Minh Lê is the award-winning author of picture books including Drawn Together (winner of the 2019 Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature), The Blur, Real to Me, and the Eisner-nominated Lift, and graphic novels such as Green Lantern: Legacy and Enlighten Me. In addition to writing books, he is on the faculty of the Hamline MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults, serves on the board of We Need Diverse Books, and has been a contributor to a variety of national publications, including NPR, HuffPost, and the New York Times. 

Outside of spending time with his wonderful wife and children at their home in San Diego, his favorite place to be is in the middle of a good book.

Quick Note on Pronunciation: My last name is pronounced like “lay” as in “lay down” or “lay it all on the line.” Click here to hear the full name pronunciation on TeachingBooks.net.

Longer Bio:

Minh Lê is the award-winning author of the picture books Drawn Together (winner of the 2019 Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature), Real to Me, The Blur, Lift (an Eisner Award nominee), The Perfect Seat, and Let Me Finish!. He also writes popular middle grade graphic novels, including Green Lantern: Legacy, Green Lantern: Alliance, and Enlighten Me. He has appeared in a number of acclaimed anthologies such as You Are Here: Connecting Flights, The Creativity Project and The Talk: Conversations about Race, Love & Truth. He is currently working on several forthcoming projects, including A Lotus for You, the authorized picture book biography of the world-renowned Zen Buddhist monk and Nobel Peace Prize nominee, Thích Nhất Hạnh.

In addition to writing books, Minh has been a contributor to a number of national publications including the New York Times, The Horn Book, HuffPost, NPR, Book Riot, and Reading Rainbow. He currently serves on the Board of We Need Diverse Books and is on the faculty of the Hamline MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults.

Fun fact: Minh was named one of the 100 Coolest Dads in America by Fatherly.com in 2018 (landing somewhere between LeBron James and President Barack Obama). 

During the day, he is a federal early childhood policy expert who has worked in education at the national, state, and local level -- both in and out of the classroom. He received his bachelor's in Psychology from Dartmouth College and received a master's in Education Policy from Harvard University.

Outside of spending time with his wonderful wife and children at their home in San Diego, his favorite place to be is in the middle of a good book.

Press Highlights

• Interview: Readers Are Perhaps My Most Important Collaborators (Mackin)

• In writing stories for kids, Minh Lê found a way to ‘accept and embrace’ his own lived experiences (San Diego Union Tribune)

• Stories with Purpose (Dartmouth Alumni Magazine)

• Struggling For Words, A Boy And His Grandfather Are 'Drawn Together' At Last (NPR All Things Considered)

• Between the Pages: Minh Lê’s Legacy and Impact on Children’s Literature (NCTE Standing Committee on Global Citizenship)

• Buddhist stories, Hunter S. Thompson and weekend arts events (KPBS Midday Edition)

• Local author, illustrator get real in book about friendship (San Diego Union Tribune)

• A dynamic duo: Writer Minh Lê and illustrator Dan Santat join forces in The Blur (San Diego Union Tribune)

• After fighting his school bully, young boy goes to a meditation retreat in author Minh Le’s “Enlighten Me (Internal Examiner)

• DC Comics' first Asian American Green Lantern is a boy who fights racism (NBC News)

• What’s So Funny, Kid? (New York Times)

• How ‘Green Lantern: Legacy’ Introduces a New DC Mythology (Hollywood Reporter)

• The 100 Coolest Dads in America Ranked, 2018 Edition (Fatherly.com)

Illustrators/Collaborators

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