Shing Yin Khor

Shing Yin Khor is a Malaysian-American artist, cartoonist and game designer. They are the creator of the comics The American Dream? A Journey on Route 66, The Center for Otherworld Science (2014) and Say it with Noodles (2018), the last of which won them an Ignatz Award. Khor's middle grade graphic novel, The Legend of Auntie Po (2021), earned an Eisner Award and was a finalist for the 2021 National Book Award for Young People's Literature.

As a game designer, Khor is known for creating keepsake journaling games. They co-designed Field Guide to Memory (2021) which won an IndieCade Award. Khor's Remember August (2022) also won an IndieCade Award and The Bird Oracle (2025) was nominated for an ENNIE Award.

Early life Khor is Malaysian Chinese, grew up in the Philippines, and moved to the United States at age 16. They are now a naturalized citizen of the United States. Khor studied Technical Theatre and English at Whittier College, graduating in 2005.

Career Khor initially worked as a theatrical set and prop designer. In 2011, Khor created the photo web comic Marlowe the Monster which featured clay sculptures and sets they had created. and at the Homestead National Historical Park in 2016. They have created installation art and sculpture

The Center for Otherworld Science (2014–2018) Khor created the webcomic The Center for Otherworld Science, in which scientists are experimenting on flora and fauna of a place called the Otherworld. These experiments have led to advances, such as eradicating sickle cell anemia, but are morally dubious. After an incident leads to the death of one worker, the survivors must deal with the fallout of the accident and face the emotional and existential consequences.

A review of the webcomic for The Beat said that it "combines otherworldly creatures and fantastic settings with the mundane details of working in a professional setting and the small moments shared between three coworkers. The result is a comic that feels both familiar and ethereal simultaneously, a sense that is only underscored by the simple and extremely effective art.

The American Dream? A Journey on Route 66 (2019) The American Dream? A Journey on Route 66: Discovering Dinosaur Statues, Muffler Men, and the Perfect Breakfast Burrito is an autobiographical graphic novel by Khor. It described a road trip they took along U.S. Route 66, in part to discover themselves and the other America (outside of their home of Los Angeles) they knew little about. The novel covers the history of Route 66 and the boom and bust its populations have faced, while visiting and drawing kitschy tourist traps, giant sculptures and abandoned roadside attractions.

A reviewer for The A.V. Club said of the novel, "If not for Khor's art, the book might have still been a bit of a dry read. But rich with water colors and visible sketch lines under finished shapes, it feels organic and alive. It's rich with texture and soft shapes, smiling faces that are simple without being overly cartoonish. There are several double-page spreads that capture the incredible vistas and remarkable secrets Route 66 holds for travelers... Khor's awe and frustration and joy as they encounter new things are all palpable. It makes clear how Khor's own experiences and needs shaped their trip and the book itself, which leads gracefully into exploration of Khor's complicated relationship with America as an immigrant... It's a journey made up of the weird and wonderful, as well as the deeply concerning ways that people leave their mark on the world."

The Legend of Auntie Po (2021) In 2021, Khor released their second full-length graphic novel and first middle grade historical fiction book The Legend of Auntie Po. Set shortly after the Chinese Exclusion Act, it focuses on a young girl named Mei and her father who work at a California logging camp and the stories Mei tells "of Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox, reimagined as the legends of Auntie Po and her faithful blue buffalo, Pei Pei". The Legend of Auntie Po was a 2021 finalist for the National Book Award for Young People's Literature Field Guide to Memory won the 2021 IndieCade Award in the "Best Live Game" category. The Verge highlighted that "the pair defined keepsake games as both a genre and a useful shorthand for their work". Khor also designed the solo storytelling role-playing game A Mending (2021); the player follows prompts and stitches their journey on a pre-made cloth map.

In 2022, Khor created Remember August, a live keepsake game where they mailed participants letters as a one-time event. They also released a downloadable version of the game and its ephemera. It won the 2022 IndieCade Award for "Best Tabletop Design". They created The Bird Oracle, a keepsake journaling game, in 2025. It was nominated for the 2025 ENNIE Award in "Best Writing". Also in 2025, they released Gods of Nothings, a live action role-playing game which involves the creation of a physical mask. In 2026, in collaboration with illustrator Jared Andrew Schorr, Khor designed the two-person postcard writing game January.

Other works Khor has produced work for HuffPost, The Nib and The Toast. They also contributed to the comics anthology Elements: Earth. Khor received coverage from the Smithsonian for recreating other artworks in Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

In 2023, they worked as an adjunct lecturer at University of Southern California. Khor was in the 2023/2024 "Creators in Residence" cohort at the Los Angeles Public Library. Their short film Geronimo Was A Beaver (2024), which featured puppets Khor made, won the "Best Animated Documentary Award" at the 2025 Doc LA Festival. In 2025, they funded a "marionette opera and short film" titled The Last Fifteen Minutes on Kickstarter. The Last Fifteen Minutes was also Khor's thesis project at the School of Visual Arts; in 2026, they graduated with a Master of Fine Arts in Visual Narrative.

Personal life alt=A half-body painting of a woman in a blue parka with the hood up. The woman has both arms stretched up with each hand giving the middle finger. At the waist is a text banner: "Long Live Resistance Auntie". Khor is queer, In a 2017 interview with HuffPost, they said, "I do believe that the personal is political, and have always felt that writing about myself ― as a brown, immigrant woman ― is by default a political gesture because our voices are incredibly underrepresented in all creative fields." and stated that they use gender-neutral pronouns.

Awards and honors Kirkus Reviews named The Legend of Auntie Po one of the best books of 2021. In 2022, Khor was included in the Out100 list. +Awards for Khor's work Year Work Award Category Result Ref. 2018 Say It With Noodles Ignatz Award Outstanding Minicomic 2021 Field Guide to Memory IndieCade Awards Best Live Game 2021 The Legend of Auntie Po Cybils Award Graphic Novel (Elementary/Middle Grade) 2021 The Legend of Auntie Po National Book Award Young People's Literature 2022 The Legend of Auntie Po Association for Library Service to Children Notable Children's Books 2022 The Legend of Auntie Po Eisner Awards Best Publication for Teens 2022 Remember August IndieCade Awards Best Tabletop Design As editor

I was a Teenage Gargoyle (2012) Blood Root (2014)

Featured In

Scene Shift (2022)