Check out This Special Dirty Dozen Interview with Y.S. Lee, Author of the Spectacular New Picture Book, Mrs. Nobody

It's always impressive when writers are able to pivot deftly between forms and genres, and Y.S. Lee has proven to be one of those prolific, acclaimed artists who can do exactly that. Her previous work in poetry and YA mystery has won awards and a devoted readership, and she has now turned to the world of picture books!

Lee's debut in the form, Mrs. Nobody (Groundwood Books), tells the story of Alice and the titular character, who she spends much of her time with. They are always getting up to all kinds of mischief, but Mrs. Nobody becomes increasingly needy and demanding, especially when Alice tries to assert herself. Mrs. Nobody gets bigger and louder at that point, until she suddenly disappears altogether. 

After spending some time on her own, as lonely as she might be, Alice discovers that she finds peace and comfort without Mrs. Nobody, which leads her to a frank realization about her own independence and the concept of setting boundaries. All of these poignant messages are accompanied by brilliant illustrations from celebrated illustrator, Marie LaFrance.

We have a special Dirty Dozen interview with the author today, where she tells us ten unique things about herself. Check it out below!

The Dirty Dozen with Y.S. Lee, author of Mrs. Nobody 

1. As a kid, I had imaginary friends, but they were mostly characters from books. I had a lot of conversations with Emily Starr (from L.M. Montgomery’s Emily of New Moon trilogy).

2. Coffee + grapefruit juice + simple syrup over ice is absolutely delicious. 

3. I took piano lessons as a kid and felt such relief when I finally quit. Then I started playing again during lockdown, enjoyed it, and found that it improved my writing; I’m now much more attuned to sound and rhythm in poetry.  

4. I excel at tongue-twisters.

5. I like to get up early and go for a walk (but I try not to be *that* morning person). The air seems to have a different texture, and there are lots of dogs to admire.

6. I like to read George Eliot’s Middlemarch about once a decade; as I get older, the novel means different things to me.

7. I can’t read or watch horror and have made peace with being a coward.

8. Speaking of horror: I once stayed in a hotel room that had curtains along one wall but no window to the outdoors. Every few minutes, I was impelled to get up and check to make sure there really was no exterior window. I felt like a rat in an experiment. Made it through the night, but Never. Again.

9. I am lactose-intolerant but some cheeses are totally worth the consequences.

10. I’m working towards doing a handstand. (It will be a long process.)

11. Seriously, grapefruit coffee is the nectar of the gods. Few believe me, but I persist.

12. My writing group, the Villanelles, changed my life, no exaggeration. They inspired me to write poetry and they’re the warmest, most insightful creative community imaginable.

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Y. S. Lee is an award-winning poet and novelist whose first young-adult novel, A Spy in the House, was nominated for an Agatha Award and won the inaugural John Spray Mystery Award. Ying won the 2022 Foster Poetry Prize, and she published her first chapbook, Exit Permit, in 2023. She lives in Kingston, Ontario, with her family, where she is also an organizer with Kingston WritersFest. Mrs. Nobody is Ying's debut picture book.