# First Second Books

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**First Second Books** is an American publisher of [graphic novels](/source/Graphic_novel). An [imprint](/source/Imprint_(trade_name)) of [Roaring Brook Press](/source/Roaring_Brook_Press), part of [Holtzbrinck Publishers](/source/Holtzbrinck), First Second publishes fiction, biographies, personal memoirs, history, visual essays, and comics journalism. It also publishes graphic non-fiction for young readers, including the Science Comics and History Comics collections, and for adults, including the World Citizen Comics, a line of civics graphic books, and biographical works such as *The Accidental Czar*.

Authors and artists published by First Second include [Ben Hatke](/source/Ben_Hatke),[1] [Gene Luen Yang](/source/Gene_Luen_Yang),[1] [Jillian Tamaki](/source/Jillian_Tamaki), [Vera Brosgol](/source/Vera_Brosgol), [Jen Wang](/source/Jen_Wang), [Shannon Hale](/source/Shannon_Hale), [LeUyen Pham](/source/LeUyen_Pham), [Scott Chantler](/source/Scott_Chantler), and Japanese director [Hayao Miyazaki](/source/Hayao_Miyazaki).[2]

First Second is headed by creative director [Mark Siegel](/source/Mark_Siegel).[3]

## History

First Second launched in U.S. stores and online in May 2006.[4] It was distributed by [Macmillan](/source/Macmillan_Publishers) in the rest of the English-speaking world. After the merger in 2010, Macmillan distributes all of the books.

In 2006, First Second published *[American Born Chinese](/source/American_Born_Chinese_(graphic_novel))* by [Gene Luen Yang](/source/Gene_Luen_Yang),[5] the first graphic novel ever nominated for a [National Book Award](/source/National_Book_Award),[6] and the first ever to win the [American Library Association](/source/American_Library_Association)'s [Michael L. Printz Award](/source/Michael_L._Printz_Award).[7][8]

In 2015, First Second published *[This One Summer](/source/This_One_Summer)* by cousins [Jillian](/source/Jillian_Tamaki) and [Mariko Tamaki](/source/Mariko_Tamaki), the first book in any format ever nominated as a finalist for *both* the American Library Association's [Randolph Caldecott](/source/Randolph_Caldecott_Medal) Award, and the American Library Association's Edward L. Printz Award.[9]

## Series

Some of First Second's biggest hits include the *InvestiGators* series and the *Real Friends* trilogy.

Series published by First Second include:

- *[The Adventure Zone](/source/The_Adventure_Zone)* graphic novel series[10]
- *[The Dam Keeper](/source/The_Dam_Keeper#Graphic_novels)* by Robert Kondo and [Daisuke Tsutsumi](/source/Daisuke_Tsutsumi)
- *[Delilah Dirk](/source/Delilah_Dirk)*, by Tony Cliff
- [*Demon*](/source/Demon_(comics)), by [Jason Shiga](/source/Jason_Shiga)
- *[Cucumber Quest](/source/Cucumber_Quest)*, by [Gigi D.G.](/source/Gigi_D.G.)

## Selected titles

### Before 2010

- Abadzis, Nick (2007). *[Laika](/source/Laika_(comics))*
- Guibert, Emmanuel (2008). *Alan's War: The Memories of G.I. Alan Cope*[11]
- Guibert, Emmanuel; Lefèvre, Didier; Lemercier, Frédéric (2009). *[The Photographer](/source/The_Photographer_(comics))*
- Mechner, Jordan; Sina, A.B.; Pham, LeUyen; Puvilland, Alex (2008). *[Prince of Persia](/source/Prince_of_Persia:_The_Graphic_Novel)*
- Sfar, Joann & Guibert, Emmanuel (2006–2008). *Sardine in Outer Space*
- Sfar, Joann & Guibert, Emmanuel (2007). *The Professor's Daughter*
- Yang, Gene Luen (2006). *[American Born Chinese](/source/American_Born_Chinese_(graphic_novel))*

### 2010s

- *[Anya's Ghost](/source/Anya's_Ghost)* by [Vera Brosgol](/source/Vera_Brosgol)
- *[Friends with Boys](/source/Friends_with_Boys)* by [Faith Erin Hicks](/source/Faith_Erin_Hicks)
- *[*Boxers* and *Saints*](/source/Boxers_and_Saints)* by [Gene Luen Yang](/source/Gene_Luen_Yang)
- *[The Cute Girl Network](/source/The_Cute_Girl_Network)*, by Greg Means and M. K. Reed, with art by Joe Flood
- *[This One Summer](/source/This_One_Summer)* by [Mariko Tamaki](/source/Mariko_Tamaki) and [Jillian Tamaki](/source/Jillian_Tamaki)
- *[The Divine](/source/The_Divine_(graphic_novel))* by [Boaz Lavie](/source/Boaz_Lavie), [Asaf Hanuka](/source/Asaf_Hanuka), [Tomer Hanuka](/source/Tomer_Hanuka)
- *[Spinning](/source/Spinning_(comics))* by [Tillie Walden](/source/Tillie_Walden)
- *[The Hunting Accident](/source/The_Hunting_Accident)* by [David Carlson](/source/David_Carlson_(writer)) and [Landis Blair](/source/Landis_Blair)[12][13][14]
- *[Check, Please!: #Hockey](/source/Check,_Please!_(webcomic))* by [Ngozi Ukazu](/source/Ngozi_Ukazu)[15]
- *[Speak](/source/Speak_(Anderson_novel)#Graphic_novel)* by [Laurie Halse Anderson](/source/Laurie_Halse_Anderson) and [Emily Carroll](/source/Emily_Carroll)[16]
- *[The Prince and the Dressmaker](/source/The_Prince_and_the_Dressmaker)* by [Jen Wang](/source/Jen_Wang)[16]
- *[Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me](/source/Laura_Dean_Keeps_Breaking_Up_with_Me)* by [Mariko Tamaki](/source/Mariko_Tamaki)
- *[Kiss Number 8](/source/Kiss_Number_8)* by Colleen A. F. Venable

### 2020s

- *[Dragon Hoops](/source/Dragon_Hoops)* by [Gene Luen Yang](/source/Gene_Luen_Yang)

## References

1. Bauer, Caitlin. ["01 Creators"](https://firstsecondbooks.com/creators/). *First Second Books*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20200229131127/https://firstsecondbooks.com/creators/) February 29, 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved February 8, 2020.

1. September 13, Christian Holub & EDT, 2022 at 12:00 PM. ["See how Hayao Miyazaki's graphic novel 'Shuna's Journey' foreshadowed his classic films"](https://ew.com/books/hayao-miyazaki-shunas-journey-foreshadowed-princess-mononoke-nausicaa/). *EW.com*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20221016222038/https://ew.com/books/hayao-miyazaki-shunas-journey-foreshadowed-princess-mononoke-nausicaa/) October 16, 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved October 16, 2022.

1. ["See the Covers for 14 Graphic Novels by Gene Yang, Jason Shiga, and More"](http://www.ew.com/article/2016/12/08/first-second-graphic-novels-fall-2017-cover-reveals). *[Entertainment Weekly](/source/Entertainment_Weekly)*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20161209204711/http://www.ew.com/article/2016/12/08/first-second-graphic-novels-fall-2017-cover-reveals) December 9, 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved December 8, 2016.

1. ["Graphic Novel Publisher First Second Celebrates Ten Years"](http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/comics/article/70626-graphic-novel-publisher-first-second-celebrates-ten-years.html). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20161221014934/http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/comics/article/70626-graphic-novel-publisher-first-second-celebrates-ten-years.html) December 21, 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved December 9, 2016.

1. ["It's Time for First Second"](https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/comics/article/6014-it-s-time-for-first-second.html). *Publishers Weekly*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20220129040315/https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/comics/article/6014-it-s-time-for-first-second.html) January 29, 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved February 8, 2020.

1. MacDonald, Heidi (January 23, 2007). ["Syndicated Comics"](https://www.comicsbeat.com/american-born-chinese-wins-award/). *The Beat*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20221016222040/https://www.comicsbeat.com/american-born-chinese-wins-award/) October 16, 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved October 16, 2022.

1. YALSA, [Michael L. Printz Winners and Honor Books](http://www.ala.org/yalsa/booklistsawards/bookawards/printzaward/previouswinners/winners) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20140326175223/http://www.ala.org/yalsa/booklistsawards/bookawards/printzaward/previouswinners/winners) March 26, 2014 at the Wayback Machine.

1. George Gene Gustines, [Library of Congress Anoints Graphic Novelist as Ambassador for Young People’s Literature](https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/04/books/library-of-congress-anoints-graphic-novelist-as-ambassador-for-young-peoples-literature.html) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20221202194928/https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/04/books/library-of-congress-anoints-graphic-novelist-as-ambassador-for-young-peoples-literature.html) December 2, 2022 at the Wayback Machine, *The New York Times*, January 4, 2016.

1. Cavna, Michael (February 2, 2015). ["CALDECOTT, PRINTZ HONORS: 'This One Summer' co-authors 'grateful' for graphic-novel milestone as Honor Book"](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2015/02/02/caldecott-printz-honors-this-one-summer-co-authors-grateful-for-graphic-novel-milestone-as-honor-book/). *The Washington Post*. [ISSN 0190-8286](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0190-8286). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20191101225035/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2015/02/02/caldecott-printz-honors-this-one-summer-co-authors-grateful-for-graphic-novel-milestone-as-honor-book/) November 1, 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved April 14, 2018.

1. ["Entertainment Weekly: First Look at First Second's Spring 2018 Graphic Novels"](https://web.archive.org/web/20170810014033/http://ew.com/books/first-second-spring-2018-cover-reveal/first-seconds-upcoming-graphic-novels/). *[Entertainment Weekly](/source/Entertainment_Weekly)*. Archived from [the original](http://ew.com/books/first-second-spring-2018-cover-reveal/first-seconds-upcoming-graphic-novels/) on August 10, 2017. Retrieved August 9, 2017.

1. Beardsley, Eleanor (May 24, 200). ["'Alan's War': A Graphic Novel Revisits WWII"](https://www.npr.org/2009/05/24/104436362/alans-war-a-graphic-novel-revisits-wwii). *NPR*

1. ["See the Covers for 14 Graphic Novels by Gene Yang, Jason Shiga, and More"](http://www.ew.com/article/2016/12/08/first-second-graphic-novels-fall-2017-cover-reveals). *[Entertainment Weekly](/source/Entertainment_Weekly)*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20161209204711/http://www.ew.com/article/2016/12/08/first-second-graphic-novels-fall-2017-cover-reveals) December 9, 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved December 8, 2016.

1. ["Book Deals: Week of October 24, 2016"](http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/book-deals/article/71842-book-deals-week-of-october-24-2016.html). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20161207034227/http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/book-deals/article/71842-book-deals-week-of-october-24-2016.html) December 7, 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved December 8, 2016.

1. ["First Second Exclusive: David Carlson and Landis Blair Announce the Hunting Accident, A Crime Family Drama"](https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2016/10/first-second-exclusive-david-carlson-and-landis-bl.html). October 7, 2016. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20161220112324/https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2016/10/first-second-exclusive-david-carlson-and-landis-bl.html) December 20, 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved December 8, 2016.

1. ["Fall 2018 First Second Cover Reveal"](http://firstsecondbooks.com/uncategorized/fall-2018-first-second-cover-reveal/). *First Second Books*. January 8, 2018. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20180313092131/http://firstsecondbooks.com/uncategorized/fall-2018-first-second-cover-reveal/) March 13, 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved March 12, 2018.

1. Gagliano, Gina (May 9, 2017). ["Winter 2018 First Second Cover Reveal"](https://firstsecondbooks.com/uncategorized/winter-2018-first-second-books/). *First Second Books*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20200121115123/https://firstsecondbooks.com/uncategorized/winter-2018-first-second-books/) January 21, 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved April 10, 2020.

## External links

- [First Second Blog](https://firstsecondbooks.com/blog/)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [First Second Books](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Second_Books) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Second_Books?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.