Randy Ribay

Randy Ribay is an American writer of middle grade and young adult fiction. Ribay has won the 2019 Freeman Book Award from the National Consortium for Teaching About Asia and was a finalist for the 2019 National Book Awards for Young People's Literature category for his book Patron Saints of Nothing.[1]

Randy Ribay
NationalityAmerican
Alma mater
OccupationWriter
AwardsFreeman Book Award (2019)

Personal life

Born in the Philippines and raised in the Midwest, Ribay was originally an aerospace engineering major [Harvard News 2020] who changed his major to English literature and earned his Bachelor of Arts in English literature from the University of Colorado at Boulder. His master's degree was in language and literacy from Harvard Graduate School of Education.[2][3]

Ribay teaches high school English in San Francisco, CA.[3]

He began his writing career by writing poetry but broke into the prose writing scene by participating in Pitch Slam at a Writer's Digest annual conference.[2][4]

Career

Patron Saints of Nothing

Ribay is the author of the award-winning book Patron Saints of Nothing (2019). Although initially rejected by several editors, the book won the Freeman Award and was short-listed for the National Book Awards for Young People's Literature in 2019.[3] The book was also nominated for the 2020 Edgar Awards chosen by the Mystery Writers of America.[5] Patron Saints of Nothing appeared on several Best of 2019 lists including those published by NPR, Kirkus, and the New York Public Library[6][7][8]

The book is a coming-of-age story about Jay Reguero, a Filipino-American boy of high school age. Reguero travels to the Philippines to find out the story behind a cousin killed in an ongoing drug war based on the nonfictional drug war established by Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte. Once there, he must reevaluate his heritage and his status as a Filipino-American outsider.[9][4]

Ribay considered the book to be dedicated to the "hyphenated", referring to his Filipino-American heritage.[9]

Publications
  • An Infinite Number of Parallel Universes (2015)
  • After The Shot Drops (2018)
  • Patron Saints of Nothing (2019)

References
  1. "Patron Saints of Nothing". NCTA. Retrieved 2021-04-21.
  2. "APALA Author Interview: Randy Ribay – APALA". Retrieved 2021-04-21.
  3. Hough, Lory. "The Patron Saint of Writing What You Know". Harvard Graduate School of Education. Retrieved 2021-04-21.
  4. Tandy Lau (2019-07-14). "Filipino Author Randy Ribay Is Taking His Lessons Outside Of The Classroom—Life Lessons That Is". Character Media. Retrieved 2021-04-21.
  5. "Heller, Robotham, and Kim Among 2020 Edgar Nominees". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 2021-04-21.
  6. "Best Books 2021: Books We Love". apps.npr.org. Retrieved 2021-04-21.
  7. PATRON SAINTS OF NOTHING | Kirkus Reviews.
  8. "Introducing NYPL's Best Books of 2019". The New York Public Library. Retrieved 2021-04-21.
  9. "'Patron Saints Of Nothing' Is A Book For 'The Hyphenated'". NPR.org. Retrieved 2021-04-21.
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