the door at the crossroads

I’m trying out new titles for the sequel to A Wish After Midnight. My plan was to write 500 words each day, which would produce 15,000 words by the end of the month. I’m behind, of course, but wrote close to a thousand words late last night and still believe I CAN finish this novel in a couple of weeks. Did you notice that summer’s almost over? I’ve started scheduling school visits for the fall, and the leaves in Brooklyn have already started to turn color and lie crisp on the sidewalk. I’ll be in Baltimore for Kidlitcon 2015 and hope to see you there—check out the great program. I’m honored to be on a panel with three other women of color bloggers and authors.

Intersectionality: The Next Step in Diverse Books

The need for diversity in books has never been clearer as readers clamor for stories about underrepresented characters. But diversity can’t be understood through a single lens. Nor can different types of underrepresented experiences be considered independently from each other. This panel will discuss the need for intersectionality in books, and how it can take the diverse books movement to the next level.

Panelists:

• Libertad Araceli Thomas (Twinja Book Reviews)
• Guinevere Zoyana Thomas (Twinja Book Reviews)
• Mary Fan (Flynn Nightsider)
• Zetta Elliott (The Deep)

I’ve been talking about and teaching intersectionality for some time now, and am looking forward to selecting examples from my books for young readers. The latest is I Love Snow! which isn’t quite ready but should be available for purchase in a day or two. This is one of my favorite illustrations by Purple Wong. I felt it was important to have as many different kinds of kids included in this book about winter in Brooklyn. It’s also meant to be a tribute to Ezra Jack Keats’ The Snowy Day, which was the first book to reflect my Black, Afro-ed, snow-loving child self. I know what it’s like to feel invisible and so I try to write about the kids who might also feel that way–Black Muslims, Afro-Latinos, Black kids living with disabilities, Black queer youth. I write about kids with various family configurations. Kids who live at multiple intersections of identity in a world that prefers simple binaries. Last Wednesday I gave a reading at the Marcy Plaza Farmer’s Market; the event was organized by the Bed-Stuy Restoration Corporation and I was thrilled that coordinator Tracey Capers invited kids from Children of Promise, NYC, a nonprofit that provides services for kids who have an incarcerated parent. Nearly 3 million kids in the US have a parent in prison, but where are the books that reflect their reality? Everyone has a story to tell and every story reflects a unique point of view. I want my books to reflect the diversity within the Black community because ALL Black Lives Matter.