TLN: I hopped around a little bit in the early stages. Did you write and draw this story chronologically or did you move around? How do you cobble together a meaningful kind of support and protection for a kid experiencing something in a culture you don’t know, in a language, you don’t speak, and facing problems you never previously felt any cause to consider? I went in trying to figure that out and what my ideals around it look like.ĪIPT: Told within the story are three fairy tales, two from Cinderella and one from The Little Mermaid. I wanted to tell a story about what happens when families are motivated by a desire for connection while lacking the tools to build those connections. Underneath it all, I’m very interested in how dialogues about identity and queerness shift over time.

The ways that activity facilitated language learning has always been an important part of my sentimentality around books. TLN: The most obvious one is that I just have a lot of fond memories of reading library books with my parents when I was a kid. What was the inspiration that inspired this work? It’s neat.ĪIPT: In many ways, The Magic Fish is a story of discovery for both Tiến and his mother Hiền, about themselves, about the world around them, and their relationship.

It’s all very exciting, and I still haven’t fully wrapped my head around it. Trung Le Nguyen: I’ve been absolutely blown away by the reception, frankly! It’s somehow garnered six starred reviews from trade publications, and it’s been nominated for a handful of awards, including a Lambda Literary Award, a Cartoonist Studio Prize, and a GLAAD Media Award. Thank you for taking the time to answer a few questions! We are nearly six months since The Magic Fish has released, and while we’ve been under house arrest due to the pandemic, how has the reaction been to the graphic novel? Listen to the latest episode of our weekly comics podcast!ĪIPT: Hi Trung.

The magic fish comic