Rosena Fung is a Toronto illustrator and comic artist. Her self-published comics include Eating Time and Spin the Bottle, both published around 2015. Living With Viola, her mainstream debut forthcoming in October 2021 is a graphic novel for children. If you run into her at a zine fair, be aware that her name is pronounced “Rosanna”.
Fiction (Graphic novel, Young adult)
Age 16
Toronto: Annick Press, 2024.
Publisher’s Synopsis (From its website)
Guandong, 1954 Sixteen-year-old Mei Laan longs for a future of freedom, and her beauty may be the key to getting it. Can an arranged marriage in Hong Kong be the answer to all her problems?
Hong Kong, 1972 Sixteen-year-old Lydia wants nothing more than to dance and to gain approval from her mother, who is largely absent and sharply critical, especially about the way she looks. Maybe her way to happiness is starting over in Toronto?
Toronto, 2000 Sixteen-year-old Roz is grappling with who she wants to be in the world. The only thing she is certain of is that if she were thinner, things would be better. How can she start living her life, instead of just photographing it?
When Roz’s estranged por por abruptly arrives for a seemingly indefinite visit, three generations are now under one roof. Delicate relationships are suddenly upended, and long suppressed family secrets begin to surface.
Fiction (Graphic novel, Juvenile)
Living With Viola
Toronto: Annick Press, 2021.
PZ7.1.F86 L58 2021
Publisher’s Synopsis (From its website)
Livy is already having trouble fitting in as the new girl at school—and then there’s Viola. Viola is Livy’s anxiety brought to life, a shadowy twin that only Livy can see or hear. Livy tries to push back against Viola’s relentless judgment, but nothing seems to work until she strikes up new friendships at school. Livy hopes that Viola’s days are numbered. But when tensions arise both at home and at school, Viola rears her head stronger than ever. Only when Livy learns how to ask for help and face her anxiety does she finally figure out living with Viola.
Rosena Fung draws on her own early experiences with anxiety and the pressures of growing up as the child of Chinese immigrant parents to craft a charming, deeply personal story that combines the poignancy of Raina Telgemeier’s Guts with the wacky humor of Lumberjanes. Exuberant, colorful art brings Livy’s rich imaginative world—filled with everything from sentient dumplings to flying unicorns—to life on the page.
Awards and Honours
2022 The Egghead: The Doug Wright Award for best kids’ book (Finalist)
2022 Jean Little First-Novel Award (Finalist)