Mariko Tamaki
Mariko Tamaki was born in Toronto, Ontario. When she was a child, Mariko loved to play pretend. She would pretend to be a millionaire or a detective with childhood friend Kate, who would later become inspiration for every friend character that appears in Mariko's books.
Mariko studied many subjects in many different schools post high school at the age of 17. She recieved her Bachelor's in English Literature at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec in 1994. She later got her Master's Degree in Women's Studies, and finished two years of a PhD in Linguist Anthropology. However, she realized she is an artist, not an anthropologist, and moved back to Toronto. She has worked as a freelance journalist, playwright, short story writer, and novelist. She writes on her blog, "It was never really my intention to become a Young Adult writer", but she is continuing to write for young adults, particularly young women. She also is currently an English Teacher, and gives creative writing lectures to high school students in Toronto.
Published Works:
Mariko's first short novel, Cover Me, was published in 2000. The story is about a teenage girl coping with depression, cutting, and exploring her sexuality. She independently wrote two more books (True Lies: The Book of Bad Advice in 2002 and Fake ID in 2005) before collaborating with her cousin, Jillian Tamaki. Together, they created the graphic novel Skim, in 2008. Skim won many awards, but the most controversial was The Governor's General Literary Award: Children's Literature-Text. Mariko was nominated for the award, but her cousin was left out. In an interview, Mariko explained her feelings about the award, saying, "I was like, 'Uhh, text?' It didn't make any sense. So I called Jillian and were both like, 'This sucks!' I was still happy that it had been nominated-but it totally sucked."
Mariko also published another graphic novel with illustrator Steve Rolston, Emiko Superstar in 2008. In 2010, Mariko published (You) Set Me on Fire. The story is about a girl who transitions from high school to college, and meets a girl who will change her life.
In 2014, Mariko and her cousin Jillian collaborated again and published This One Summer. She is currently in the editing stage of her next young adult novel.
Awards:
Ignatz Award (2009)
Joe Shuster Award (2009)
Doug Wright Award (2009)
Nominated for Children's Literature-Text in Governor General's Award (2009)
Honour of Distinction by Dayne Ogivie Prize (2012)
Mariko studied many subjects in many different schools post high school at the age of 17. She recieved her Bachelor's in English Literature at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec in 1994. She later got her Master's Degree in Women's Studies, and finished two years of a PhD in Linguist Anthropology. However, she realized she is an artist, not an anthropologist, and moved back to Toronto. She has worked as a freelance journalist, playwright, short story writer, and novelist. She writes on her blog, "It was never really my intention to become a Young Adult writer", but she is continuing to write for young adults, particularly young women. She also is currently an English Teacher, and gives creative writing lectures to high school students in Toronto.
Published Works:
Mariko's first short novel, Cover Me, was published in 2000. The story is about a teenage girl coping with depression, cutting, and exploring her sexuality. She independently wrote two more books (True Lies: The Book of Bad Advice in 2002 and Fake ID in 2005) before collaborating with her cousin, Jillian Tamaki. Together, they created the graphic novel Skim, in 2008. Skim won many awards, but the most controversial was The Governor's General Literary Award: Children's Literature-Text. Mariko was nominated for the award, but her cousin was left out. In an interview, Mariko explained her feelings about the award, saying, "I was like, 'Uhh, text?' It didn't make any sense. So I called Jillian and were both like, 'This sucks!' I was still happy that it had been nominated-but it totally sucked."
Mariko also published another graphic novel with illustrator Steve Rolston, Emiko Superstar in 2008. In 2010, Mariko published (You) Set Me on Fire. The story is about a girl who transitions from high school to college, and meets a girl who will change her life.
In 2014, Mariko and her cousin Jillian collaborated again and published This One Summer. She is currently in the editing stage of her next young adult novel.
Awards:
Ignatz Award (2009)
Joe Shuster Award (2009)
Doug Wright Award (2009)
Nominated for Children's Literature-Text in Governor General's Award (2009)
Honour of Distinction by Dayne Ogivie Prize (2012)
Sources:
"Mariko Tamaki." Goodreads. Web. 31 Mar. 2014. <https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/483588.Mariko_Tamaki>.
Clark, Noelene. "‘This One Summer’: Mariko and Jillian Tamaki Bottle Up Adolescence." Hero Complex. Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2013. Web. 31 Mar. 2014. <http://herocomplex.latimes.com/comics/this-one-summer-mariko-and-jillian-tamaki-bottle-up-adolescence/#/2>.
"Mariko Tamaki - Alphabetical Bibliography." Internet Speculative Fiction Database. Web. 31 Mar. 2014. <http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ae.cgi?33896>.
Tamaki, Mariko. "You Write For Kids." Weblog post. Mariko Tamaki. N.p., 9 Aug. 2013. Web. 31 Mar. 2014. <http://marikotamaki.blogspot.com/?view=timeslide>.
http://publications.mcgill.ca/mcgillnews/2009/06/17/packing-a-literary-punch/
"Mariko Tamaki." Picture Book Party. Walker Books. Web. 31 Mar. 2014. <http://www.walker.co.uk/contributors/Mariko-Tamaki-8412.aspx>.
Clark, Noelene. "‘This One Summer’: Mariko and Jillian Tamaki Bottle Up Adolescence." Hero Complex. Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2013. Web. 31 Mar. 2014. <http://herocomplex.latimes.com/comics/this-one-summer-mariko-and-jillian-tamaki-bottle-up-adolescence/#/2>.
"Mariko Tamaki - Alphabetical Bibliography." Internet Speculative Fiction Database. Web. 31 Mar. 2014. <http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ae.cgi?33896>.
Tamaki, Mariko. "You Write For Kids." Weblog post. Mariko Tamaki. N.p., 9 Aug. 2013. Web. 31 Mar. 2014. <http://marikotamaki.blogspot.com/?view=timeslide>.
http://publications.mcgill.ca/mcgillnews/2009/06/17/packing-a-literary-punch/
"Mariko Tamaki." Picture Book Party. Walker Books. Web. 31 Mar. 2014. <http://www.walker.co.uk/contributors/Mariko-Tamaki-8412.aspx>.