Are you an aspiring kidlit author of color wondering if a mentor might be just what you need to assist you on the path to publication? Kid Lit Nation will be linking up-and-coming authors of color with mentors this year. I am one of the authors who will providing mentorship later this year for an aspiring middle grade author of color, I want to let potential mentees know a little about me. I hope this will help you decide whether or not you want to work with me.
My first children’s book, PULL, was published in 2010 by WestSide Books. This YA story was set in Chicago, my home town. After winning several writing contests, PULL won me my first agent, Andrea Somberg from the Harvey Klinger agency. I used first person, present tense to tell the story of a seventeen-year-old African American boy overwhelmed by sudden responsibility for his younger siblings. He also has to confront a feeling of guilt for not protecting his mother from his dangerously abusive father. Into that mix of emotions comes a teen girl dealing with an abusive boyfriend.
PULL became one of YALSA’s Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers. It was also named to a list of books for incarcerated kids, and won a People’s Choice award in YA literature.
My second YA book was Being God. This featured a teen confronted with a choice between the beloved grandfather who wants him for a drinking buddy, and following the twelve steps of AA. I self-published this book.
As you can see, I like confronting young readers with the kinds of complex issues they have to live with. That extends to middle grade readers.
In 2018, my first Middle Grade novel was published by Harper Collins. COURAGE follows a group of Chicago middle schoolers. They show that not black kids cam be fearless swimmers and divers and face threats including police brutality. They are also willing to work together regardless of race to help improve their neighborhood. Readers get taken to see several Chicago south side locations on the pages of COURAGE.
COURAGE has received positive reviews from Publisher’s Weekly, and Kirkus Reviews, and was recently named one of the best middle grade books of the year by Best Children’s Books of the Year by the Bank Street College of Education’s Children’s Book Committee
FYI, I switched to a new agent last year, Emily Sylvan Kim from Prospect Agency. She and I are now working on a new middle grade story that will be about several kids in a middle grade orchestra competing for a prize.
This is me. I would love to hear from potential mentees. I would love the opportunity to work with a motivated aspiring author of color. So if interested, please apply at http://kidlitnation.com/home/own-your-voice/mentorship-program/