Akemi Dawn Bowman

Akemi Dawn Bowman[1] is an American author, best known for her William C. Morris Award Finalist young adult novel Starfish, which follows a Japanese-American teen named Kiko Himura who grapples with a toxic home life and attempts to find a back-up plan after being rejected by her dream art school.[2] Bowman's earlier work centered around realistic fiction, but now writes across genres, starting with her sci-fi series The Infinity Courts which released in April 2021.[3]

Akemi Dawn Bowman
Bowman autographing a book at the American Library Association's (ALA) Youth Media Awards in 2018
Bowman autographing a book at the American Library Association's (ALA) Youth Media Awards in 2018
BornUnited States
LanguageEnglish
NationalityAmerican
EducationBA in Social Science
Alma materUniversity of Nevada, Las Vegas
GenreYoung Adult fiction, Middle Grade fiction
Years active2017-now
Notable worksStarfish, Summer Bird Blue, Harley in the Sky, The Infinity Courts series, Generation Misfits
Notable awards2018 William C. Morris Award Finalist, 2022 Locus Award Finalist
Website
www.akemidawnbowman.com

Personal life

Bowman was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and moved to Las Vegas, Nevada when she was a toddler.[1] Her father is from Hawaii[4] and has Japanese and Chinese heritage, and her mother is mostly Italian and Irish.[1] Bowman was home-schooled for four years, [5] and attended the Las Vegas Academy as a band major in high school.[1] After graduating, she served with the United States Navy for five years as an IT.[6] She started writing her first full-length novel while on deployment.[6] She has a degree in Social Studies from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.[1]

Bowman credits music as one of her big writing inspirations,[5] and took flute and piano lessons when she was younger.[5] She often centers mental health in her novels because of her own experiences growing up.[7]

In addition to writing novels, Bowman has written short fiction for the Magic: The Gathering online web story Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty.[8]

She currently lives in Scotland with her family.[6]

Works

Novels

Short stories
  • in Kaito Origin Stories: A Test of Loyalty & The Path Forward [15] (Magic: The Gathering online fiction, 2021)
  • in Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty [16] (Magic: The Gathering online fiction, 2022)

Accolades

Starred Reviews

Honors

Starfish, Summer Bird Blue, and Generation Misfits were each named a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection.[25] Bowman's debut middle-grade novel Generation Misfits was featured on the Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books' cover for the July/August 2021 issue,[24] and received a Big Picture honor and a starred review.[26] Starfish was chosen as a New York Public Library 2017 Best Book for Teens,[27] and Summer Bird Blue was chosen for the same honor in 2018.[28] Paste Magazine called Starfish the best debut YA novel of 2017,[29] and later declared it one of the top 30 young adult books of the 2010s.[30] In 2021, Harley in the Sky was named a top pick for the Kansas NEA Reading Circle List High School Title.[31] Locus Magazine included The Infinity Courts in their annual Recommended Reading List for the year 2021. [32]

Awards

Won

  • 2020 Winner of the MéMO Award for Best Teen Novel for Starfish[33]

Nominated

  • 2018 William C. Morris YA Debut Award for Starfish[34]
  • 2019 Colorado Blue Spruce Young Adult Book Award Nominee for Starfish[35]
  • 2020 Scottish Teenage Book Prize Finalist for Starfish[36]
  • 2020 Falkirk Red Book Award for Summer Bird Blue[37]
  • 2022 Locus Award Finalist in the Young Adult Novel category for The Infinity Courts[38]

References
  1. "Media Kit". 2020-08-30. Retrieved 2021-12-26.
  2. "2018 Morris Award Finalists: An Interview with Akemi Dawn Bowman on Starfish". The Hub. 2018-01-24. Retrieved 2021-12-26.
  3. "The Infinity Courts". BookPage. 2021-04-01. Retrieved 2021-12-28.
  4. "My Favourite Holiday: Hawaii is more than a getaway for author Akemi Dawn Bowman . . . it's home". Sunday Post. 2018-03-23. Retrieved 2021-12-28.
  5. "Akemi Dawn Bowman Explores J-pop and Found Family in Her Middle Grade Debut". SLJ. 2021-07-07. Retrieved 2021-12-26.
  6. "Sunday Mail "Novelist Says Stories Helped her Cope..."". Sunday Mail. 2020-03-15. Retrieved 2021-12-29.
  7. ""A Place at the Table" a guest post by Akemi Dawn Bowman". SLJ Teen Librarian Toolbox. 2020-03-20. Retrieved 2021-12-28.
  8. "Kaito Origin Stories: A Test of Loyalty & The Path Forward". 2021-12-16. Retrieved 2021-12-26.
  9. "COVER REVEAL FOR STARFISH BY AKEMI DAWN BOWMAN". bookriot.com. 23 January 2017. Retrieved 2021-12-29.
  10. "10 of the Best Young Adult Novels of September 2018". pastemagazine.com. 12 September 2018. Retrieved 2021-12-29.
  11. "The 10 Best Young Adult Books of March 2020". pastemagazine.com. 5 March 2020. Retrieved 2021-12-29.
  12. "Q&A: Akemi Dawn Bowman, Author of 'The Infinity Courts'". thenerddaily.com. 31 March 2021. Retrieved 2021-12-29.
  13. "Incredible Middle Grade Book Releases To Look Out For In 2021". thenerddaily.com. 27 January 2021. Retrieved 2021-12-29.
  14. "The Genesis Wars, from The Infinity Courts series, Volume 2". kirkusreviews.com. 2 March 2022. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  15. "KAITO ORIGIN STORIES: A TEST OF LOYALTY & THE PATH FORWARD". magic.wizards.com. 16 December 2021. Retrieved 2022-03-30.
  16. "Article Archives Magic The Gathering". magic.wizards.com. 24 January 2022. Retrieved 2022-03-30.
  17. "Starfish by Akemi Dawn Bowman (PW review)". 2017-09-26. Retrieved 2021-12-27.
  18. Starfish (Booklist review). 2017-09-01. Retrieved 2021-12-27.
  19. "Summer Bird Blue (Kirkus review)". 2018-06-18. Retrieved 2021-12-27.
  20. Summer Bird Blue (Booklist review). 2018-06-01. Retrieved 2021-12-27.
  21. "Summer Bird Blue (School Library Journal review)". 2018-08-01. Retrieved 2021-12-27.
  22. "The Infinity Courts (School Library Journal review)". 2021-02-01. Retrieved 2021-12-27.
  23. "Generation Misfits (School Library Journal review)". 2021-07-01. Retrieved 2021-12-27.
  24. "Generation Misfits by Akemi Dawn Bowman (BCCB review)". 2018-06-18. doi:10.1353/bcc.2021.0356. S2CID 242917577. Retrieved 2021-12-27. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  25. "JLG Junior Library Guild". Junior Library Guild. 2021-01-01. Retrieved 2021-12-28.
  26. "July/August 2021 Stars & Big Picture". 2018-06-18. Retrieved 2021-12-27.
  27. "New York Public Library Announces Its Best Books of 2017 for Kids and Teens". 2017-11-20. Retrieved 2021-12-27.
  28. "Best Books for Teens 2018". 2018-11-18. Retrieved 2021-12-27.
  29. "The 30 Best Young Adult Books of 2017". Paste Magazine. 2017-12-06. Retrieved 2021-12-27.
  30. "The 30 Best Young Adult Novels of the 2010s". Paste Magazine. 2019-10-30. Retrieved 2021-12-27.
  31. "KANSAS NEA READING CIRCLE RECOMMENDED TITLES". Kansas National Education Association. 2021-06-01. Retrieved 2021-12-29.
  32. "2021 Locus Recommended Reading List". locusmag.com. February 2022. Retrieved 2022-05-11.
  33. "MéMO Awards - Meilleur roman ado 2020 : L'Esquisse du bonheur". bibliotheques.cergypontoise.fr (in French). 2021-02-24. Retrieved 2021-12-27.
  34. "William C. Morris Debut YA Award | Awards & Grants". www.ala.org. Retrieved 2021-12-26.
  35. "Colorado Blue Spruce Young Adult Book Award | Awards & Grants". www.coloradobluespruceaward.org. Retrieved 2021-12-26.
  36. "Scottish Teenage Book Prize | THREE CONTEND 2020 SCOTTISH TEENAGE BOOK PRIZE". scottishfield.co.uk. 2 September 2019. Retrieved 2021-12-26.
  37. "RED Book Award | RED Book Award". blogs.glowscotland.org.uk. Retrieved 2021-12-26.
  38. "2022 Locus Awards Top Ten Finalists". locusmag.com. 10 May 2022. Retrieved 2022-05-11.
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