Lee Story was an Honor Book at the 2006 Asian/Pacific American Awards for Literature (APAAL), awarded by the Asian Pacific American Librarians Association (APALA). [9]
Yoo's book My Kite is Stuck! and Other Stories was a finalist for the 2017 Cybils Award.[ citation needed ]
Yoo's young adult book From a Whisper to a Rallying Cry: The Killing of Vincent Chin and the Trial that Galvanized the Asian American Movement won the Children's Literature Council of Southern California's 2022 Peggy Miller Award for Young Adult Literature, [10] won the Chinese American Librarians Association's 2022 Best Young Adult Non-fiction Book Award, [11] and won the 2021 Nonfiction Boston Globe–Horn Book Award. [9] The book was also a finalist for the 2022 Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA)'s Award for Excellence in Nonfiction [9] and was longlisted for the National Book Award for Young People's Literature. [6] [12] It recounts the 1982 killing of Vincent Chin and the impact this had on Asian American people. [13] [14] [15]
Yoo's young adult book Rising from the Ashes: Los Angeles, 1992. Edward Jae Song Lee, Latasha Harlins, Rodney King, and a City on Fire narrates the 1992 Los Angeles uprising from multiple points of view in the Korean American and Black communities. [3] [16]
Other works by Yoo include Good Enough, [17] Twenty-Two Cents: The Story of Muhammad Yunus (co-written with Jamel Akib), [9] Shining Star: The Anna May Wong Story [9] and titles in the Confetti Kids picture book series. [18]
Yoo also works as a professional violinist and has performed with both classical orchestras and contemporary rock bands, such as Love, Fun and No Doubt.[ citation needed ]
Yoo supports organisations including the Orlando Youth Alliance, Stop AAPI Hate and We Need Diverse Books. [6]
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