Vincent Yee is an Unsung Hero Awardee at this year's 2024 AAPI Commission of MA's Unity Dinner.
Clara Wu Books collaborated with authors from the Asian American Books Everywhere All At Once authors to host a table at Boston's GetKonnected's Multicultural Holiday Market!
The Lexington Chinese School had a writing contest and the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners all received a copy of Clara Wu and the Portal Book! If you're a Chinese, Korean, Japanese or Vietnamese teacher, reach out to me for a possible donation of books! It's time that your students see how all their schooling can be used to unlock superpowers to save the world!
Even adults are reading and enjoying Clara Wu Books! What a great opportunity to sit in on Boston Subtle Asian's Book Club where Clara Wu and the Portal Book was discussed. I had to keep quiet as everyone discussed it freely, reeling in my desire to talk more about the book. Such great feedback from everyone and braved the rainy day!
Gone! In less then half an hour, 100 copies of Clara Wu and the Portal Book and the Jade Labyrinth were snatched up by avid students from Boston Public Schools at the Boston Teacher's Union annual book fair where tens of thousands of books are generously made available to the students for FREE! When BTU President, Jessica Tang let everyone know that I was available to autograph books, I was soon mobbed by excited students and parents. I was even able to give Mayor Michelle Wu her own copy and told her that Clara Wu could be her young cousin. A big shout out to the BTU team especially, Brenda Chaney!
Gold House gave a literary moment to Clara Wu and the Portal Book. I had a brief interview with their book club lead, Cindy Joung, who I hope will enjoy reading her own copy where Asian American teens are the superheroes in the story! I was asked what my favorite snack was when reading or writing and my answer was: roasted wasabi peas, kettle corn and Macadamia nuts - with chopsticks of course!
What a great opportunity to participate in Wukong's Tell Us Your ABC Story, where I got to guest judge with Disney+'s ABC star Daniel Wu himself! During the judging process, I had the wonderful opportunity to read many stories from the Chinese diaspora that were enthusiastic and emotional about their Chinese heritage. Now I wonder if Daniel Wu and I were even close in choosing who we thought wrote the best stories.
I was invited by Ms. Tran into her classroom to introduce “Clara Wu and the Portal” Book and to autograph books for those enthusiastic students who had a chance to read book one. Before school was let out, the students were informed that the school had bought copies of book two, “The Jade Labyrinth” for their summer reading! Thank you to Principal Chang for continuing to introduce Asian American superheroes into your classrooms!
As part of the partnership with WuKong Education, delivered a box of Asian American books so that the students of the Richard J. Murphy School may see themselves in story. Delighted to have spoken to the principal and librarian.
Was invited by Branchout to guest speak to Chinese American parents about their American Born Chinese (ABC) kids. As an ABC myself, I gave them perspective that it's not simply about academics but a mindset, to give to their kids, the belief that they can be superheroes!
Ever seen a reading bin labeled as “Asian American Superheroes?” Burr Elementary School in Newton, MA is changing the narrative by introducing Asian American superheroes into their reading program. This is how we make change!
What a wonderful time to re-join Dr. Stephanie Wong of the Color of Success podcast, as I moderated our talk on Mental Health and Asian Representation. Dr. Stephanie Wong discussed how the distorted images of Asian Americans affect how Asian Americans may see themselves. The topics of exclusion, being othered, invisibility and more were brought to the forefront. We ended on how authentic Asian American storytelling helps Asian Americans to see themselves postively so that they may gain confidence in embracing their culture for better mental health.
Thank you to CALex for not only allowing me to tell my American story but also the American story that I wrote, “Clara Wu and the World of Azen” - to give to Asian American readers, especially young ones, superheroes that look like them! I was also joined by the following wonderful people, Phala Chea - Educator, Sumiao Chen - Restauratuer, Sylvia S. Han - Wealth Management, Samita Mandelia - Realtor, and Mona Roy - Moderator. It was a packed house at The Depot in Lexington MA. What a joy to bump into two friends whom I have not seen in ages.
What a wondeful time at this Fireside Chat to the incredible Asians At Microsoft ERG. I gave a brief overview of the limited Asian Representation in Hollywood over the course of three decades, where there has only been 5 all Asian American cast movies that made it to the Big Screen. They were: The Joy Luck Club (1993), Better Luck Tomorrow (2002), Crazy Rich Asians (2018), Shang-Chi (2021) and Everything, Everywhere, All At Once (2022). I talked about how many Asian Americans in the industry are trying to prioritize our stories for the big screen and how content creators like myself, are trying to tell our stories authentically. A big thank you for the donation of books to Asian American students through my Books-To-Student campaign!
The kids of Franklin Elementary were enthused by Clara Wu and the World of Azen as they enjoyed Boba Tea and delicious mochi-donuts provided by Pon de Joy. They all enthusiastically got into the Name That Superhero game. When they stumbled on naming an Asian American superhero, they were introduced to Clara Wu and friends. Before leaving, I was gifted an expertly folded origami crane from a special student.
Clara Wu Books makes a stop in New York as I presented to several enthusiastic classrooms filled with kids curious about a new generation of Asian American superheroes! Hopefully next time, Clara Wu can stay longer! Thanks to Yobe Qiu from the #AABEAAO team!
What a fun Fireside Chat with the My New Perfect Meetup Group where I was asked several insightful questions about the writing journey and the book by Sarah Tian. Much thanks to Eden Huang for the invite. I'm so glad that the character of Clara Wu imparted cultural pride in cherishing the preciousness of a jade bracelet.
This 5th grade class was entirely enthralled by Clara Wu and her friends, Sung Kim, Yuka Satoh and Daniel Nguyen. Never was I ever bombarded by so many questions or asked to autograph someone's forearm - which I did not oblidge as I did not want to suffer the wrath of a Tiger Mom for defacing her child's arm. What a fun time!
In an incredible gesture of generosity and collaboration, WuKong Education matched our “Asian American Books, Everywhere All At Once” GoFundMe campaign in the amount of $5,335! With their match, the #AABEAAO team was able to distribute an additional 24 boxes of Asian American books to more classrooms nationwide!
I'm so excited that our GoFundMe campaign, "Asian American Books Everywhere All At Once" was fully funded in 17 days! We are so grateful to our supporters who believe in us for wanting better Asian Representation in the classrooms and libraries across America.
What a fun time presenting to Ms. McDonald's 6th grade class at the Richard Murphy School in Dorchester! The students were enthused about a new generation of Asian American superheroes embodied within my books! Each student also received a copy of their own book and I hope to return soon to autograph them. With a student population that is 50% Asian, they should have stories where they are the superheroes, said the principal.
I'm so honored to be an awardee by the Chinese Culture Connection for Outstanding Arts & Culture. This Malden based organization is dedicated and devoted to broadening the understanding of the beauty and resilience of the Chinese culture. The awards ceremony will be presented at their annual gala to be held on April 29th at Ming's Seafood Restaurant in Malden MA. I hope that you can make it!
How exciting to be recognized by the Asian Hustle Network (AHN) as one of their 50 Unsung Heroes for 2023! An awesome and dynamic organization meant to uplift Asian businesses and creatives looking to make a change in their communities. I will be accepting this award at their Uplifted Conference in Las Vegas on April 28th, 2023. What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas!
I recently visited Newtonville Books in Newton, MA and I'm so appreciative of their support for the Clara Wu Books! They have the entire series in stock so binge this series where Asian Americans readers, especially young ones, can see themselves as heroes!
I had my first reading and it was to a room of excited middle schoolers from the Chinese Culture Connection of Malden, MA. When the raffle winners came up to choose their books as their prize, it warmed by heart when the first winners all picked up their own copy of "Clara Wu and the Portal Book." Now these young Chinese kids can have their own superheroes that look like them.
I'm so appreciative that through my creation of the "Clara Wu and the World of Azen" series, that I was a grantee of the Mass Cultural Council grant to support creatives like me to write for positive Asian Representation!
I'm so excited that the first batch of books from the Book-To-Student campaign to raise Book One of my series for students in classrooms, was delivered to the Josiah Quincy Upper School! Thank you to all the supporters who are making an impact to change Asian Representation in the classrooms! This is a rolling campaign so any additional donation would be appreciated by teachers and students!
What a great opportunity to guest lecture at two of Bentley University's Creative Writing courses. I spoke about the experience of publishing my 5-book "Clara Wu and the World of Azen" series in one year. I also talked about outlining, how to circumvent writer's block, plot and character development and tricks and tips to write an engaging and immersive fantasy series. This was probably the first time the students have ever read a story where the main characters were Asian American.
To all academic institutions, I'm open to guest lecture or present at your university. Please go my Contact page to connect with me.
Along with Curtis Chin, filmmaker and fellow author, we spoke to Professor Wenli Jen's class about the challenges that Asian Americans face in the media. It was a candid discussion while championing authentic Asian Representation and what still needs to be done to make it right.
It was so fun to present to Disney's Asian American BERG, APEX-LA. With a Disney mindset, when asked who would win in an archery contest, Clara Wu or Hawkeye, I responded with, "Well Clara has the Bow of Destiny so she'd win in accuracty but for blowing things up, Hawkeye would win." Looking forward to the next Disney event and like, "Hey, can we put 'Clara Wu and the World of Azen' on Disney+? Just saying."
I had so much fun presenting to OCA-NE's youth empowerment program and talk about Asian Representation where we can create our own content. I spoke to them about how Asian Americans creatives need to usher in a new set of Asian American superheroes. I then signed some forty books that OCA-NE was so generous in purchasing for their youth members.
Newtonville Books in Newton, MA has Clara Wu Books! Stop by and support independent bookstores while supporting Asian Representation!
My book is now an award winner! "Clara Wu and the Portal Book," won Silver in the overall YA-Fantasy category at the BookFest! It just proves that a Chinese American teenager and her panda can make a difference in the fantasy category dominated by knights, elves, dwarves, ogres and wizards.
My humble book in its 6x9 inch format packs a powerful and immersive Young Adult Asian American fantasy story at Brookline Booksmith!
On July 24, Clara Wu and the Portal Book found itself at Yu & Me Books in New York's Chinatown. This is so exciting as Lucy Yu is the first Asian American woman led bookstore and I think Clara Wu is happy to have her first debut here. Be sure to drop on by and support an Asian American business.
On May 18th, I had the pleasure to participate in a webinar for the Chinese American Heritage Foundation and talked about the importance of Asian Representation, perpetual invisibility, how to stop Asian shame, and why we need amazing stories where Asian American readers can see themselves as heroes. In addition to our allies who can read stories where they can see Asian Americans as heroes and no longer the sidekick.
On May 18th, I had the great opportunity to be the keynote speaker for Eversource's APAHM event where I spoke about Asian Represention, how we are invisible, how we need to make ourselves visible in DEI initiatives and why it's important for Asian Americans to write their own stories. I want to thank Eversource's generosity in purchasing books for all their attendees along with donating Book 1, “Clara Wu and the Portal Book,” to libraries in Asian American communities.
On Feb 10th, I had the privilege to be the keynote speaker for Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and talked about the importance of Asian Representation, especially during this challenging time for the Asian American community and my vision, “To write for better Asian Representation.” We rang in the Year of the Tiger and were treated to the musical talents of a couple of members on the BIDMC staff.
Cambridge Editors, who has been my editor for all of my work, featured me across their social media platform. Thank you and looking forward to working with you on the remaining books.
I had so much fun appearing on The Color of Success Podcast hosted by Dr. Stephanie Wong. We talked about how “othering” creates invisibility for Asian American youth during such an important part of their growing years where they form their identity. This appeared on her site on Jan 31 where she had the opportunity to debut “Clara Wu and the Jade Labyrinth,” book two of my series.
