Akemi Dawn Bowman
Bowman autographing a book at the American Library Association's Youth Media Awards in 2018
Bowman autographing a book at the American Library Association's 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

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 teenager named Kiko Himura who grapples with a toxic home life and attempts to find a back-up plan after being rejected for a place at her dream art school.[2] Bowman's earlier work centered around realistic fiction, but she now writes across genres, starting with her sci-fi series The Infinity Courts which was released in April 2021.[3]

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.[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 and had 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

  • Starfish (Simon & Schuster, 2017)[9]
  • Summer Bird Blue (Simon & Schuster, 2018)[10]
  • Harley in the Sky (Simon & Schuster, 2020)[11]
  • The Infinity Courts (Simon & Schuster, 2021)[12]
  • Generation Misfits (Macmillan, 2021)[13]
  • The Genesis Wars (Simon & Schuster, 2022)[14]

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 first middle-grade novel Generation Misfits was featured on the July/August 2021 cover of The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books,[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 the year" in 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 its 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. 1 2 3 4 5 "Media Kit". Akemi Dawn Bowman. 30 August 2020. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
  2. ↑ Emma Carbone (24 January 2018). "2018 Morris Award Finalists: An Interview with Akemi Dawn Bowman on Starfish". The Hub. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
  3. ↑ Tami Orendain (April 2021). "The Infinity Courts". BookPage. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
  4. ↑ "My Favourite Holiday: Hawaii is more than a getaway for author Akemi Dawn Bowman . . . it's home". Sunday Post. 23 March 2018. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
  5. 1 2 Samantha Lumetta (7 July 2021). "Akemi Dawn Bowman Explores J-pop and Found Family in Her Middle Grade Debut". School Library Journal. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  6. 1 2 3 Jenny Morrison (15 March 2020). "Too polite to tun down US Navy.. but it helped me launch a fantastic new chapter in my life". Sunday Mail. Retrieved 6 August 2023 – via Press Reader.
  7. ↑ Robin Willis (9 March 2020). ""A Place at the Table" a guest post by Akemi Dawn Bowman". School Library Journal. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  8. ↑ "Kaito Origin Stories: A Test of Loyalty & The Path Forward". 16 December 2021. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
  9. ↑ "COVER REVEAL FOR STARFISH BY AKEMI DAWN BOWMAN". Book Riot. 23 January 2017. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  10. ↑ "10 of the Best Young Adult Novels of September 2018". Paste. 12 September 2018. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  11. ↑ "The 10 Best Young Adult Books of March 2020". Paste. 5 March 2020. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  12. ↑ "Q&A: Akemi Dawn Bowman, Author of 'The Infinity Courts'". The Nerd Daily. 1 April 2021. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  13. ↑ "Incredible Middle Grade Book Releases To Look Out For In 2021". The Nerd Daily. 27 January 2021. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  14. ↑ "The Genesis Wars, from The Infinity Courts series, Volume 2". Kirkus Reviews. 2 March 2022. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
  15. ↑ "KAITO ORIGIN STORIES: A TEST OF LOYALTY & THE PATH FORWARD". Magic - The Gathering. 16 December 2021. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  16. ↑ "Article Archives". Magic - The Gathering. 24 January 2022. Archived from the original on 27 May 2022. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
  17. ↑ "Starfish by Akemi Dawn Bowman". Publishers Weekly. 26 September 2017. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  18. ↑ Starfish. 1 September 2017. Retrieved 27 December 2021 – via Booklist.
  19. ↑ "Summer Bird Blue". Kirkus. 18 June 2018. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  20. ↑ Summer Bird Blue. 1 June 2018. Retrieved 27 December 2021 – via Booklist.
  21. ↑ "Summer Bird Blue". School Library Journal. 1 August 2018. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  22. ↑ "The Infinity Courts". School Library Journal. 1 February 2021. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  23. ↑ "Generation Misfits". School Library Journal. 1 July 2021. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  24. 1 2 Stevenson, Deborah (18 June 2018). "Generation Misfits by Akemi Dawn Bowman". Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books. 74 (11): 453–454. doi:10.1353/bcc.2021.0356. S2CID 242917577. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  25. ↑ "Akemi Dawn Bowman". Junior Library Guild. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  26. ↑ Deborah Stevenson (July 2021). "July/August 2021 Stars & Big Picture". Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  27. ↑ "New York Public Library Announces Its Best Books of 2017 for Kids and Teens" (Press release). New York Public Library. 20 November 2017. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  28. ↑ "Best Books for Teens 2018". New York Public Library. 18 November 2018. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  29. ↑ Eric Smith (6 December 2017). "The 30 Best Young Adult Books of 2017". Paste. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  30. ↑ Eric Smith & Paste Staff (30 October 2019). "The 30 Best Young Adult Novels of the 2010s". Paste. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  31. ↑ "KANSAS NEA READING CIRCLE RECOMMENDED TITLES". Kansas National Education Association. 1 June 2021. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  32. ↑ "2021 Locus Recommended Reading List". Locus. February 2022. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
  33. ↑ "MéMO Awards - Meilleur roman ado 2020 : L'Esquisse du bonheur". bibliotheques.cergypontoise.fr (in French). 24 February 2021. Archived from the original on 19 August 2013. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  34. ↑ "William C. Morris Debut YA Award". American Library Association. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  35. ↑ "Awards & Grants". Colorado Blue Spruce Young Adult Book Award. Archived from the original on 26 December 2021. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
  36. ↑ Kenny Smith (2 September 2019). "Three contend 2020 Scottish Teenage Book Prize". Scottish Field. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  37. ↑ "RED Book Award". Falkirk Council Learning Resource Service. Archived from the original on 29 May 2022. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  38. ↑ "2022 Locus Awards Top Ten Finalists". Locus. 10 May 2022. Retrieved 11 May 2022.


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