Children’s Literature and Writing for Children graduate Emily Sun Li ’24MA/MFA reflects on her road to becoming a published author and how Simmons supported her career path.
Asking Emily Sun Li ’24MA/MFA why she chose to write children’s literature is like asking the moon why it chooses to rise.
“It’s all I ever remember doing,” says Sun Li. “As a kid, I was a voracious reader of kids’ books. It was a natural progression for me to start writing kids’ books.” Sun Li’s first picturebook, Mr. Chow’s Night Market (Penguin Random House) will be published in April.
“There is so much I love about children’s literature: the authenticity, the unapologetic joy, the lack of pretentiousness,” she says. Children, Sun Li notes, are among the harshest critics: far from complaining about a book they didn’t enjoy on BookTok, they will simply stop reading. For that reason, Sun Li believes, children’s literature is “storytelling in its rawest, purest form.”
During her undergraduate studies in creative writing, Sun Li noticed the limited attention paid to children’s literature and other forms of genre fiction. After earning her first master’s degree in education, she taught at a boarding school in Connecticut. She then received funding from the Fulbright Program to teach English as a second language to students in first through sixth grade in Taiwan.
Throughout her teaching career, her interest in writing remained. Sun Li was drawn to the dual degree program at Simmons that combines an MA in Children’s Literature and MFA in Writing for Children.
“I was excited to enter a program that celebrates children’s literature,” says Sun Li. “I love the act of writing, but I also wanted scholarly discourse around children’s literature. I also love Boston — it’s such a cultural hub with a lot of things to do, author readings, and story times. It’s a great place to study, and I had a wonderful time.”
Finding Inspiration Abroad
Sun Li’s first book is a non-fiction middle grade chapter book, The Good, the Bad, and the Fluffy: True Stories of Animal Troublemakers (Scholastic, 2024). “Scholastic had the idea for the chapter book and was looking for a writer,” recalls Sun Li. “My agent connected me with the editor at Scholastic.” While working on an assigned project limited her creative agency, Sun Li enjoyed the process. “My research was to watch animals on TikTok!” A second non-fiction book, Disney’s Lilo & Stitch: Into the Volcano (title tentative), is scheduled to be released by Scholastic in September 2026.
The soon-to-be released Mr. Chow’s Night Market came from Sun Li’s own experience living and teaching in Taiwan.
“I had an amazing time in Taiwan for so many reasons,” says Sun Li of her first time living abroad. “Taiwanese culture is generous and open, and the food is to die for! I rode a moped and drank fresh watermelon juice every day.”
The unique nightlife in Taiwan planted the seeds of inspiration. “I loved the culture of the night markets. I’ve always been a night owl, and often felt guilty for not being a morning person. In Taiwan, I was living in a place that celebrated the night.” This is not like the “nightlife” you’ll find in downtown Boston. “Night markets are embedded into the culture in Taiwan,” she says. “Every night, families would attend. It had a carnival-esque feel.”
Mr. Chow’s Night Market began as a writing assignment in a writing class at Simmons. “Originally it was a riff on a goodnight picturebook: as everything else is going to sleep, the night market is waking up,” recalls Sun Li.
She was drawn to the character of Mr. Chow and his sleepy, anthropomorphic grocery store, who struggle to open up early. By turning into a night market, Mr. Chow and the store find a way to lean into their personal rhythms. “It’s a story about creating a life that best serves you, even if it defies societal standards,” says Sun Li. “I hope it’s a message that will resonate with readers of all ages, especially children. If you hear and internalize these scripts, it’s okay to be critical — to ask, does it have to be this way?”
The concept resonates with Sun Li. “I’m trying to create art full time, so my days look different from most of my friends. I wondered what it would look like for a character to explore a new possibility for himself, even if it challenges some standards.”
Advice for Current Students
For current Simmons students looking forward to building careers on their creativity, Sun Li advises, “Be as proactive as possible about creating opportunities. If you think, ‘I wish they offered this,’ take initiative and be the change.”
While at Simmons, Sun Li followed her interest in traditional publishing to create an extracurricular club for students to meet once a week, share resources, and keep each other accountable. “Querying [agents] is draining; it’s nice to have company and support each other in our publishing journeys.”
Engagement in coursework, for Sun Li, was also key. “Simmons professors are such a wealth of knowledge, and so are your peers,” Sun Li notes. “They have experience in bookselling, teaching, working with kids, and parenting. Your peer community offers so many opportunities for learning if you are open to it and ready to engage.”
Since the intense reading load can prove daunting, Sun Li suggests practicing sustainable time management strategies. “It’s very easy to let graduate school take over your life,” she says. “I should have been more protective of my evenings after 7pm. It’s important to have time for yourself so you don’t burn out. Find the balance between engaging and protecting your energy to make sure your learning is sustainable.”
Simmons as a Doorway to the Industry
As part of her Writing for Children MFA at Simmons, Sun Li was paired with two industry professionals for two semester-long mentorships. Sun Li, who was writing a middle grade novel at the time, worked with Alvina Ling, vice president and editor-in-chief at Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. Her other mentor was Karly Dizon, an agent at Fuse Literary.
While she had envisioned herself solely writing middle grade or young adult fantasy novels, “The Picturebook” (CHL 403) taught by Assistant Teaching Professor Shelley Isaacson “changed the trajectory of my life and career,” she says. “[Isaacson] has this amazing ability to lead in a very subtle way. We were reading hundreds of picturebooks and discussing them really intentionally, and I fell in love with the art form.”
Sun Li’s background in poetry allowed her to see the overlaps between the two forms, including “the use of line breaks, the sparseness of text, and the use of white space.” In addition, a picturebook is “an aesthetic object, with a physicality,” notes Sun Li. “We learned how page turns can be used to build tension, and how the image can offer a counterpoint to the text. That course opened my eyes to the possibilities of the art form.”
Sun Li’s professor for “Writing for Children II” (CHL 431), Michelle Cusolito, “went above and beyond in supporting my career — connecting me with professional development opportunities, answering publishing questions, offering guidance throughout my querying journey.” In addition, Professor and Program Director Cathryn Mercier is “a steady and visionary leader for the program.”
Overall, her studies at Simmons were pivotal to Sun Li’s growth as a writer. “It’s incredible to look back and reflect on how my career grew through the program,” she says.