Tony Weaver, Jr. is an award-winning writer, educator, and influencer. He founded the social impact organization Weird Enough, whose mission is to use the narrative ability of graphic novels to foster greater self-awareness, social responsibility, and agency in students. He is the creator of the WEBTOON Original series The UnCommons and author of Weirdo, a middle-grades graphic novel memoir chronicling his childhood struggles with mental health.
Tony has also built up an audience of over half a million on TikTok, where he uses his positive influence in the nerd community to combat harmful media narratives and uplift young people.
WEIRDO has been honoured as:
A Kirkus Best Book of the Year
A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year
A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year
A New York Public Library Best Book of the Year
A Chicago Public Library Best Book of the Year
A People Magazine Best Book of the Year
I had a wonderful chat with Tony about the power of storytelling, the joys of structure, and the many ways that our stories can heal. NOTE: THIS CONVERSATION CONTAINS MENTION OF SUICIDE AND SELF-HARM.
Okay, FIRST of all, the video addition is fire! What a fun interview! I enjoy listening to smart people converse, so thank you so much. Secondly, I really need to get into capes, CLEARLY. And third, I’m so looking forward to hearing more from this author. I am so impressed with this writer’s… message, his focus and his empathy, and I don’t say that lightly.