Today we’d like to introduce you to Maria Wen Adcock.
Hi Maria, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
When people ask me where’s my hometown, I’m proud to say Northville, Michigan. I attended grades K-12 there in the ’70s and ’80s. It was a great place to grow up and had excellent schools. Back then, it was a small town where dirt roads and open spaces lined the outskirts of town. Although now I’m living in Long Island, New York, my ties to Michigan — especially to my friends and family who live there — remain strong.
In Junior High, a teacher asked us what we wanted to do one day. I answered, “Write a book.” I was a voracious reader, spending hours at the library. English was my favorite subject. So, I just knew I wanted to write a book. The teacher responded, “Why wait until you’re older? Do it now.” I remember feeling surprised. How does one even write a book and get it published? It seemed like something other people did. I am Chinese American and never read about characters who looked like me in books. I didn’t see them on TV, either. I didn’t really think it was an option for me to be an author.
As I got older, I stayed connected to writing as much as I could. In high school, I wrote for the school newspaper and was the Yearbook editor. In college at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, I was a Communication major and worked for The Michigan Daily student newspaper – but on the advertising side, not on the Edit side.
After graduating, I worked for General Mills and Sara Lee Corporation, got my MBA in marketing at Indiana University in Bloomington, then worked at Time Inc. In all of these positions, I worked on the business side and collaborated with creative teams. At Time Inc., I worked on marketing magazines such as Entertainment Weekly, InStyle, and Real Simple. While crunching numbers and coming up with marketing plans, I was secretly envious of the Edit staff because they were writers.
The turning point took place after I gave birth to my first child. I did a career shift away from corporate America so that I could spend more time raising my daughter. I wanted to do something that could be done from home, and my childhood goal of writing a book came back to me. So first, I started a multicultural parenting blog, BiculturalMama.com. I then began writing picture books and attending writing workshops to hone my craft.
Eventually, a literary agent noticed my work and offered representation to me as a children’s book author. This opened up many opportunities because many book publishers, especially the larger ones, will not consider authors’ manuscripts unless they’re sent through an agent.
One such opportunity was for me to write my debut book, IT’S CHINESE NEW YEAR, CURIOUS GEORGE, through Clarion Books, an imprint of HarperCollins. I pulled from my lived experience of growing up in a Chinese American household to create a story about Curious George learning the traditions of the holiday and celebrating them with his friend, Mei. The book was released in January 2023 and was the #1 New Release on Amazon in its categories. I was thrilled to write this book with Curious George, an iconic character that both my children and I had grown up with. It was a childhood dream come true!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Every author I know writes because of a love of writing and wanting to share stories. This passion is what keeps authors going in an industry that is difficult to break into. It’s not uncommon for authors to try for years before finding success.
It took about ten years, from writing my first manuscript to securing a literary agent. During this time, I received many rejections to queries I submitted to agents and editors with my manuscripts. I also was raising two children which made it challenging to find time to write and attend writing seminars. Perseverance, hard work, and faith were very important. It took a long time, but fortunately, my efforts paid off!
Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am a Children’s Book Author who focuses on Asian American culture. I am most proud of achieving my childhood dream of writing a book that took place with my debut book, IT’S CHINESE NEW YEAR, CURIOUS GEORGE.
What sets me apart is that I tap into my lived experiences of growing up in a Chinese American household in Michigan to create stories that share Chinese culture with children. In an industry that is very competitive and difficult to break into, I feel blessed that I had an opportunity to be a story creator in the Curious George line of children’s books.
Any big plans?
As an author, I’m continuously writing new children’s book manuscripts. As for upcoming plans, a publisher acquired one of my manuscripts. However, I cannot announce it until the publisher does. So, stay tuned because another picture book from me will be launched in the future!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://biculturalmama.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/biculturalmama/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mariawenadcockauthor
- LinkedIn: https://www.
linkedin.com/in/ mariawenadcock/ - Twitter: https://twitter.com/BiculturalMama
- Other: https://www.pinterest.com/biculturalmama/
Image Credits
Maria Wen Adcock
