Day 12: Jennifer Baker

by Kelly Starling Lyons | Posted on
Photo by Gaby Deimeke

Jennifer Baker is an author and editor/project manager with over 20 years’ experience in book publishing. She’s also the creator/host of the Minorities in Publishing podcast, and has been a faculty member at Bay Path University’s MFA in Creative Nonfiction and The City College of New York. In 2019, she was named Publishers Weekly Superstar for her contributions to inclusion and representation in publishing and was a recipient of the 2024 Axinn Writing Award from Adelphi University. Jennifer is the author of Forgive Me Not (Nancy Paulsen Books, 2023), a 2023 Los Angeles Times Book Prize finalist. Forgive Me Not was also listed as a 2023 NYPL Best Book for Teens, a 2023 Best of the Best by the Black Caucus American Library Association, and was included on the Texas Library Association’s 2024 TAYSHAS Reading List and Capitol Choices’ 2024 Noteworthy Books for Teens. She also edited the short story anthology Everyday People: The Color of Life (Atria Books, 2018). Her fiction, nonfiction, and criticism has appeared in various print and online publications. Her website is: JenniferNBaker.com.

The Journey: My Path to Publishing

My path to publishing is two-fold: author and publishing employee. I’ve worked in book publishing (or pub-adjacent areas) for over 20 years. From the time I got my undergrad degree, I interned then gained full-time positions in the publishing world. From my early 20s to late 30s, I was applying to residencies and conferences. I banked PTO to go on residencies or travel for writing workshops, and joined local workshops, too. Over the years, I gained friends from each space I joined, forming critique groups where meeting regularly varied, and bonds strengthened in some cases more than others. My path included learning more about the business while working inside it and continually studying the craft of writing or gaining insight from instructors on how to improve my voice and trust myself (and the reader). While I didn’t publish my debut until I was in my early 40s, I’d written numerous manuscripts that didn’t find a home and published short works. Every draft and critique experience helped me learn more about myself—what to take, what to leave, what to consider—so that I could be more solidified in my writing practice. 

The Back Story: How I Got “The Deal”

Forgive Me Not was acquired within 2 weeks of submission in the fall of 2020. Wild, right? I felt incredibly lucky editors were reading submissions at all, let alone considering mine while we were all in lockdown. Jenni (my agent) and I went over our submission list, she sent it out, and we heard back very quickly from the legendary Stacey Barney. From there things moved fast. (Funny enough, at the time, Stacey and I worked at the same publisher, she on the Penguin side and me on the Random House side.) Stacey truly understood the aims of this book, how I was developing a story about carceral systems and complicity in a different way, and that I wasn’t aiming to create a sensational story but one that truly allowed the teens depicted to have agency and question the world (and adults) around them. She and I got along great, and Stacey made an offer fairly quickly. I didn’t get to celebrate, really—again, shutdown—but it felt amazing to know a story I’d worked on for 6 years found a home with someone who was as invested in its meaning as I was. 

The Process: How I Work

Character comes first. Not that the plot or big picture idea doesn’t also. I come up with ideas for stories all day/every day: “What if [insert wacky conundrum here]?” But if I don’t truly see or understand the characters who are going on the journey, the story falls flat. (I currently have several partially written chapters of novels to prove it.) When I truly know the cast, or at least have a firm grounding of what they’re like—not just how they look, but their belief systems, their fears, their desires [especially their desires], their community—things fall into place a bit easier. It even makes the revision process a bit easier because then I can say, “Well, I don’t believe she’d do that because XYZ. Delete!” Once I know the cast, writing is a hodge podge. I scribe scenes as they come to me–I don’t write a story linearly. Then, I bring the puzzle together after the initial (messy) draft. From there, I build on connective threads to see how tension and pacing works to move the story forward. For me, everything is a puzzle so it makes sense that my writing practice kind of looks similar. 

Under the Radar 

Yay, I love shout outs! Below are just a few super talented, awesome creators you can learn more about. All with wonderful books available for young readers! 

    • Nilah Magruder is a comic artist and writer who has done picture books like How to Find a Fox and Wutaryoo and she has a new middle grade graphic novel, Creaky Acres, pubbing this year. 
    • Kim C. Johnson has written 3 searing young adult novels, including the most recent The Color of  Lie, in addition to Invisible Son and This is My America. 
  • Allen R. Wells debut It’s Pride, Baby! is one I saw recommended on The Brown Bookshelf and he has more picture books available/on the horizon. 
  • Gary R. Gray Jr. is a fellow podcaster (and teacher) with a picture book, I’m From, out now and another (Spending Time) coming in 2026. 

The Buzz

“Jennifer Baker crafts a riveting, heartbreaking, and ultimately redemptive tale with nuanced characters
that are perfectly flawed and relatable. Forgive Me Not is an astute social commentary on the juvenile
justice system and a powerful reflection on who deserves second chances. A groundbreaking debut that will stay with the reader long after the story ends.” — Renée Watson, #1 New York Times bestselling author

“Through Vince and Violetta’s resonant alternating perspectives, debut author Baker empathetically
examines the harsh treatment of Black youth in the justice system, and its ripple-effect impact on the detainee’s family.” — Publisher’s Weekly

“Baker makes a powerful and passionate statement about real justice embedded in a well-constructed plot populated by vivid characters.” — Booklist, Starred Review

“Brilliant, bold, and deeply moving, Forgive Me Not shines a necessary and dignifying light on the young
people trapped in a broken system of justice. This novel radiates with the redemptive power of love
and forgiveness.” — Brendan Kiely, co-author of the New York Times bestselling All American Boys and The Other Talk

“Unflinching and character-driven, Forgive Me Not confronts difficult questions about identity, family,
and forgiveness. A potent reminder of the personal and societal harm caused by dehumanizing systems.” —Randy Ribay, National Book Award Finalist

Visit Jennifer Baker

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