Eori Tokunaga is an author, illustrator, librarian, and zinester based in Los Angeles.
Eori’s work is largely inspired by her childhood: climbing trees, making fairy houses, and reading Japanese picture books about food. Additionally, her background as a Queer and Transgender, Japanese-Taiwanese American Woman informs much of the work she creates today.
When she isn’t painting, making pressed flowers, or creating zines, Eori works on her manuscripts and picture book dummies that she hopes to have published one day. She’s been dreaming of this goal since middle school.
In her spare time, Eori likes to fold origami cranes, play with her stubborn puppy Hana, and indulge in cheesy romance novels.
Eori is currently a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators-Los Angeles (SCBWI-LA) and has participated in the Children’s Book Academy and the 12x12 Challenge.
Outside of her work, art, and personal life, Eori serves as Assistant Editor for SCBWI-LA Kite Tales, freelances as a book reviewer for Booklist, and is a member of the Asian Pacific American Librarians Association (APALA) Literature Awards Committee.
Contact Information:
Awards
Highlights Foundation 2025 Trans Women Write Scholarship (March 2025)
Honorable Student Mention: ARC Student Show (May 2021)
Publications
Nature Loved & Lost (Filter Feeder Vol. 1 || Spring 2025) (April 22, 2025)
“How Were Children Affected by World War II? Primary Sources of Youth Voices from Japanese-American Incarceration” (February 22, 2023)
“What Makes You Happy? Collections That Spark Joy!” (March 28, 2022)
Interviews
Art Exhibitions
Playtime 3 Art Show: The Los Angeles Makery (February 2025)
CFAER’s Crushes Zine Fest + Art Show (February 2025)
2024 Annual Palos Verdes Library District Community Art Show (November - December 2024)
CFAER’s Crushes Zine Fest + Art Show (February 2024)
ARC Student Show: Kaneko Gallery (May 2021)
Art Under Quarantine: Kaneko Gallery (January 2021)
ARC Student Show: Kaneko Gallery (April 2020)
Tabling Events
Comic Orange 2025 (May 2025)
Spring 2025 Remainders Maker Market (May 2025)
Los Angeles Zine Fest (March 2025)
CFAER’s Crushes Zine Fest + Art Show (February 2025)
Fall 2024 Remainders Maker Market (November 2024)
CFAER Zine Fest Hallow-Zine (November 2024)
Orange County Zine Fest (September 2024)
American Library Association: Zine Pavilion (June 2024)
Affiliations
American Library Association
Asian Pacific American Librarians Association
California Library Association
Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators
