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Michael Jung - Photo by M. Jung

Michael Jung is a professional writer and children’s literature specialist whose articles, reviews, interviews, and short stories have appeared in Reader’s Digest, Children’s Literature, Entropy Magazine, and The Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy.

An avid reader of graphic novels and children’s books, he earned his PhD in 20th Century American Literature with an emphasis in Children's Literature from Arizona State University. A lifelong love of the Oz books by L. Frank Baum led him to write his dissertation on the interpretations readers have created for The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. The resulting book, The Readers of Oz, is being reviewed for publication.

While earning his degree, Michael wrote feature stories for ASU’s online newsletter The Community Camera on topics ranging from domestic violence to advances in virtual reality. During this period, he also enjoyed success as an award-winning storyteller for BookPals, a Screen Actors Guild Foundation organization that sends storytellers to elementary schools to encourage literacy.

Michael enjoys teaching and spent four years as a writing instructor for the East Valley Writers, a professional writers group, where he designed lessons for everything from creating three-dimensional characters to improving query letters.

Although he specializes in articles on children’s literature, comic book culture, and writing instruction, Michael’s interests are eclectic and include film studies, American history, Asian culture, and technical writing.