This interview originally appeared in the May/June 2024 Horn Book Magazine as part of the Publishers’ Previews, an advertising supplement that allows participating publishers a chance to each highlight a book from its current list. They choose the books; we ask the questions.

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Unhappy at home and grieving their grandfather, Ash sets out for the Northern California wilderness to find the cabin Grandpa Edwin had built and hidden there many years ago in Jen Wang’s latest graphic novel, Ash’s Cabin.

Photo: Jen Wang.

1. Have you ever taken to the woods?

I have not gone fully off-grid like Ash, or even really backpacking, but I enjoy camping and hiking. Unlike Ash, I don’t have a particular desire to do it alone. I always find outdoor activities more fun with other people because it’s a time we can socialize without the distractions of modern life. Also, I’m just too scared to be out in the woods alone!

2. Who was your own Grandpa Edwin?

When I was a kid I had an uncle who stayed with us for a period. He was always looking for something more out of life and later became a Buddhist monk. We did not choose similar paths, but I relate a lot to this feeling of a lifelong search. Watching him choose his own unusual path allowed me to think about the possibilities in my own life.

3. Did you keep a journal when you were Ash’s age? Words and pictures?

No, but I wish I had. I always aspired to be a journaler, but I could never keep it up after a few entries.

4. Is drawing as much fun as you make it look?

It’s so much fun. It’s stimulating and meditative at the same time. I think any activity that you’ve done so much and so repetitively can be like that; you stop thinking about it and second-guessing yourself in the moment. It’s also cathartic. I feel like an actor channeling my emotions into a character. When it gets really dramatic, it can feel like you’re processing your feelings through this avatar. It becomes a strange form of therapy.

5. Do you wonder what happened to Ash next?

My writing inspiration always revolves around a theme that’s explored within the arc of a story, so my knowledge of what happens to my characters ends with the last page of the book. But I love hearing what readers think happens next!

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