With the help of Lorna Hershinow who was adept at writing grants to bring YA authors to Hawaii, I was able to help bring three teen reading festivals to Hawaii island. The students were so excited to see these authors that they had been reading all year, and for the authors, they were tickled that the students treated them like rock stars in the authentic way that outer island kids can be thankful and excited.
During this time of Covid, the online, virtual author talks, the authors having conversations with each other on writing as well as the acceptance speeches for major prizes has been just like having the authors come to our schools. Maybe it is not rock star status, but the authors bring you into their offices, show off their books behind them and it feels intimate, like I am at a well lit jazz club.
This 52:02 video is especially poignant and focuses on writing process which includes, sometimes, getting permission. As someone who has been reading YA for a very long time, it was nice to see a mix of genres as well as new and veteran voices. I was especially excited that Gene Luen Yang's Dragon Hoops was honored because he was one of the authors that came to Hawaii for our teen reading festival. He was there to talk about his drawing process and his book, American Born Chinese. Another cool thing: all of the authors or BIPOC/AAPI authors.
Daniel Nayeri and Eric Gansworth also publish with Levine Querido. This publishing house was new to me, but I won a box of books from them last November and over this year I have been seeing what they publish and I am definitely a fan of their editorial eye for YA literature. I am storing this so I can pass it on for others to enjoy.
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