Nicola Yoon facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Nicola Yoon
Yoon in 2022
Born	1972 (age 52–53)
Nationality	American
Alma mater	Cornell University Emerson College
Occupation	Author
Notable work	Everything, Everything The Sun Is Also a Star
Spouse(s)	David Yoon

Nicola Yoon, born in 1972, is a talented Jamaican-American author. She is famous for her young adult novels. Her book Everything, Everything became a New York Times best seller. It was even made into a movie in 2017! Another popular book, The Sun Is Also a Star, came out in 2016. This book also became a movie in 2019.

Early Life and School

Nicola Yoon grew up in two different places. She spent part of her childhood in Jamaica. She also lived in Brooklyn, New York. When she went to college at Cornell University, she studied electrical engineering. But she took a creative writing class as an extra subject. She loved it so much that she decided to become a writer! After college, she went to Emerson College to study creative writing even more.

Becoming an Author

Before becoming a full-time author, Nicola Yoon worked for 20 years. She was a computer programmer for companies that managed money. Her first book, Everything, Everything, was inspired by her daughter. Nicola wanted to write a story where her daughter could see herself. Her worries as a new mom also gave her an idea. She thought about a 17-year-old girl who needed a lot of protection.

It took Nicola three years to write her first book. She wrote early in the mornings. At the same time, she worked full-time and took care of her baby. Her husband, David Yoon, is also an author and a graphic designer. He drew the pictures for the book.

Everything, Everything Book and Movie

Everything, Everything was released in September 2015. It quickly became the number one best-selling young adult hardcover book on the New York Times list. The book stayed on the best-seller list for 40 weeks! A movie based on the book came out in May 2017. It starred Amandla Stenberg and Nick Robinson.

The Sun Is Also a Star Book and Movie

Nicola Yoon's second book, The Sun Is Also a Star, was released in November 2016. It also reached number one on the New York Times Best Seller list. This book was a finalist for the National Book Award in 2016. It was also named one of the notable children's books of 2016 by The New York Times Book Review. Many other magazines and newspapers also listed it as a top book.

The Sun Is Also a Star won the John Steptoe Award for New Talent in 2017. The movie based on this book was released on May 17, 2019. It was directed by Ry Russo-Young. The main actors were Yara Shahidi and Charles Melton.

Promoting Diverse Books

Nicola Yoon is part of an organization called We Need Diverse Books. This group works to make sure that books show many different kinds of people. They believe everyone should be able to find characters like themselves in stories.

She also wrote a story for a book called Because You Love to Hate Me. This book was a collection of short stories. It was written by 13 young adult authors. Each author was paired with a "BookTuber" who gave them ideas for their stories. This book was published in July 2017.

In Spring 2023, Nicola and her husband David started their own book company. It's called Joy Revolution Books. This company publishes young adult romance novels. They focus on stories about people of color, written by authors of color.

Personal Life

Nicola Yoon lives in Los Angeles, California. She lives there with her husband, David Yoon, and their daughter.

Books by Nicola Yoon

• Blackout. Quill Tree Books. 2021. (co-authored with Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Ashley Woodfolk, and Angie Thomas)
• Whiteout. Quill Tree Books. 2023. (co-authored with Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Ashley Woodfolk, and Angie Thomas)
• Instructions for Dancing. Delacorte Press. 2021.
• One of Our Kind. Penguin Random House. 2024.

See also

In Spanish: Nicola Yoon para niños