Tucson Festival of Books

Kat Cho (she/her/hers)


Kat Cho is The New York Times and international bestselling author of the Gumiho duology, "Wish Upon a K-Star," and “Once Upon a K-Prom.” She loves weaving her Korean heritage into her stories, especially when it involves delicious food. A fan of all things nerdy, she enjoys reading, K-dramas, K-pop, and anime. 

Visit website | Bluesky Substack Instagram TikTok

Communities: LGBTQ+, Asian American


Scheduled events:
The "Meet Cute" in Rom Coms
Rom coms center on humor and finding love in the face of obstacles, especially the uncertainty of whether girls will ever have their own "meet cute." These rom coms include a girl receiving love letters from the future, two K-pop stars dealing with scandal, fake dating, and bad boys with good hearts.

YA Author Stage (Seats 84)  View this venue on the Festival map
Sat, Mar 14, 4:00 pm - 4:55 pm
Teen
Signing area: Sales & Signing Area - Integrated Learning Center (following presentation)  View this venue on the Festival map

Panelists: Kat Cho, Emiko Jean, Lynn Painter
Moderator: Kim Bussing
Sponsors: Session made possible courtesy of Vanessa C. Moss, Attorney-at-Law, The Greg D. and Melanie S. McFarland Foundation
Teen Worlds: YA Author Carousel
Meet a bunch of YA authors in 60 minutes and enter teen worlds of fantasy, mystery and complicated relationships. Each author will be seated at a table to talk with a small group about their newest book. Every eight minutes the authors will rotate to a new table in our version of author speed-dating.

Education Room 211 (Kiva) (Seats 200)  View this venue on the Festival map
Sun, Mar 15, 10:00 am - 10:55 am
Teen
Signing area: Signing Area - Children (following presentation)  View this venue on the Festival map

Panelists: Kat Cho, Emiko Jean, Susan Dennard, Alexander Greengaard, Tiffany D. Jackson, Cassandra James, Autumn Krause, Sunya Mara, Sasha Peyton Smith
Moderators: Magdalena Castillo-Cockrum, Caryl Crowell
Sponsors: Session made possible courtesy of Bookmans Entertainment Exchange, HarperCollins Children's Books
Commit to the Story: YA Workshop
A writing workshop on creating stories inspired by your experiences and culture. Kat Cho loves to incorporate her Korean heritage into her writing, especially K-drama and K-pop. She is the author of "Wish Upon a K-Star" and ""Once Upon a K-Prom."

UA Library YA /Room 254 Main Floor (Seats 55, Wheelchair accessible)  View this venue on the Festival map
Sun, Mar 15, 2:30 pm - 3:25 pm
Teen
Signing area: Sales & Signing Area - Integrated Learning Center (following presentation)  View this venue on the Festival map

Panelist: Kat Cho
Moderator: T. Gail Pritchard
Sponsor: Session made possible courtesy of Southside Community School

Books:
Wish Upon a K-Star
Children
Disney Publishing Worldwide
January 2025
ISBN 9781368103015
336 pages
Buy now

Once Upon a K-Prom
Children
Disney Publishing Group
May 2023
ISBN 9781368066983
336 pages
Buy now