It’s been a big year for Corey Liu (MACL’21). His debut novel He’s So Possesed with Me was named as an ALA Stonewall Honor Book for Young Adult Literature and 2026 Lambda Literary Award Finalist in the LGBTQ+ Young Adult category. As a TV screenwriter, Corey is nominated for three Canadian Screen Awards (Best Writing, Children’s or Youth and Best Children’s or Youth Fiction Program or Series for Gangnam Project, and Best Writing, Drama Series for Family Law) and a Writers Guild of Canada Award (Best Writing in Drama Series for Family Law).
Thank you to Corey for participating in this short Q+A!
What was your journey into MACL like? What attracted you to the program?
I found a copy of Kallie George’s The Melancholic Mermaid at a bookstore and the author bio said she got her Masters of Children’s Literature from UBC. I remember thinking, Wait, people can study children’s literature at a graduate level? And they can do it here, in this city that I love?
I read that He’s So Possessed with Me started off as your graduate thesis. What was the process like turning it from thesis to a novel?
The transition from thesis to novel was pretty straight-forward. The editor gave me notes and I applied them. I’m used to that because my day job as a TV writer is mostly rewriting. The thesis-writing part was much harder. There were the typical first draft woes (figuring out story, character, theme) but also, life just got really messy around that time. We were all in lockdown, the world seemed especially hateful, and I felt isolated from my community. Then suddenly I was back on set, and I had to juggle thesis-writing with the demands of production. Sometimes I would write the thesis during lunch breaks and when it finally came to defending I had to request a trailer so I could do it over Zoom. Good times.
He’s So Possessed with Me was named as an ALA Stonewall Honor Book for Young Adult Literature – congratulations! Now that a few months have passed since the announcement, how are you feeling about receiving this honor?
When they called I thought maybe it was a scam. You know those author scams? So the whole call I was like, “Yeah, likely story — when are you gonna ask for my credit card number?” Then it turned out the whole panel was on the call, and they all said hi, but I was still like: “Woah this is an elaborate scam.” Now it’s been a few weeks and I guess I still feel surprised. Some of my favourite queer books growing up had the Stonewall sticker. And now I get to see it on my book’s cover next to the bedazzled heart. They match.
Not only are you a novelist, but you are also a screenwriter of a variety of TV shows. Does your MACL education influence your writing? If so, in what ways?
MACL definitely impacted my writing. Dr. Gooding’s class on fairytales in particular made me more aware of young adult literature’s contribution to fairytale adaptations, which made me more thoughtful about my own aspirations in the genre, my own interventions. MACL also gave me a terrific community. Some of my best friends are from the program. We write together and talk about books and TV together — it’s not a coincidence that ever since I joined MACL all my stories have been about friendship.
