Ngozi Ukazu facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Ngozi Ukazu |
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Ukazu at the 2024 Texas Book Festival.
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| Nationality | American |
| Area(s) | Cartoonist, Writer |
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Notable works
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Check, Please! |
| Awards | "Digital Book of the Year" Harvey Award (2019) "Outstanding Comic" Ignatz Award (2019) |
| http://www.ngoziu.com | |
Ngozi Ukazu is an American cartoonist and graphic novelist. She is famous for creating the webcomic Check, Please! in 2013. This popular story later became a New York Times-bestselling graphic novel.
Early Life and Education
Ngozi Ukazu grew up in Houston, Texas. She went to Bellaire High School. There, she worked on the school newspaper, The Three Penny Press. She was the comics editor, helping to create and choose the comic strips.
Her parents are from Nigeria. Ukazu studied computer science at Yale University. She earned her degree in Computing and The Arts in 2013. Later, she got a master's degree in Sequential Art. She earned this degree from the Savannah College of Art and Design in 2015. Sequential Art is the art of telling stories using pictures, like in comics.
Creative Career
Ukazu started Check, Please! as a webcomic in 2013. A webcomic is a comic published online. Before this, she wrote a story idea about a college freshman named Eric "Bitty" Bittle. Bitty is a gay figure skater who joins a hockey team.
In 2015, Ukazu used Kickstarter to print the first book of her comic. Kickstarter is a website where people can donate money to help artists create projects. Her campaign was very successful. It became the highest-funded comics project in Kickstarter's history at that time.
The first book, Check, Please!: #Hockey, was published in 2018. First Second Books released it. The next book, Check, Please!: Sticks & Scones, became a New York Times bestseller in May 2020.
In 2024, Ukazu also created a graphic novel for DC Comics. This book is called Barda. She both wrote the story and drew the pictures for it.
Awards and Recognitions
Ngozi Ukazu has won many awards for her work. Here are some of her achievements:
- 2019 Ignatz Award - Winner, Outstanding Comic
- 2019 Harvey Award - Winner, Digital Book of the Year
- 2019 YALSA - Finalist, William C. Morris Award
- 2018 The Boston Globe - Best YA (Young Adult) of 2018
- 2018 Kirkus Reviews - Best Young Adult Books of 2018 That Explore Family and Self
- 2018 New York Public Library’s Best Books - Top Ten Books For Teens
- 2018 Best of Austin - Arts & Entertainment Critics Pick
- 2018 Harvey Awards - Nominee, Digital Book of the Year
- 2017 National Cartoonists Society - Winner, Best Online Comic: Long Form
- 2017 NPR - 100 Favorite Comics And Graphic Novels
