One day, we’ll probably actually get rid of the terms “boy” book, “black” book and other such tags that dictates who the reader should be. But until then, so that everyone is speaking the same language and so that gatekeepers get an idea of who the lowest hanging fruit audience is for a novel – [ Read the full article… ]
28 Days
Day 13: ReShonda Tate Billingsley
While maybe readers know the award-winning ReShonda Tate Billingsley for her mainstream fiction for adults, she is also the author of the teen inspirational fiction series, “Good Girlz.” The first book in the series, Nothing But Drama (Simon and Schuster/Pocket, 2006) focuses on the friendship between four girls— Camille, Angel, Jasmine, and Alexis—that meet in [ Read the full article… ]
Day 12: Torrey Maldonado
Coe Booth called Torrey Maldonado’s debut novel, Secret Saturdays (G.P. Putnam’s Sons), “a story you won’t forget.” E.R. Frank said it “ought to be required reading at middle schools everywhere.” Rita Williams-Garcia said it’s “playground tough with a sweet center.” Intrigued? Well, here’s more. Maldonado, a veteran New York City public school teacher, says writing helped save him as [ Read the full article… ]
Day 11: Marie Bradby
Had she not given birth to her son, journalist Marie Bradby may never have written any of the remarkable children’s books she’s published over the past fifteen years. But she did…and she did. Bradby’s critically acclaimed titles include the picture books More Than Anything Else (Richard Jackson/Orchard Books, 1995); The Longest Wait (Orchard Books, 1998); Momma, Where Are [ Read the full article… ]
Day 10: Vanessa Brantley Newton
For this interview, I studied Vanessa’s website and sorted through her artwork, looking for just the right words to use in an introduction. I failed, big-time. Words like “charming,” “fresh,” and “retro” came to mind—boring words that didn’t do her art justice. I fretted for days. I care about my work here, and I wanted [ Read the full article… ]
Day 9: Artist Arthur
I think in my next life I want to be a paranormal or horror writer because I’ve always loved reading those genres. Yet my mind simply has never gone there when I sit down to write. Guess some of us just have a knack for putting a supernatural or fantastic spin on things. While YA [ Read the full article… ]
Crystal Allen
Crystal Allen has one of the best author bios ever: I was born in a military hospital in Germany because my dad was in the Army. I’m the youngest of five children. I spent lots of my young years in New Albany, Indiana where I was corn-shucking and multiplication queen of my third grade class. [ Read the full article… ]
Day 7: Christopher Grant
Christopher Grant is the debut author of Teenie (Knopf, Dec 2010). Born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, Christopher earned degrees in Economics and Human Resource Management from Stony Brook University. In addition to being an author, Christopher also works as an equities trader in New York. School Library Journal praises Teenie, calling it an “enjoyable [ Read the full article… ]