Sunday, June 14, 2026

Q&A with Tessa Yang

From my Q&A with Tessa Yang, author of The Jellyfish Problem:
How much work does your title do to take readers into the story?

“Jellyfish problems” was the thoughtless title I gave the Microsoft Word file where I was writing. It evolved into the title of the book because, as it turned out, it was doing quite a bit to take readers into the story. What problem is being caused by a jellyfish? How will the characters solve it? The book actually sold as Clementine; or, The Jellyfish Problem, à la Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, and was shortened during edits to just The Jellyfish Problem. I appreciate that it’s a mysterious title with a touch of whimsy, like...[read on]
Visit Tessa Yang's website.

Q&A with Tessa Yang.

--Marshal Zeringue