An Na

Who is An Na?

An Na is an Korean-born American writer of children's books. Like most authors, she was a fervent reader as a child. She eventually became a middle school English and History teacher. She turned to writing novels after taking a young adult literature class while enrolled in a M.F.A. program at Vermont College. She struck gold with her very first novel A Step From Heaven, published by Front Street Press in 2001, which won the annual Michael L. Printz Award from the American Library Association recognizing the year's "best book written for teens, based entirely on its literary merit". It was also a finalist for the National Book Award, Young People's Literature, and later found its way onto numerous "best book" lists.

An Na still makes frequent visits to middle schools to talk about her book. She tries to reach young Asian-American students to encourage them to become artists and other creative endeavors.

An Na considers Frank McCourt's Angela's Ashes and Sandra Cisneros's The House on Mango Street among the influences on her writing and also admires the work of Madeleine L'Engle and of her first writing teacher, Jacqueline Woodson.

She was born in Korea.

She went to America when she was young.