Graphic novelist Yang wins 'genius' grant

A funny thing happened to graphic novelist Gene Luen Yang, 43, on his way to work the other day-the office, for him, being actually a table at a Panera Bread shop near his San Jose house.

"I used to have a studio at home, but I have four children-one boy and three girls-and the oldest girl got sick of sharing a room with her sister, so to keep the peace in our house, I gave up the studio," he said.

As he was backing out of the driveway, his phone rang. It was the MacArthur Foundation on the line. Congratulations, he was told, he had just won a "genius" grant for $650,000.