Shing Yin Khor

Shing Yin Khor
Khor in 2025
Occupation
NationalityMalaysian-American
Notable awards
Website
shingkhor.com

Shing Yin Khor is a Malaysian-American artist, cartoonist and game designer. They are the creator of the comics The American Dream? A Journey on Route 66 (2019), The Center for Otherworld Science (2014) and Say it with Noodles (2018), the last of which won them an Ignatz Award. Khor's middle grade graphic novel, The Legend of Auntie Po (2021), earned an Eisner Award and was a finalist for the 2021 National Book Award for Young People's Literature.

As a game designer, Khor is known for creating keepsake journaling games. They co-designed Field Guide to Memory (2021) which won an IndieCade Award. Khor's Remember August (2022) also won an IndieCade Award and The Bird Oracle (2025) was nominated for an ENNIE Award.

Early life

Khor is Malaysian Chinese, grew up in the Philippines, and moved to the United States at age 16.[1] They are now a naturalized citizen of the United States.[1][2] Khor studied Technical Theatre and English at Whittier College, graduating in 2005.[3][4]

Career

Khor initially worked as a theatrical set and prop designer.[5] In 2011, Khor created the photo web comic Marlowe the Monster which featured clay sculptures and sets they had created.[6][5] Khor was then featured at San Diego Comic-Con 2012 in a "Small Press exhibition".[5] Khor was an artist-in-residence at the Petrified Forest National Park in 2015[7] and at the Homestead National Historical Park in 2016.[8] They have created installation art and sculpture[9][10] such as Hamlet-Mobile (2016), The Last Apothecary (2016) and The Gentle Oraclebird (2017–present).[11][12] Khor leads the installation and immersive art and production studio Three Eyed Rat.[13][14]

The Center for Otherworld Science (2014–2018)

Khor created the webcomic The Center for Otherworld Science, in which scientists are experimenting on flora and fauna of a place called the Otherworld. These experiments have led to advances, such as eradicating sickle cell anemia, but are morally dubious. After an incident leads to the death of one worker, the survivors must deal with the fallout of the accident and face the emotional and existential consequences.[9]

A review of the webcomic for The Beat said that it "combines otherworldly creatures and fantastic settings with the mundane details of working in a professional setting and the small moments shared between three coworkers. The result is a comic that feels both familiar and ethereal simultaneously, a sense that is only underscored by the simple and extremely effective art.[9]

Say it with Noodles (2018)

Say it with Noodles: On Learning to Speak the Language of Food was a standalone comic about Khor's relationship with their grandmother and how cooking for someone can be a love language. It won the Ignatz Award for Outstanding Minicomic in 2018.[15]

The American Dream? A Journey on Route 66 (2019)

The American Dream? A Journey on Route 66: Discovering Dinosaur Statues, Muffler Men, and the Perfect Breakfast Burrito is an autobiographical graphic novel by Khor. It described a road trip they took along U.S. Route 66, in part to discover themselves and the other America (outside of their home of Los Angeles) they knew little about. The novel covers the history of Route 66 and the boom and bust its populations have faced, while visiting and drawing kitschy tourist traps, giant sculptures and abandoned roadside attractions.[2][16]

A reviewer for The A.V. Club said of the novel, "If not for Khor's art, the book might have still been a bit of a dry read. But rich with water colors and visible sketch lines under finished shapes, it feels organic and alive. It's rich with texture and soft shapes, smiling faces that are simple without being overly cartoonish. There are several double-page spreads that capture the incredible vistas and remarkable secrets Route 66 holds for travelers... Khor's awe and frustration and joy as they encounter new things are all palpable. It makes clear how Khor's own experiences and needs shaped their trip and the book itself, which leads gracefully into exploration of Khor's complicated relationship with America as an immigrant... It's a journey made up of the weird and wonderful, as well as the deeply concerning ways that people leave their mark on the world."[16] Kirkus Reviews said, "Through bright, expressive watercolor illustrations, Khor portrays the memorable locations they pass through... They detail both the amusing (going to the bathroom outdoors) and emotional (loneliness and exhaustion) challenges of being a traveler. Khor's pilgrimage is as much an exploration of themself as it is of nostalgic Americana. Their travels inspire them to share insights into their path to atheism, their anger with xenophobia and racism—which are provoked when they find a motel labeled "American owned"—and the meaning of "home." Many of Khor's observations will resonate with those who have questioned national identity and the sense of belonging."[17]

The Legend of Auntie Po (2021)

In 2021, Khor released their second full-length graphic novel and first middle grade historical fiction book The Legend of Auntie Po.[18] Set shortly after the Chinese Exclusion Act, it focuses on a young girl named Mei and her father who work at a California logging camp and the stories Mei tells "of Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox, reimagined as the legends of Auntie Po and her faithful blue buffalo, Pei Pei".[19] The Legend of Auntie Po was a 2021 finalist for the National Book Award for Young People's Literature[20] and won the 2021 Eisner Award for Best Publication for Teens.[21]

Game design

Khor is the co-designer on the narrative journaling game Field Guide to Memory (2021) with Jeeyon Shim.[22] Field Guide to Memory won the 2021 IndieCade Award in the "Best Live Game" category.[22][23] The Verge highlighted that "the pair defined keepsake games as both a genre and a useful shorthand for their work".[24] Khor also designed the solo storytelling role-playing game A Mending (2021); the player follows prompts and stitches their journey on a pre-made cloth map.[25][26]

In 2022, Khor created Remember August, a live keepsake game where they mailed participants letters as a one-time event. They also released a downloadable version of the game and its ephemera. It won the 2022 IndieCade Award for "Best Tabletop Design".[27][28] They created The Bird Oracle, a keepsake journaling game, in 2025. It was nominated for the 2025 ENNIE Award in "Best Writing".[29][30] Also in 2025, they released Gods of Nothings, a live action role-playing game which involves the creation of a physical mask.[31][32] In 2026, in collaboration with illustrator Jared Andrew Schorr, Khor designed the two-person postcard writing game January.[33][34]

Other works

Khor has produced work for HuffPost, The Nib and The Toast.[10] They also contributed to the comics anthology Elements: Earth.[35] Khor received coverage from the Smithsonian for recreating other artworks in Animal Crossing: New Horizons.[36]

In 2023, they worked as an adjunct lecturer at University of Southern California.[37] Khor was in the 2023/2024 "Creators in Residence" cohort at the Los Angeles Public Library.[12] Their short film Geronimo Was A Beaver (2024), which featured puppets Khor made, won the "Best Animated Documentary Award" at the 2025 Doc LA Festival.[38][39] In 2025, they funded a "marionette opera and short film" titled The Last Fifteen Minutes on Kickstarter.[40][41]

Personal life

Khor is queer,[18] and has indicated that their work, regardless of what they do, is political because they are doing it.[42] In a 2017 interview with HuffPost, they said, "I do believe that the personal is political, and have always felt that writing about myself ― as a brown, immigrant woman ― is by default a political gesture because our voices are incredibly underrepresented in all creative fields."[42] However, they also noticed their work became more political following the first election of President Donald Trump. Khor stated that their Resistance Auntie painting was based on a photo of a woman who gave Trump the middle finger on Inauguration Day. HuffPost noted that it "quickly went viral" and subsequently, Khor released the painting under a Creative Commons license which was also "a protest in itself".[42]

Khor is non-binary[43][44] and stated that they use gender-neutral pronouns.[45]

Awards and honors

Kirkus Reviews named The Legend of Auntie Po one of the best books of 2021.[46] In 2022, Khor was included in the Out100 list.[43]

Awards for Khor's work
Year Work Award Category Result Ref.
2018 Say It With Noodles Ignatz Award Outstanding Minicomic Won [47]
2021 Field Guide to Memory IndieCade Awards Best Live Game Won [23]
2021 The Legend of Auntie Po American Library Association Best Graphic Novels for Kids Selection [48]
2021 The Legend of Auntie Po Cybils Award Graphic Novel (Elementary/Middle Grade) Finalist [49]
2021 The Legend of Auntie Po National Book Award Young People's Literature Finalist [20][50][51][52]
2022 The Legend of Auntie Po Association for Library Service to Children Notable Children's Books Selection [53]
2022 The Legend of Auntie Po Eisner Awards Best Publication for Teens Won [21][54]
2022 Remember August IndieCade Awards Best Tabletop Design Won [37][22]
2025 The Bird Oracle ENNIE Awards Best Writing Nominated [30]

Bibliography

As cartoonist

  • Marlowe the Monster (2011)
  • The Center for Otherworld Science (2014–2018)
  • Small Stories (2017)
  • The American Dream? A Journey on Route 66 (2019)
  • The Legend of Auntie Po (2021)
  • Tiny Adventure Journal

As writer

  • What Made California the Golden State?: Life During the Gold Rush (2024)[55]

As editor

  • I was a Teenage Gargoyle (2012)
  • Blood Root (2014)
  • Scene Shift (2022)

References

  1. ^ a b Horne, Karama (2019-08-08). "Indie Comics Spotlight: Shing Yin Khor's graphic memoir is about Route 66, America, race, and dinosaur statues". SYFY Official Site. Archived from the original on 2022-08-14. Retrieved 2023-04-10.
  2. ^ a b McMillan, Graeme (2019-08-01). "Cartoonist's Memoir 'The American Dream' Explores Route 66". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 2021-04-14. Retrieved 2021-04-13.
  3. ^ "Whittier Grad Shortlisted for National Book Prize" (Press release). Whittier College. October 29, 2021. Retrieved March 23, 2026.
  4. ^ Khor, Shing Yin (May 10, 2013). "Shing Talks a Lot" (Interview). Circus Posterus. Archived from the original on June 21, 2013. Retrieved March 23, 2026.
  5. ^ a b c Ohanesian, Liz (July 2012). "The Comic-Con is on! A look at L.A.'s emerging graphic novelists". Los Angeles Magazine. Vol. 57, no. 7. p. 57+. – Retrieved March 23, 2026 via Gale A296713360
  6. ^ Davis, Lauren (April 9, 2011). "'Marlowe the Monster' is a sculpted webcomic of melancholy moments". Gizmodo. Retrieved March 23, 2026.
  7. ^ "Artist-in-Resident Shing Yin Khor Gives a Demonstration at Northern Pioneer College White Mountain Campus". National Park Service. September 23, 2015. Archived from the original on June 20, 2017. Retrieved March 22, 2026.
  8. ^ "Artists Selected for 2016 Centennial Artist-In-Residence Program". National Park Service. April 13, 2016. Archived from the original on May 31, 2017. Retrieved March 23, 2026.
  9. ^ a b c Kaplan, Avery (2019-07-30). "A Year of Free Comics: Universes collide in The Center for Otherworld Science". The Beat. Archived from the original on 2021-04-12. Retrieved 2021-04-13.
  10. ^ a b Chiu-Tabet, Christopher (2018-09-16). "2018 Ignatz Awards Winners Announced". Multiversity Comics. Archived from the original on 2021-04-14. Retrieved 2021-04-14.
  11. ^ Weiss, Maureen; Wickersheimer, Sibyl, eds. (2022). Scene Shift: U.S. Set Designers in Conversation. Focal Press. pp. 29–31, 186–193, 266. ISBN 978-1-000-62983-5.
  12. ^ a b "Creators in Residence - Shing Yin Khor". Los Angeles Public Library. Retrieved March 22, 2026.
  13. ^ Puc, Samantha (June 26, 2019). "SPX 2019: Rosemary Valero-O'Connell, MariNaomi and more announced as special guests". The Beat. Archived from the original on January 24, 2026. Retrieved March 22, 2026.
  14. ^ "About". Three Eyed Rat. Retrieved March 22, 2026.
  15. ^ Cavna, Michael (September 18, 2018). "SPX's 2018 Ignatz Awards spotlight the power of strong storytelling voices". Washington Post. Archived from the original on March 9, 2020. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  16. ^ a b "Shing Yin Khor finds the best of what road-trip memoirs have to offer". AUX. 7 August 2019. Archived from the original on 2021-04-14. Retrieved 2021-04-14.
  17. ^ THE AMERICAN DREAM? | Kirkus Reviews. Archived from the original on 2021-04-14. Retrieved 2021-04-14.
  18. ^ a b Institute, NYS Writers (2022-03-18). "Q&A with Shing Yin Khor, author of The Legend of Auntie Po". NYSWritersInstitute. Retrieved 2024-12-14.
  19. ^ "Review: The Legend of Auntie Po by Shing Yin Khor". Publishers Weekly. May 6, 2021. Retrieved March 23, 2026.
  20. ^ a b "The Legend of Auntie Po". National Book Foundation. Archived from the original on 2021-11-18. Retrieved 2021-11-18.
  21. ^ a b Chiu-Tabet, Christopher (2022-07-23). "2022 Eisner Award Winners Announced". Multiversity Comics. Archived from the original on 2022-12-10. Retrieved 2023-04-10.
  22. ^ a b c Carpenter, Nicole (March 26, 2021). "Field Guide to Memory is a 'keepsake' game written inside your own personal journal". Polygon. Archived from the original on September 28, 2022. Retrieved September 28, 2022.
  23. ^ a b "2021 AWARD WINNING GAMES". IndieCade. Archived from the original on September 28, 2022. Retrieved September 28, 2022.
  24. ^ Ong, Alexis (June 28, 2022). "Jeeyon Shim carved a new path in crowdfunding for her keepsake games". The Verge. Archived from the original on March 20, 2023. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
  25. ^ "Sew a map to a distant friend in keepsake storytelling game A Mending". Dicebreaker. March 4, 2021. Archived from the original on March 22, 2023. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
  26. ^ Barranti Klein, Annika (November 30, 2021). "The Best Tabletop Roleplaying Games and Accessories (That Aren't D&D)". Book Riot. Archived from the original on March 21, 2023. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
  27. ^ "Festival 2022 Award Winners". IndieCade. 2022. Archived from the original on December 25, 2022. Retrieved March 22, 2026.
  28. ^ "Remember August". Shing Yin Khor. Retrieved March 22, 2026.
  29. ^ Khor, Shing Yin [@sawdustbear]; (June 11, 2025). "The Bird Oracle, my journalling keepsake game about divination and multi-level marketing schemes is now available!". Retrieved March 22, 2026 – via Instagram.
  30. ^ a b "2025 Winners and Nominees – ENNIE Awards". ENNIE Awards. Archived from the original on September 13, 2025. Retrieved March 22, 2026.
  31. ^ "Golden Cobra 2025 awards". Golden Cobra Challenge. Retrieved March 23, 2026.
  32. ^ Khor, Shing Yin (2025). Gods of Nothings (PDF).
  33. ^ Khor, Shing Yin [@sawdustbear]; (February 20, 2026). "JANUARY is a postcard-writing game about two artists living ordinary lives over five decades, in a world besieged by giant kaiju. By Indiecade-winning, Ennie-nommed game designer and artist Shing Yin Khor(@sawdustbear), in collaboration w/ illustrator Jared Andrew Schorr(@supercoolspyclub). We've been working on this game for a year and have already solidly met our Kickstarter goal!". Retrieved March 22, 2026 – via Instagram.
  34. ^ "JANUARY by shing". itch.io (Product page). March 18, 2026. Retrieved March 22, 2026.
  35. ^ "Elements: Earth A Comic Anthology by Creators of Color!". www.goodreads.com. Archived from the original on 2023-04-10. Retrieved 2021-04-14.
  36. ^ Wu, Katherine J. "Meet the Artist Behind Animal Crossing's Art Museum Island". Smithsonian Magazine. Archived from the original on 2021-04-14. Retrieved 2021-04-14.
  37. ^ a b "Games Lecture Series @Northeastern: Shing Yin Khor on Object-Narratives and Keepsake Games". Northeastern University. Archived from the original on 2023-04-10. Retrieved 2023-04-10.
  38. ^ Khor, Shing Yin [@sawdustbear]; (October 7, 2025). "So grateful to @doclafest for including GERONIMO WAS A BEAVER in their short film line up this year! Featuring @jayackley's music and my first on-screen puppets - this was also our first collaboration (more soon), and I am so glad that it gets to have a big screen premiere in my own hometown!". Retrieved March 23, 2026 – via Instagram.
  39. ^ "2025 DOC LA Awards". DOC LA Los Angeles Documentary Film Festival. Retrieved March 23, 2026.
  40. ^ "The Last Fifteen Minutes". Three Eyed Rat. Retrieved 2025-09-07.
  41. ^ Khor, Shing Yin (August 19, 2025). "The Last Fifteen Minutes is a marionette opera and short film about neighbors choosing to have dinner together fifteen minutes before a giant kaiju eats them. This is a project I'm so excited to make happen, and I hope you will be part of on this journey! [Kickstarter link]". Archived from the original on August 20, 2025. Retrieved September 7, 2025 – via Bluesky Social (@shing.bsky.social).
  42. ^ a b c Frank, Priscilla (2017-04-18). "This Queer, Immigrant Illustrator Starts Every Morning With A Work Of Activist Art". HuffPost. Archived from the original on 2022-12-09. Retrieved 2023-04-10.
  43. ^ a b "The 2022 Out100: See All the Names From the Full List Here". Out. October 28, 2022. Archived from the original on February 25, 2024. Retrieved March 23, 2026.
  44. ^ Woodstock, Tuck (February 26, 2024). "Episode 166: Shing Yin Khor". Gender Reveal (Podcast). Archived from the original on August 9, 2025. Retrieved March 24, 2026. I took on non-binary, basically, the moment I heard the word [...] So in a sense, it's been a very lengthy transition to being, I guess, officially non-binary.
  45. ^ Khor, Shing Yin (August 14, 2019). "'I Simply Wanted To Experience It': Discussing 'The American Dream?' With Shing Yin Khor" (Interview). Interviewed by Hannah Means Shannon. Comicon.com. Archived from the original on May 29, 2023. Retrieved March 24, 2026.
  46. ^ "The Legend of Auntie Po". Kirkus Reviews. 2021-04-14. Archived from the original on 2023-04-09. Retrieved 2023-04-09.
  47. ^ Leblanc, Philippe (2018-09-21). "Syndicated Comics". The Beat. Archived from the original on 2022-05-21. Retrieved 2023-04-10.
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  50. ^ "National Book Awards 2021". National Book Foundation. Archived from the original on 2021-11-17. Retrieved 2022-01-24.
  51. ^ Roback, Diane (2021-10-05). "Finalists for 2021 NBA in Young People's Literature Announced". Publishers Weekly. Archived from the original on 2023-01-26. Retrieved 2023-04-10.
  52. ^ "National Book Award Finalists Announced". Shelf Awareness. 2021-10-06. Archived from the original on 2022-12-09. Retrieved 2023-04-10.
  53. ^ "2022 Notable Children's Books". Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC). 2023-02-01. Retrieved 2023-04-10.
  54. ^ Reid, Calvin (2022-07-24). "Windsor-Smith's 'Monsters' Wins 2022 Eisner for Best New Graphic Novel". Publishers Weekly. Archived from the original on 2022-08-12. Retrieved 2023-04-10.
  55. ^ "What Made California the Golden State?: Life During the Gold Rush by Shing Yin Khor, Who HQ: 9780593385869". Penguin Random House. Retrieved March 22, 2026.
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