06 Jun “Dispute Arises Over ‘No-No Boy,’ a Classic of Asian-American Literature With a Complex History” via The New York Times
Alexandra Alter wrote a piece for the New York Times about the history of John Okada’s “No-No Boy”, our work in the 70’s to copyright and republish it, and the controversy surrounding Penguin’s recent publication of “No-No Boy”.
Here’s an excerpt:
“After Okada’s death, Wong and three of his friends, Jeffery Paul Chan, Frank Chin and Lawson Fusao Inada, rediscovered “No-No Boy” and made it their mission to republish it. For a second time, around half a dozen American publishers rejected the novel, so the group decided to raise the money to publish it themselves. They got word out through The Pacific Citizen, a Japanese-American newspaper, and offered readers a $2 discount if they preordered the book. Wong mailed the books himself, selling out of the first print run…
“I worked harder at getting this book published than getting my own books published,” Wong said. “The publishing history of the book is almost as important as the book itself.”