This week, Renée Watson gets a revolutionary launch; Alan Gratz and Lauren Tarshis hold a historical conversation; and Ilyasah Shabazz and Tiffany D. Jackson have an awakening.
Time for a Love Revolution
Renée Watson (r.) kicked off her virtual tour for her latest YA novel, Love Is a Revolution (Bloomsbury), on February 2. MahoganyBooks in Washington, D.C., hosted the Crowdcast celebration, with Ramunda Young (c.), co-founder and owner, serving as moderator. Elizabeth Acevedo (l.) joined Watson in conversation; the duo discussed protagonist Nala and how she’s perfect in her flaws, size diversity and representation on covers, intergenerational stories, Black love and Black joy, how to be true to yourself and your community, and Amanda Gorman’s recent national performances. The event was well attended by notable creators from the kidlit community, including Jennifer Baker, Sharon G. Flake, Gayle Forman, Adam Gidwitz, Tiffany D. Jackson, Tiffany Jewell, Brendan Kiely, Jason Reynolds, Ebony Elizabeth Thomas, Ibi Zoboi, and more. Watson’s tour will continue with seven more events, culminating in an appearance at the North Texas Teen Book Festival on March 6.
Making History
Alan Gratz (Ground Zero, Scholastic Press) and Lauren Tarshis (I Survived: The Nazi Invasion, 1944 (I Survived Graphic Novel #3), Graphix) joined Politics & Prose in Washington, D.C., for a February 2 virtual installment of P&P Live! Joined by ASL interpreter Jennifer Wagner, the bestselling middle grade authors chatted about writing difficult topics for young audiences, the importance of learning and preserving history, and more, followed by a q&a session.
Wake Up
Last month, co-authors Ilyasah Shabazz and Tiffany D. Jackson marked the release of The Awakening of Malcolm X (FSG) with a Crowdcast event presented by MahoganyBooks in Washington, D.C. The store’s co-founder and owner Ramunda Young moderated the January 5 discussion, wherein Shabazz, Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz’s third daughter, and 2019 Coretta Scott King-John Steptoe Award-winning author Jackson talked about their collaboration process, writing a novel about the human rights activist amid contemporary landscapes, and what they hope teens will take away from the novel. Pictured here (from l.): Jackson, Young, and Shabazz.
