How Orange County Libraries Celebrate AAPI Month – NBC Los Angeles

Visitors to Orange County libraries this month will see displays of books written by Asian American Pacific Islander authors. It is part of Orange County Public Libraries’ Heritage Month celebration of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.

The May celebration will include author conversations with celebrity chef and author Jet Tila, as well as fiction writers Julie Abe and EP Tuazon.

“When I was little, the best thing I could do was just go to a bookstore and go to the library,” recalls 33-year-old Abe, who has written several books in her fiction collection.

She described the moment she drew on her fondest childhood memories and turned them into a career.

“Years ago, I was sitting in my cubicle at my computer typing on my first day at work. I looked outside and thought, ‘There must be more to life than this.’” she said. “I thought, ‘Why can’t I try writing a book?'”

She hopes young readers can discover her stories and see themselves in the characters she has created.

“I want them to find an escape. I want them to find stories of joy and just happiness, with a character that looks like them,” said Abe.

EP Tuazon is another well-known writer who drew from his youth and heritage for his new book ‘A Professional Lola’, which will be released on May 7.

“As a Filipino-American writer, I think it’s very important to show people my world and what it’s like to be a Filipino-American,” he explained, saying that storytelling is in his blood.

“I grew up listening to my relatives talk about their past experiences, and the idea of ​​storytelling is something very strong in our community,” says Tuazon. “But it’s never something you consider a job.”

Tuazon said he can inspire children to become future writers because there are so many more Asian American stories to tell.

“Part of the reason that drives me to keep writing these stories is that I want to inspire more Filipino Americans to tell stories that are not only similar to my own, but also different from my own, about our same community,” said Tuazon.