Kyle Lukoff is the author of many books for young readers. His debut middle-grade novel, Too Bright To See, received a Newbery Honor, the Stonewall award, and was a National Book Award finalist. His picture book When Aidan Became A Brother also won the Stonewall, and his book “Call Me Max” has been banned in schools across the country. He has forthcoming books about mermaids, vegetables, death, and lots of other topics. While becoming a writer he worked as a bookseller for ten years, and then nine more years as a school librarian. He hopes you’re having a nice day.
I had the opportunity to interview Kyle, which you can read below.
First of all, welcome to Geeks OUT! Could you tell us a little about yourself?
Thank you! I worked at Barnes and Noble for a decade before becoming a librarian, and now I’m a full-time writer. For years now my whole life has basically been “books” and “gay,” and that becomes more accurate all the time. A lot of my friends have been involved in Geeks OUT over the years.
How did you find yourself getting into children’s literature, both picture books, and middle grade? What drew you to these mediums?
I’ve worked on all different kinds of projects–fiction and non-fiction for adults, short stories, poetry, I just like to write. The first time I seriously tried to get published it was with a young adult manuscript, and when that didn’t go anywhere I decided to try submitting this picture book idea I came up with not long after college, which had been languishing in my inbox for about a decade. I love writing for kids and am really glad that’s where my career ended up, but it seems more like a matter of luck than intention.
As a writer, you are well-known for your work, When Aidan Became A Brother, one of the first picture books with a trans male lead. What was the inspiration for the story?
A couple of people had asked if I knew of any picture books with a trans boy character, and I was having a hard time thinking of one. The idea of writing one myself was always there, but I was resistant to the idea until this image of a little boy telling us about his room popped into my head. The story unfolded from there, but it took a long time before it became “Aidan.”
What does it mean for you as a writer having created this picture book as a trans man yourself?
I love knowing that when someone says “Can you recommend a picture book about a trans boy?” they can get one by an adult trans man who’s a professional writer. Now, all we need is more!
For those who are unfamiliar with how a picture book is made (or are hoping to write picture books themselves) how would you describe the process?
Like any writing project, you sit down and come up with the words you need to tell the story you want to tell. Though picture books have more in common with formalist poetry than, say, short stories. Another important point to note is that, unless you are also an illustrator, you will likely have no control over who illustrates it or what it looks like.
What are some of the best ways/resources to learn more about making a picture book?
“From Cover to Cover” by KT Horning. I also recommend reading as many picture books as you can, and carefully analyzing how they’re structured.
As a writer, who or what would you say are some of your greatest creative influences and/or sources of inspiration?
I am mostly influenced and inspired by the books I dislike, and the books I wish didn’t take up such prominent space on bookstore shelves or on reading lists. I want to supplant them with stories that I think are better, which include (but are certainly not limited to) my own.
What’s a question you haven’t been asked yet but wish you were asked (as well as the answer to that question)?
So far no one has really asked me about the main character’s mom in “Different Kinds of Fruit,” who I wrote based on many of the queer fat femmes I have been lucky enough to know and love. I just think she’s so cool, and I really wanted Annabelle to look at her mom and think “I hope I look like her when I grow up.”
Aside from writing, what do you enjoy doing or learning about in your free time?
I love riding my bike and embarking on complicated cooking experiments. I used to do a lot of jigsaw puzzles, but not so much now that I live with my boyfriend. I still love to read and am always excited when I find a book that makes me feel like a reader again, not a writer half-analyzing the craft.
Are there any projects you are working on and at liberty to speak about?
I can’t talk about the one I am currently working on, but I can be excited about my first board book coming out next summer. It’s called AWAKE, ASLEEP and it’s a very complicated rhyme scheme that will be very easy to read aloud. I also have an epistolary picture book coming out called DEAR ZOE, about how to apologize. That one was hugely challenging and extremely fun.
What advice would you give to other aspiring writers, especially those who want to create and publish queer narratives, too?
Give up if you want to, and if you can’t give up, don’t.
Finally, what LGBTQIA+ books/authors would you recommend to the readers of Geeks OUT?
Ooh I love Leah Johnson, her two YAs are spectacular and she has a middle grade coming out too! I’m also a huge fan of Lev Rosen‘s YA fiction, Lisa Bunker‘s middle grade, everything by Brandy Colbert, and I adored THE WITCH KING by H.E. Edgmon and am excited for the sequel.
I had the opportunity to interview Will, which you can read below.
First of all, welcome to Geeks OUT! Could you tell us a little about yourself?
Hi hi! Feeling star-struck to get to be here! I’m Will (or Liam sometimes when I feel like living the other half of my name). I am gay, biromantic, gray ace, and enby, or, as a teacher friend once dubbed me, multidisciplinary queer. I’m a dual US/UK citizen, though I’ve lived around Seattle my whole life and don’t get to visit my family over there nearly enough.
I write mostly Middle Grade, but I’ve got several picture books doing the editor rounds and am piecing together a super gay murder-mystery-musical-romcom which I’m crossing all my fingers will turn into my first YA. (Let me tell you I am daunted, but if it comes together it’ll be so fun.)
How would you describe your upcoming book, The Language of Seabirds? Where did the inspiration for the story come from and where did you come up with the beautiful title?
The Language of Seabirds is the book of my heart, and also a real departure for me. My first four books are all silly, bouncy romps full of pillow forts and ghost mooses and evil slime and dogs who think they’re people. Seabirds is a contemporary romance about the first big feelings of love, and how the time and place where they arise (in this case summer on the Oregon coast) gets woven into our hearts. My own first big feelings happened in fifth grade and were immediately drowned out by shame and the fear that someone would be able to tell I liked a boy. I wanted Seabirds to be a book where the good feelings win, and where a kid who’s not super certain of anything yet gets to just feel and celebrate and be.
And hey, thanks for the kind words about the title! It came to me as I was lying on the couch eating mac and cheese and watching cooking shows on Netflix. (My natural habitat.) A Danish chef was saying something about “the alphabet of Nordic cuisine,” and all in a flash I saw a boy watching another boy running along a beach in my mind, with birds wheeling and crying overhead. The title showed up in the same moment, just there suddenly, and as I got into writing the book I discovered that the language of seabirds is actually a code the two boys come up with, a way to say what neither of them is quite ready to say out loud yet in the big noisy world. I feel like I can’t take any credit for the title; it definitely felt like a gift!
How did you get into writing, and what drew you to Middle Grade fiction specifically?
I was that kid who preferred the library to the playground, so the love of books and stories was always there. I started writing in seventh grade when a fabulous English teacher liked a poem I wrote and encouraged me to keep going, and I was lucky enough to get more fabulous English teachers in high school who pushed me to work hard at it and grow. I stepped away from writing for a decade or so after college as I bounced around trying to find my place in the world, but when nothing else seemed to fit I came back to it, found I still loved it, and got to work.
As for Middle Grade, oof, that’s a big answer. I guess at a core level my heart is still eleven years old, and the sheer magic and wonder I remember books giving me access to at that age has never gone away.
The field of LGBTQ+ Middle-Grade literature is slowly, but steadily growing. What are your thoughts on the medium as it stands, and can you name any titles that stand out to you?
I cannot express how excited I am to see this field finally expanding! I wrote Seabirds because it was the exact book I needed as a kid. Not to sound all own-horn-tooty, but speaking as someone who didn’t feel safe enough to come out until after college, I guarantee my life would have been different if I’d had access to this book in fifth grade. With every LGBTQ+ Middle Grade book added to the shelves another kid in our community gets a mirror to see themselves and feel good about who they are and who they’re on their way to becoming.
I’ll save my book recommendations for the question at the end, but I have to shout out absolute legend Kacen Callender here, who has 100% led the way with LGBTQ+ Middle Grade. Their work is extraordinary, and I’ll remember the first time I read Hurricane Child for the rest of my life.
How would you describe your writing process? What are some of your favorite things about writing?
Once my agent has approved one of the endless ideas I send him (*blows kisses to Brent Taylor at Triada US*) I usually spend a few weeks getting all the themes and arcs and characters in place. I’m definitely a plotter; I write best knowing where I’m going and trusting that I’ve already done the heavy lifting to make sure it will all work. After that I tend to set up a checklist system so I have a certain doable amount to get done every day, which builds into a positive sense of momentum—another thing that’s essential to me doing my best. Writing’s hard enough without feeling like I’m behind all the time!
I should say it’s taken several books to figure out how I like to write, and I’m sure it will change along with me in the future.
Favorite things about writing: I love the way scenes and pages stack together and accumulate. Putting words into a blank space is such an act of faith, and it’s always magical to see the threads you’ve laid down start to weave together, to see the characters learn and change, and to be able to channel your own emotions into something other people can experience.
Were there any stories or authors that inspired or touched you growing up?
Oh, so many. I think the ones that really stand out in my brain are the ones about strange, overlooked kids being summoned by mysterious forces to worlds where they are powerful and needed. (Strong resonances for LGBTQ+ kids in that archetype for sure!) Susan Cooper’s The Dark is Rising was huge for me, as was A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin. So You Want to Be a Wizard, by Diane Duane; Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson; A String in the Harp by Nancy Bond; the Redwall series by Brian Jacques; everything by Rosemary Sutcliff, especially The Eagle of the Ninth and The Shining Company… so, so many.
Besides being a writer, what are some things you would like others to know about you?
Ha ha, oh nooo, this is like filling out a dating profile! I’m sorry but I’m honestly so boring! I spend the vast majority of my time reading kidlit, writing kidlit, comparing movies and TV shows to kidlit, talking about kidlit, or hanging out with kidlit friends. I like to bake, is that cool? I have a degree in sacred architecture… I’m blind in one eye… I collect teacups…
I guess it might be worth sharing that if I weren’t a writer I’d want to be a garden designer, and that I did static trapeze for a good chunk of my twenties. Somewhere there’s a video of me doing a solo performance as a merman to Part of Your World from The Little Mermaid in a blond wig and teal lycra. I’m sure it will resurface at some completely embarrassing time.
What’s a question you haven’t been asked yet but wish you were asked (as well as the answer to that question)?
Ooo, okay: What one person alive today would you want to have lunch with if you could?
With absolutely zero hesitation, Kate Bush. I was introduced to her music at a very young age by my British family, and it’s irreversibly woven into my creative DNA and imagination. I don’t know of any other artist who describes so perfectly the world I’m always writing toward.If I could write a book that had one-tenth of the intimacy and grandeur of her songs I would be happy forever. It was Kate Bush who taught me that it’s possible to be both deeply romantic and fiercely independent, and I’d give a lot to eat tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches with her.
What advice might you have to give to other aspiring writers?
Read! Read as much as you can, and as widely. The more you read the more your imagination has to work with. You’ll know what you like and don’t like, what works in story and what doesn’t, and what kinds of people and experiences you’re genuinely interested in exploring.
The second half of that, of course, is write! Write as much as you can. Above all, finish projects, even if they stay as rough drafts. Give yourself first-hand knowledge of what it feels like to go from a blank page to the words The End. Build those pathways in your brain, reinforcing that this is what you love and want to do, and with every piece or project you complete it will be that little bit easier to embark on the next one.
Are there other projects you are working on and at liberty to discuss?
Well, there’s that ridiculous YA idea I mentioned before, but at the moment I’m on the third draft of what I hope will be my next Middle Grade: a 12th-century historical escape adventure full of castles and frozen rivers and swords and stolen jewels.
I’ve also got another Scholastic book coming out the month before Seabirds, a silly, heart-achy, overlooked-girl-and-her-doggo-best-friend story called Catch That Dog! It’s based on the real-life dognapping scandal of Masterpiece, the toy poodle who helped set off the poodle craze of the 1950s. There’s no sweeping summer romance in this one, but there are a whole heap of feelings, well-earned comeuppance for nasty grownups, and hopefully plenty of laughs. Think Kate DiCamillo’s Because of Winn-Dixie crossed with Christopher Guest’s movie Best in Show, all set in fabulous small-town New Jersey. I’m really proud of this book, actually. Preorders welcome! Comes out April 5!
Finally, what LGBTQ+ books/authors would you recommend to the readers of Geeks OUT?
Oh! One big resource I want to recommend is LGBTQreads.com, run by the fabulous Dahlia Adler who also makes sure LGBTQ+ books get plenty of love on Buzzfeed. She’s curated a stunning and incredibly searchable list of books that encompass the whole spectrum of our community, and it’s always growing as our options on the shelf grow. Dahlia is a total champion, and so is her site. And of course so is Geeks Out! All the very biggest thanks for having me today! It’s been a dream!
Lin Thompson (they/them) is a Lambda Literary Fellow of 2018. An earlier version of this novel was workshopped in Pitch Wars and it also received the Travis Parker Rushing Memorial Writing Award at Emerson College. Lin grew up in Kentucky but now lives in Iowa with their wife and cat.
I had the opportunity to talk to Lin, which you can read below.
First of all, welcome to Geeks OUT. Could you tell us a little about yourself?
Hi! I’m a queer middle-grade author of The Best Liars in Riverview. I grew up in Kentucky and now live in Iowa with my wife and our cat. The pronouns I’m currently most comfortable with are they/them, and I identify as a trans nonbinary person.
What can you tell us about your debut book, The Best Liars in Riverview ? Where did the inspiration for this story come from? Did you draw any inspiration from other author or books while writing it?
The Best Liars in Riverview is about twelve-year-old Aubrey’s journey to find their best friend Joel after Joel has run away from their hometown on a raft the two of them built together. Along the way, Aubrey is piecing together everything that’s led up to Joel running away, and they’re also finding the space to really question their own gender for the first time.
The book grew out of a short story I wrote in college about two kids who want to run away on a raft. I’d been writing lots of stories before that about people wanting to run away from home and start over someplace new, away from the expectations and assumptions of everyone they knew—but it took me a long time to realize why I was so pulled to that idea. It wasn’t until I was starting my own queer journey that I started understanding the discomfort I’d been feeling when the people around me were assuming a gender for me that wasn’t right. The story about the kids and the raft was the one I kept coming back to as I was figuring out these huge pieces of my identity.
On yourwebsite, you described this book as “the story of my heart,” writing that “it’s grown and changed as I’ve grown and changed.” Could you tell us what you mean by that?
When I first started working with these characters, I was very early in my own queer journey—just barely even beyond “I want to be supportive of my queer friends” and moving into exploring my own identity. As I started realizing I wasn’t straight, and then later realizing I wasn’t cis, this was the story I kept coming back to and using to work through some of those feelings. I worked on this book on and off for about seven years before I ever started trying to get it published, and when I look back through the older drafts now, I can definitely see each step of my queer journey. In that original short story, the character who eventually became Aubrey was really just trying to figure out how to be a good ally, and then the story shifted with Aubrey having a first crush on a girl, until eventually, it became the version it is now, with Aubrey realizing that they aren’t a girl.
When did you know you were first interested in writing, and what drew you specifically to middle-grade fiction?
I’ve been interested in writing for as long as I can remember. My parents read to me a lot when I was little, and then I read a lot on my own, and I was telling everyone I wanted to be an author when I grew up from at least kindergarten onward. Middle-grade has always been really special to me, because the time in my life when I probably read the most was in middle school, and the books I read during that time have stuck with me in a way no others can. Middle school is such a confusing, transitional, formative time. I don’t remember reading about any openly queer characters back then, but I’ve thought a lot since about how much of a difference it might have made for me if I’d had access to the wide range of queer MG titles available now.
While I was writing Best Liars, I was also working as a children’s librarian, so I was seeing every single day just how important it is for kids to have queer stories available to them. The kids I was working with were always looking for recommendations, and it was so exciting to see the genre keep growing and to keep having more stories to offer them.
How would you describe your writing process?
Honestly, my process is pretty chaotic. On the plotter vs. pantser scale, I’m probably a chaotic plotter—I always want to be organized, and I have to know the story pretty thoroughly before I can really start writing, but I also jump around constantly as I’m writing and very rarely write chronologically or follow the plans I made. I love making outlines, but I also love changing the outline constantly as I go. I spend a lot of time feeling like my brain is trying to hold onto too many pieces of the story while I frantically try to get them into place before I forget them. I was diagnosed with ADHD fairly recently (as I think a lot of us have been—the pandemic really messed with the coping strategies a lot of us had in place before!), and I’ve also been realizing that my process for writing one book doesn’t necessarily work for writing the next one, so I’ve been trying to embrace the chaos and to find strategies that work for me.
Since Geeks OUT is a queer centered website, could you tell us a bit about the LGBTQ+ characters/themes featured in your books?
The main character, Aubrey, is questioning their gender and over the course of the story admitting to themselves for the first time that they’re not a girl. It was important to me that we leave Aubrey in a place of questioning without finding a clear, perfect label for themselves by the end of the book—I like to describe the story as less about finding an answer and more about learning to ask the question. I was definitely in that questioning stage of my queer journey as I was writing—in some ways, I still am in that questioning stage—and I wanted to get to show a character becoming more okay with not knowing exactly the right way to describe themselves, but still being able to accept themselves and find support.
And while Aubrey is looking for Joel, Joel is also doing his own questioning and (minor spoiler, I guess) realizing he’s gay. The characters live in a fictional town in Kentucky, and while Joel has been facing a lot of overt homophobia at school, Aubrey is also picking up on the ways people in their community signal their disapproval of queerness by just never talking about it. I wanted to explore how both those loud and quiet kinds of queerphobia can be damaging in different ways.
What are some of your favorite elements of writing? What would you say are some of the hardest or most surprising for you?
I really enjoy the early stages of a story, when I’m still mulling over all the different parts of it and haven’t put many words down on paper yet. I love how malleable it all feels, and I love the excitement as I figure out each new piece and see how the story can come together. I think that sometimes as I get farther into a story, it’s really easy for me to get stuck on one way of writing it and forget that there are so many possibilities, so I really love the moment when I realize how I can change the pieces to make something work—when I remember that, at the end of the day, the whole story is made up, and I can change whatever I need to make it into the book I want it to be.
The field of LGBTQ+ Middle-Grade literature is slowly, but steadily growing? What are your thoughts on the genre, and can you name any titles that stand out to you?
I’m so excited about how many more queer MG books are coming out every year! I think it’s so important to have LGBTQ+ stories for kids, because again, the middle-grade years can be such a formative time—it’s so important for kids who are figuring out who they are to have a wide range of queer stories to potentially see themselves in. I think Kacen Callender has been truly pushing open the doors for what’s “allowed” in queer middle-grade stories, and I’m so excited for their upcoming Moonflower. Kyle Lukoff’s Too Bright to See had me crying within the first fifty pages because the way the main character experienced gender made me feel seen in a way I’d never been before, even as an adult. Other titles I’ve loved recently are The Best At It by Maulik Pancholy, Almost Flying by Jake Maia Arlow, Thanks a Lot, Universe by Chad Lucas, and This Is Our Rainbow, an amazing anthology put together by Nicole Melleby and Katherine Locke!
What advice might you have to give to other aspiring writers?
Experiment and figure out what works for you! I definitely used to get discouraged by people saying you needed to write every day or that you need to have a certain routine or whatever, because the thing I’m most consistent at is being inconsistent. It turns out everyone’s process is going to be different, and the best thing you can do is figure out how your brain works and how you can best make stories.
Besides your work as a writer, what are some things you would want readers to know about you?
I love baking, embroidery, making music, playing video games, gardening…I tend to cycle through hobbies, picking up new things and doing them obsessively for a month or two before I get bored and move on to the next interest. I also absolutely love being in the woods, and I have a very special place in my heart for the Kentucky woods I grew up around.
What’s a question you haven’t been asked yet but wish you were (and the answer to that question)?
Honestly, I’m very new to being interviewed and these questions have been great! I’ll say that I’m always excited to be asked if I have any pets, because then I get to talk about my cat Nasa who’s allergic to everything and who I absolutely adore.
Are there any projects you are working on or thinking about that you are able to discuss?
I just turned in my revisions for my second middle-grade book, which is about a trans boy and his siblings investigating their grandmother’s possibly haunted house. The main character, Simon, is much more secure with his gender internally than Aubrey is in Best Liars, and I’ve really enjoyed writing about him and his family and exploring the gender euphoria Simon gets from this new name that he’s chosen.
I’m also working on a YA historical fantasy about three queer teenagers in the 1840s who find their way aboard a sailing ship with a majority-queer crew. It’s obviously a very different age group and genre, but with a lot of similar themes around self-discovery and found family. I’ve been really enjoying figuring out how to write in a time period when the language we use now to describe queerness didn’t exist yet, and when even the framework of queerness as an identity hadn’t really come about yet—it’s been challenging but also a lot of fun!
Finally, what LGBTQ+ books/authors would you recommend to the readers of Geeks OUT?
In addition to the MG titles mentioned above, I’m so excited for these books for YA readers coming out this year and next: When the Angels Left the Old Country by Sacha Lamb, We Deserve Monuments by Jas Hammonds, and If Tomorrow Doesn’t Come by Jen St. Jude. Sacha, Jas, and Jen were all Lambda Literary fellows with me, and their writing and characters are all absolutely stunning, so definitely keep an eye out for these queer books in 2022 and 2023!
Nicole Melleby (she/her/hers), a born-and-bread Jersey native, is an award-winning children’s author. Her middle grade books have been Junior Library Guild Gold Standard selections, and have earned the Skipping Stones Honor Award, as well as being a 2020 Kirkus Reviews best book of the year. Her debut novel, Hurricane Season, was a Lambda Literary Award finalist. She currently teaches college literature and creative writing, and spends most of her free time roller skating. She lives with her wife and their cat, whose need for attention oddly aligns with Nicole’s writing schedule. You can find her on Twitter @NeekoMelleby.
First of all, welcome to Geeks OUT. Could you tell us a little about yourself?
KL: Hi! I’m Katherine Locke, co-editor and contributor to THIS IS OUR RAINBOW, a queer anthology for readers 9-12 years old, as well as the author of WHAT ARE YOUR WORDS?, THE GIRL WITH THE RED BALLOON, and the forthcoming THIS REBEL HEART, amongst other titles. I’m a nerd, a cat lover, a horse lover, a writer, and a huge fan of naps.
NM: Hi! I’m Nicole Melleby, and I am a New Jersey native who spends way too much time by the ocean. I currently teach creative writing and literature classes with a couple of New Jersey universities, and I spend most of my free time roller skating. My debut novel, Hurricane Season, was a Lambda Literary finalist, and I live with my wife and our cat, Gillian, who is basically a puppy. Seriously—she even plays fetch!
How did you find yourself becoming an author? What drew you to telling your first story and what makes you keep going?
KL: I have been writing ever since I was a little kid! My earliest stories were essentially fanfiction about my life where my mom and I had a farm, I was an only child, and there were plenty of animals. It was true wish fulfillment writing. I wrote my first novel in high school (it was very bad but I’m impressed I finished it!) and kept going. I love stories. I see the world in stories and I hear stories and I’m always dreaming up stories. I think it’s so fun to explore new worlds and new characters, and I find myself learning how to deal with this real world through fiction. I can’t imagine my life without writing, so I guess that’s what keeps me going!
NM: When I was eight, I saw the Nickelodeon movie Harriet the Spy. I was obsessed, I loved everything about it, but I especially loved the main character, Harriet, and the way she always carried around a notebook to write things in. I used to beg my parents to buy me marble composition notebooks just like the one Harriet had every time they went to a store that carried them, and I would fill those notebooks up with everything. I started off by taking notes about the people around me much like Harriet did while spying, and from there I started writing stories instead. I’ve been writing stories ever since.
Katherine Locke
A good number of your books are queer middle-grade fiction. Was there anything that drew you to writing for this age group? Is there anything about writing middle-grade to you that is distinctive than writing for other age groups?
NM: I actually started with writing young adult. I got my MFA for young adult literature and then slowly found my way to middle grade. I have more of a middle grade voice; I don’t know what it says about me that my natural voice is that of a 12-year-ol, but it’s true! The more I started writing about that age group, the more it felt right, especially because all of my characters are queer and I think that’s such an important time to see that reflected in these books, as you’re slowly understanding who you are. I read once that young adult novels have the characters trying to explore themselves outside of their friends and family, but for middle graders, it’s about exploring who you are within your friends and family and within the people around you, because you’re too young to really have that independence, and I like that. I like being able to write about these characters within the world around them. That’s really what I love about middle grade books.
How would you describe your writing process? Are there any patterns or habits you have to help with inspiration or productivity?
KL: I like to work around other people! If my bed is within reach, I will nap (see also: the first question.) So I tend to write at cafes (pre-COVID) and when I’m on writing retreats, I like to write in a busy room with headphones on. I usually like to have a hot beverage nearby (tea or chai lattes). I write with and without music, depends on my mood. My writing process is a lot of trial and error. I like to know a lot of emotions and moods and vibes of the book before I go in, but all the nitty gritty details come to me as I work. I go through many drafts to get to the book I want to write.
NM: When I write, I like to be as comfortable as possible—usually with a soft blanket wrapped around me, a huge cup of coffee, and my cat Gillian awkwardly splayed out in my lap. I don’t write to music, I find it distracting, but I do usually have the Food Network on in the background because I can’t write to silence, either. I’ve also always been a “character first, plot later” kind of writer—which I think I get from my love of soap operas and their focus on character and relationships.
As a writer, you have explored themes tied to both Jewish and queer identities in your characters, as seen in The Girl with the Red Balloon and It’s a Whole Spiel. Can you discuss your connection to that?
KL: Yes! I am both Jewish and queer. It’s really important to me to share those identities on the page, both together and separate. It’s how I connect to the kinds of stories I want to tell.
What Are Your Words? A Book About Pronounsfeatures a young non-binary child discussing switching pronouns. As a non-binary author yourself would you say this story might be a bit personal to you?
KL: Though I’m nonbinary, I’m not as genderfluid as Ari, the character in the story, is. Ari’s pronouns change, but mine stay they/them. But Ari’s feels about how pronouns feel when they aren’t the right pronouns is definitely personal. And I hope to grow up to be as supportive and affirming as Uncle Lior in the book!
Nicole Melleby
Your latest book, How to Become a Planet, deals with the sensitive issue of mental health, specifically depression and anxiety. What drew you to writing about this topic?
NM: I wanted to show that mental illness can be a lifelong issue. I wanted to let Pluto explore what it meant for her, now that she has this diagnosis, moving forward. How does it change her? Does it change her? What does it all mean? Getting a diagnosis isn’t the end for Pluto—it’s a new beginning, like it ends up being for a lot of kids (and adults) struggling with mental illness. And it can be scary! She’s got all of these big emotions, and her depression has set her back in a lot of ways while she and her mom were trying to figure out what was wrong, and now that they know what is wrong, where do they go from here? Ultimately, I wanted to show my readers that it’s okay to have these diagnoses, that it doesn’t change who they are, and I wanted to show them that despite it feeling so hard, there is always hope.
What advice would you have to give to other writers starting out as well as those looking to finish their first book?
KL: Learn to finish books. Unfinished books don’t get published (if that’s your goal). Even if publication isn’t your goal, the art of telling stories relies on the completeness of the telling. Learn to finish books. Even if it feels bad and messy. You can’t fix what you haven’t written.
NM: You don’t have to write every day—I see so many writers wracked with guilt over how much or how little they write day-to-day, and it’s hard! Write how much you want to write, how much you need to write. You decide what those answers are.
Also: If you’re facing a rejection? I find it best to sing this ridiculous song, because it’s so ridiculous it makes me feel better every single time I have sung it to myself (which has been often, because rejection is part of being a writer!): Nobody loves me, everybody hates me, I should just go eat worms. Worms! Worms! Worms!
What’s a message something you directly want to give to the readers of your books?
KL: I hope you carry that story with you into the world, even for a little bit, and that it stays with you, even for a little bit.
NM: I really just want them to know that they’re not alone, that there are other people who are struggling and that I see them and I’m listening.
Aside from writing, what do you like to do in your free time?
KL: I ride my horse, take wayyyyy too many photos of my cats, try to remember when I last watered my house plants, read, and spend too much time on the internet!
NM: I love to roller skate with the New Jersey Skate Collective and play roller derby with my Central Jersey Roller Vixens!
Is there a question you haven’t been asked yet but that you wish you were asked? If so, what is the answer to that question?
KL: I don’t think so, but thank you for asking this!
NM: Yes! Is there a connection between my (standalone) middle grade novels? The answer is yes! All of my books (and my short story in This Is Our Rainbow) all take place in the same area of New Jersey—where I call home. Because of this, I make references to my books in my other books: background characters, schools, teachers, locations. I won’t tell you what—you’ll have to read and see if you can spot them yourself!
Are there any project ideas you are incubating and at liberty to speak about?
KL: Oooh, great question. I have a project I can’t speak about yet, but I can tell you that I’m working on a Jewish historical portal fantasy with queer characters, and it’s a bit of a glorious mess right now but I’m extremely excited about it. No release date yet! My next books are a picture book called Being Friends with Dragons out now and This Rebel Heart, a queer Jewish historical with a fantastical twist, out April 4, 2022.
NM: My next book is called The Science of Being Angry, out May 10th, 2022. It’s about an 11-year-old girl named Joey who has anger issues she’s trying to understand. She throws temper tantrums and sometimes gets violent and gets in trouble a lot in school and at home because of it. She’s a triplet, and her brothers never get angry like she does, and neither does her mama, the one of her moms she shares DNA with. In her search to figure out why she is the way she is, she and her best friend (and crush) end up turning to 23-and-Me to try and find out information on the sperm donor her moms used to conceive the triplets. It’s a messy story about family, as Joey tries to fix things so that her mom (the one she doesn’t share DNA with) will love her anyway, and Joey won’t keep hurting the people she loves most, either.
What queer book recommendations would you have to give to the readers of Geeks OUT?
KL: COOL FOR THE SUMMER by Dahlia Adler is a super fun book about a girl who falls for a girl over the summer but then comes home to start school to find the boy of her dreams is into her—and her summer fling is the new student. And THE CITY BEAUTIFUL by Aden Polydoros is the queer Jewish gothic light horror of my dreams—and it’s historical, which is truly the icing on the cake for me. The writing is *chef’s kiss* perfect. And forthcoming, I would highly recommend FROM DUST A FLAME by Rebecca Podos out now!
Katryn Bury works with middle-grade readers as a youth library technician. A lifelong true crime nerd, she has a bachelor’s degree in sociology and criminology. Her short and serialized fiction can be found in Suspense Magazine and The Sleuth. She lives in Oakland, California, with her family and a vast collection of Nancy Drew mysteries.
I had the opportunity to interview Katryn, which you can read below.
First of all, welcome to Geeks OUT! Could you tell us a little about yourself?
Thanks for having me! I’m a middle grade writer and a library tech working with youth here in the San Francisco Bay Area. My debut, DREW LECLAIR GETS A CLUE, is set in Oakland, where I live with my husband and irrepressible six-year-old daughter.
Where did the inspiration for Drew Leclair Gets a Clue come from? Did any stories or media inspire the book while you were writing?
Books that I read as a kid, such as Harriet the Spy, and the Nancy Drew series, were definitely early inspirations. I have always loved a good girl detective. For this book, however, my primary inspiration was reading I’ll be Gone in the Dark. I remember reading it and thinking: “wow, I wish I had this kind of hero growing up.” In the book, Drew has a criminal profiler hero, Lita Miyamoto, who was very much inspired by Michelle McNamera.
How would you describe your writing process for this book? What was the querying process like?
My writing process is somewhere between plotter and pantser (plantser?) so I wrote my first draft in a month. Then, I spent several more months revising an idea into an actual story. As for submitting, this book was unlike any other I’ve queried. I got responses that ran the gamut of: “I love this idea!” to “You can’t talk about true crime in a middle grade book; what are you thinking?” I had a lot of interest, but the manuscript really took off thanks to Beth Phelan and the team at #DVpit. After that contest, I got five offers within just a few weeks and signed with my superstar agent, Chelsea Eberly.
Drew Leclair Gets a Clue deals with a subject that gets mixed reactions, true crime. What is the appeal of true crime to you as a fan of the genre?
Like any topic of interest, I think there’s a line between being into true crime and being too into true crime. My interest started, like Drew, when I was just a kid—bonding with my dad and trying to solve Jack the Ripper. Studying the psychology of criminals helped me deal with the “villains” in my own life, from scary strangers, to not-quite-friends, to bullies. That being said, there is another end of the true crime spectrum, including those who have a genuine affection for serial killers and publicly speculate about open cases in a way that I believe can cause harm. For my dad and me, and for so many people who call themselves “murderinos,” true crime isn’t about that. It’s about understanding the mind of a killer in order to feel safe. That sense of security, however false, is compelling.
How did you get into writing, and what drew you to middle grade fiction specifically?
I wrote my first mystery at six (it was very well-received…by my parents) and my first novel at twelve. If I’m being honest, I don’t remember a time in which I wasn’t writing stories. As an early reader, I would frequently run out of books to read. My mother suggested I write more for myself! I have always been drawn to the middle grade space because I adore coming-of-age books. It’s both a blessing and a curse that I remember that time so well.
From your bio and previous interviews, it would appear you have quite a lot in common with your protagonist, from interest in true crime, to both being bisexual and dealing with chronic illness. Was it intentional making this story so personal?
I always set out to write the book of my heart, so everything I write is at least a little personal. The combination of carbohydrates and true crime in this book is a direct homage to my relationship with my father, who passed away in 2017. As for the rest, it comes down to this: as a sick and anxious kid, I read many characters I aspired to be, but none that made me feel seen. The same goes for my coming out as bisexual. That part of me was hidden for a long time because I didn’t see it in the world around me. Media representations were either grim or played for laughs—a big part of why I didn’t come out until later in life. I wanted to write a book that makes kids who are queer, sick, or neurodiverse (or all three!) feel seen. It can be truly life changing to see yourself in what you read.
What advice would you have for aspiring writers?
Everyone tells you to develop a thick skin, but I believe in being yourself. You can be sensitive, as long as you don’t give up.
Aside from writing, what are some things you like to do in your free time?
I can often be found swimming (or just being in the water, really), and I’m a big movie and television watcher. Stories in all forms calm me down. I’ll watch anything with Cary Grant or Audrey Hepburn. I also love reading, as you can imagine, and I still read every new Nancy Drew book.
What’s a question you haven’t been asked yet, but wish you were asked (as well as the answer to that question)?
I wish you’d ask what the best Christmas movie of all time is, at which point I could finally tell everyone about the best holiday movie they’ve never seen, Fitzwilly. It stars Dick Van Dyke as a thieving butler who has to pull off a Christmas Eve heist. I promise you; you will not be sorry.
Are there any other projects you are working on and at liberty to speak about?
Oh, dear. I am working on several and I’m not at liberty to speak about any of them yet. But, stay tuned!
What queer books/authors would you recommend to the readers of Geeks OUT?
I’m can’t wait to get my hands on the many upcoming queer kidlit debuts in 2022. As for what’s out now, in the middle grade space, I adore Kacen Callender, A.J. Sass, and Nicole Melleby (especially In the Role of Brie Hutchens). In YA, I love Becky Albertalli, Leah Johnson, and just finished the amazing Yesterday is History by Kosoko Jackson.
Aden Polydoros grew up in Illinois and Arizona, and has a bachelor’s degree in English from Northern Arizona University. When he isn’t writing, he enjoys going to antique fairs and flea markets. His debut novel, The City Beautiful, is available now. He can be found on Twitter at @AdenPolydoros.
I had the opportunity to interview Aden, which you can read below.
First of all, welcome to Geeks OUT and congratulations on your debut book, The City Beautiful? Could you tell us a little about yourself?
Thank you! There isn’t really much to tell. A couple years ago, I acquired my bachelor’s degree at Northern Arizona University, and ever since then, have been working toward becoming a professional author. In particular, I’m interested in writing stories with queer and Jewish protagonists, since I didn’t have that kind of representation growing up.
How would you describe The City Beautiful? And where did the title and inspiration for this book come from?
The City Beautiful is a queer gothic thriller that draws from Jewish folklore. Set during the 1893 World’s Fair, it is about 17-year-old Alter Rosen, who recently immigrated to the US from Romania, and after being possessed by his best friend’s vengeful dybbuk, is forced to embark on a quest to free himself from the ghostly possession.
It would seem that a lot of historical research has gone into this book. How would you describe the process and how it intertwined with you writing the actual novel?
It was definitely important for me to get the research right. A lot of it was spent working on the timeline, trying to figure out how to link the different events in the story together. The story follows a very tight timeline, beginning on the Fourth of July and ending the same day as a disaster that occurred at the World’s Fair, on July 11th, so I wanted to keep as close to that timeframe as possible.
The other research I focused on involved Jewish folklore and customs, as well as the evolution of LGBTQ+ rights. I wanted to figure out how Alter would have acted, talked, etc. during that time, considering both the era, the Jewish communities in Romania at the time, and his level of observance.
As a queer Jewish person, I quickly want to say how grateful I am that more books like yours exist in the world. I feel like there’s often this gatekeeping or expectation about what Jewish stories can be, or are allowed to be, which usually involves a certain type of pain that you might be familiar with. Could you tell us how you felt writing this story into existence?
I’m not going to lie—this was a difficult story to write at times. I drew from some of my own experiences and feelings, so I became emotionally invested in the project. But it was so important for me to get it out there. Like you said—for me at least, it sometimes feels like there’s an expectation for Jewish stories to focus solely around the Holocaust, and to reduce the Jewish characters in those stories to passive victims. I grew up reading Holocaust stories, and more often than not, the Jewish characters weren’t even the POV characters. I wanted to change that.
What are your hopes for the future of queer/Jewish fiction?
I’m hoping that more queer and Jewish stories will be brought into the world. I already feel like there’s so many of them coming forward, and I’m so excited for what the future holds in publishing. I know that I’ll be working on more.
Aside from writing, what are some things you would want others to know about you?
I can’t really think of anything else. The only other interesting thing about me is my love of antiques.
What’s a question you haven’t been asked yet and wish you were asked (as well as the answer to that question)?
Probably: What other sort of media projects are you interested in working on? And to answer—I’d really love to someday write for video games or television, or do IP work.
Are there any other projects you are working on and at liberty to speak about?
I have a few books in the pipeline. My next YA, BONEWEAVER is a dark Slavic fantasy coming out in Fall 2022, while my MG debut, THE RING OF SOLOMON, comes out in winter 2023.
What advice would you give to aspiring writers, especially those looking to finish their first book?
Don’t give up. This industry can be difficult and lonely at times, but it’s important to keep going and believe in the story you’re trying to tell.
Finally, what queer books/authors would you recommend to the readers of Geeks OUT?
I’m incredibly excited for HELL FOLLOWED WITH US by Andrew Joseph White. I read an ARC of it, and it’s absolutely incredible. I also can’t wait to read FROM DUST, A FLAME by Rebecca Podos, which is a queer Jewish fantasy.
Nina Moreno was born and raised in Miami until a hurricane sent her family toward the pines of Georgia where she picked up an accent. She’s a proud University of Florida Gator who once had her dream job of shelving books at the library. Inspired by the folklore and stories passed down to her from her Cuban and Colombian family, she now writes about Latinas chasing their dreams, falling in love, and navigating life in the hyphen. Her first novel, Don’t Date Rosa Santos, was a Junior Library Guild Selection, Indie Next Pick for teen readers, and SIBA Okra Pick. Her second YA novel, Our Way Back to Always, was published by LBYR in Fall 2021.
Courtney Lovett received her BFA in Visual Arts and Animation from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. She works in different mediums and artistic disciplines, including illustration, character design, and animation. As a Black American and a native of the DC, Maryland, Virginia area, her work reflects her heritage and upbringing, which adds to today’s cultural shift of creating diverse and relatable stories from perspectives that are often underrepresented or misrepresented in art and media.
First of all, welcome to Geeks OUT! Could you tell us a little about yourselves?
NM: Thank you! I’m a Florida girl who was born in Miami but moved to a small town outside of Atlanta after Hurricane Andrew. I returned to my home state and attended the University of Florida (go Gators!) where a class about kid lit reminded me how much I used to love reading and got me back to writing.
CL: Thank you, I’m honored. I am from the DMV, born and raised in Maryland, where I currently live. I specialize in illustration and character design, but I am passionate about all things storytelling. I love reading it, watching it, analyzing, and discussing it. Switching off that part of my brain can be difficult, sometimes to the annoyance of my family whenever we’re watching movies and tv (haha). My family is my biggest inspiration for my work and beyond. I wouldn’t be where I am today without the outpouring of love and support from them and the community that raised me. I’m also passionate about kids and education, so when I’m not creating stories, I teach digital art at a local art studio.
Where did the impetus to create Join the Club, Maggie Diaz come from? How did you both come to work with each other on this project?
NM: The initial spark actually came from my editor, the incredibly funny and fellow Florida kid, Shelly Romero. As someone who was working on YA novels, I hadn’t planned to write a middle grade story yet, but Shelly came to me with an idea and my imagination just took off. I love writing about friends, families, and communities and fell in love with writing MG. And when Shelly and the team showed me Courtney’s illustrations, the entire project came alive in this really exciting way. Courtney’s work is amazing and she brought so much to the story and characters. It’s a total dream team.
CL: I was excited to work with Scholastic since their imprint was on so many books of my childhood. When I read Nina’s writing, I fell in love with the project. I saw so much of myself in Maggie and her journey, and she’s so funny! The grounded story combined with the laugh-out-loud scenarios fed into my inspiration. It was also enlightening for me as a Black woman to learn more about Cuban American culture. Representation and diverse stories are important to me, so any project that reflects that, I’m all in.
Photo by Craig Hanson
Do you remember any books or authors/artists growing you that touched you or you felt reflected in your identities in any way?
NM: I loved going to thrift stores with my mom when I was younger and searching the shelves of used books. That’s where I found all of my books as a kid, and so discovering Cristina García’s Dreaming in Cuban on one of those shelves was a really big deal to me. The title alone was a thrill. I loved reading and tended to secretly imagine some mentioned brunette was Latina like me, but that was the first time I realized a story could be so specific to me and my family’s experience.
CL: Hmm, it’s difficult to say because growing up I wasn’t exposed to many books that reflected my identity as a Black girl. The only one I can think of was the novel The Skin I’m In by Sharon G. Flake I read in fourth grade. It was the first time I read a story that reflected my experience and had characters that behaved and spoke as I did. There weren’t many protagonists that looked like me, but interestingly it wasn’t something I was fully aware of. In the same way I related to Maggie, I latched on to the characters’ personalities and journeys. Judy Blume was one of my favorite authors growing up because her stories had some of the most relatable characters I ever read. The lack of representation wasn’t something I paid attention to until I started comparing it to what I saw on television. I grew up in the 90s and early 2000s watching many sitcoms where Black people were at the center. One of my all-time favorite shows that inspires me to this day is The Proud Family because it combines two things I’m passionate about – animation and representation. I was not seeing that reflected in children’s publishing. Now the landscape has changed and there is a push for representation from all walks of life. I believe both are necessary. Kids should see themselves as heroes of their own stories, but they can also engage with stories where they are not at the center. Everyone gets a seat at the table, where we all can acknowledge our similarities as well as celebrate our differences, where all of us are seen. To me, that is what it means to be inclusive.
What do you think pushed you toward going on the paths you went?
NM: It took me a while to realize that writing and publishing was even a possibility. I loved books, sure, but to become a professional writer? That meant being able to afford going to some fancy college for a hundred degrees or becoming a journalist. It meant having connections or being brilliant and I was not that shiny of a student. But then I rediscovered my love for reading and writing after college. I remembered what it was to be a voracious reader and I had so many story ideas that I knew I had to try. So, I went to the bookstore and bought this huge book about queries and it had all these literary agents listed in it. And then I got to work.
CL: I always knew I wanted art to be my career choice. I didn’t, however, foresee how much the dream would change. At first, I wanted to be a children’s book illustrator, then I wanted to be a comic artist, then I wanted to be a cartoonist, an animator, a writer, a teacher. After I earned my degree, I dabbled in freelance, where I tried anything and everything that would land me more work. My current path in publishing started in 2019 when a client I personally knew approached me to illustrate her picture book. I realized through that experience and my time in undergrad that what I was truly passionate about wasn’t simply the art or being an artist. When I think about all the dreams I had, there is but one through line – storytelling. Once the book was self-published nine months later, that same year I signed with my agent and began my career as an illustrator. The amazing irony of where I am now is that publishing allows me opportunities to live in nearly every dream I named earlier. I’m an illustrator, a cartoonist, I create short comics, I dip into writing, and outside all of that I am a teacher. It’s crazy to think about all these pivots when my career has only begun. The path of a creator is beautiful and unpredictable in that way.
Your first book, Don’t Date Rosa Santos, is a lovely YA novel reflecting grief, magical realism, and Cuban identity. Where did the inspiration for this book come from and what was it like writing it?
NM: I wrote Don’t Date Rosa Santos while I was on submission with my first book that never sold. I was feeling burnt out and anxious over whether this whole writing thing was going to work out. Instead of worrying about that book, I started to write something new that was bursting with stuff I loved. I wanted something where a girl like me could live in a cute, seaside town and not have to sacrifice any parts of herself or her culture to be the main character. I love Rosa so much because writing her book reminded me why I love doing this and that there’s always another story around the corner.
Photo by Jacadra Young
As a writer, what would you say are some of the best and hardest parts of your process creating something?
NM: The blank page can be as intimidating as everyone says it is. There’s such a thrill to coming up with a new story and getting lost in daydreams about it, but then you have to somehow get what’s in your head onto the page and when it’s not clicking or working, it can be really tough to keep writing. But that’s why, for me, I love editing and revising so much. It’s the promise of making it better and knowing you’ll be able to step back later and see the bigger picture. If I can just get those first words down, I know that I can fix it in edits and get the story to that place I imagined or somewhere even better.
As an illustrator, what would you say are some of the best and hardest parts of your process creating something?
CL: The most difficult part of the process is the beginning. A blank canvas can be intimidating. How I learned to work through the fear is to get inspired – an engaging book, a fun movie, browsing artwork from my favorite artists, sometimes a walk – and then come back to the blank canvas with a much more relaxed mindset. The best part of creating is to witness an idea evolve into a completely different result from what I initially envisioned in my head. I find, more often than not, allowing myself to play and be fluid in my process lends itself to better results.
Could you describe your artistic background in some detail, like how did you get into art and what your art education was like?
CL: Since I was very young, I was captivated by the cartoons I used to watch with my siblings. Actually, the reason I started drawing in the first place was that my elder sister did it, first. Like any little sister, I wanted to try all the cool things my siblings did (haha). From that point, I couldn’t put down my pencil. I kept drawing and eventually caught the eye of my second grade art teacher. She invited me to enroll in her art program More Than Conquerors (MTC) Art Studios, where I trained over ten years in the foundations of visual art. Once I graduated from that program, I attended the University of Maryland, Baltimore County where I earned my BFA in Visual Arts and Animation. I’m so grateful for the solid foundation I received at MTC, which prepared me for any challenge I met in undergrad. I credit my training there for my ability to adapt to different art styles and mediums.
How would you describe your writing/ illustrating process? What are some of your favorite things about writing/ illustrating?
NM: I live for the moments when I’m able to capture a feeling or idea. When the words click together in a satisfying sentence that says exactly what I hoped it would. I’m a pretty big outliner and like to work on story beats when I’m daydreaming the story. It feels a little like detective work figuring out what might happen next and it helps me stay engaged and in love with the idea. I’m at my best when I’m obsessed with something, so I love losing myself to a story idea and finding my way around it. And with those beats and outline I feel more confident when it’s time to finally face the blank page.
CL: Much like my body of work, my process can be quite eclectic and my style varies from project to project. For Maggie Diaz, specifically, I was heavily inspired by Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Where my approach deviated from Jeff Kinney’s brilliant style was the amount of detail I included in each spot illustration. My goal was to capture the warm setting of Miami in the environments and the richness of the Cuban American culture in the characters’ features, the hair (my personal favorite part), the details in the food, and so much more. That is what I love about illustration – the opportunity to explore settings and cultures outside my everyday experiences.
What’s a question you haven’t been asked yet but wish you were asked (as well as the answer to that question)?
NM: I’ve never been asked this! I love getting to talk craft and inspiration. Writing stories so closely linked to my identity is a gift that I don’t take lightly, but sometimes it can feel like I get put into the Latinx box and left there until our heritage month rolls around. But getting interviewed about this book has been really fun because I get to talk so much about comedy and humor now too.
CL: What motivates you to create stories? Kids. Whenever I’m making a decision on any project, young people are always at the forefront of my mind. It was the stories I read and watched as a child that inspired me to become an artist. At the very least, I want to bring joy to young lives. Beyond that, I want to help bring out that same spark in another child and encourage them to use their voice and tell their story no matter who they are and where they come from.
What advice might you have to give to other aspiring writers and creatives?
NM: Remember to stop and fill the creative well with the books, art, and media that inspires you and gets you excited to create. Turning something we love into a job can be tough as the work and all the deadlines hit, so it’s important to rest and hydrate and remember.
CL: Harkening back to my previous answer – allow the dream to change. Have a goal, yes, but do not be so rigid as to limit your options. Explore. Play. Try everything. You never know what skill or insight you will acquire from trying different art forms, or even things unrelated to art. One of my course requirements in undergrad was screenwriting, which I initially had little interest in. It ended up being my favorite class and broadened my interests beyond illustration and animation to writing and directing. You might think because of what I do that my biggest inspirations are other illustrators and cartoonists, when in fact, I am most inspired by performing artists – singers, dancers, actors, musicians, and theater performers. The best advice I can give is to never stop learning and to expose yourself to a wide range of influences.
Are there other projects you are working on and at liberty to discuss?
NM: I am working on something and because this is publishing, of course I’m not able to discuss it yet. Ha! But I’m really excited about it and can’t wait to share!
CL: Yes! I recently signed on to a 4-book deal with Scholastic. It is an early chapter book series Disaster Squad written by educator and STEAM expert Rekha S. Rajan. Each book follows a family that travels the U.S. as first responders to natural disasters. The first book will be released in fall 2023.
Finally, what LGBTQ+ books/authors would you recommend to the readers of Geeks OUT?
NM: I love Mark Oshiro’s books so much and their latest is a fantastic middle grade debut called The Insiders that is so full of heart, some magic, and is all about honoring ourselves. And This is Our Rainbow just released and is the first LGBTQA+ anthology for middle graders with a wide range of stories and amazing authors!
CL: Oh, good question. I recently read What If It’s Us by Becky Albertalli & Adam Silvera, and I could not put the book down. It’s beautiful, it’s emotional, and relatable for any young person simply trying to navigate life. I can’t wait to pick up the sequel Here’s To Us.
Katherine Battersby is a fan girl of comics, ice cream, tea and travel. In her spare time she is the president of the Cranky Club and can be found grumbling about bananas, loud music and exclamation marks. She is also the critically acclaimed author and illustrator of eleven picture books and one chapter book, including Cranky Chicken, Trouble and the popular Squish Rabbit series, which have been published around the world. Her books have been reviewed in The New York Times, have received starred Kirkus reviews and have been shortlisted for numerous awards. She is regularly booked to speak in schools, libraries and at festivals and she is a passionate advocate for literacy and the arts.
I had the opportunity to interview Katherine, which you can read below.
First of all, welcome to Geeks OUT! Could you tell us a little about yourself?
Hi – thanks for hosting me on your gorgeous, queer, colourful blog! I am a fangirl of comic books, ice cream, mischief, tea and travel. I am also the author and illustrator of a whole bunch of quirky picture books, like TROUBLE and PERFECT PIGEONS, and I also now get to make my very own comic books (CRANKY CHICKEN is my first!). I grew up by the beach in Australia and now live by the mountains in Canada. I can be found most days either making books, reading books or sharing books with my three year old (and occasionally even my dog).
How would you describe your latest book, Cranky Chicken? Where did the inspiration for the story come from?
CRANKY CHICKEN is a humorous comic book / graphic novel about a very cranky chicken who accidentally saves the life of a super excitable worm. Worm decides they are going to be BFFs – Best Feathered Friends. The book follows their quirky and unlikely friendship across three mini stories.
As for where the idea came from, well … would you believe I’m scared of chickens? Because all chickens are cranky chickens (I was chased by a lot of chickens in my youth). Then one day, during one of my author school visits, I met this tiny girl who was a huge fan of chickens. She told me, “They’re not scary – they’re hilarious!” I couldn’t stop thinking about her, so I decided to spend some more time drawing chickens. CRANKY CHICKEN is what emerged. It turns out we were both right – chickens are cranky and hilarious.
The story itself is inspired by the mischief my best friend and I used to get up to as kids. She was an extrovert who was an only child, so she was always turning up on my doorstep just like Worm – full of excitement and ready to play. Whereas I was an introvert who was part of a big blended family. I never had any time to myself, so I could be a bit of a cranky chicken. Even now we often laugh at how different and yet similar we are. Chicken and Worm are a lot like that, too.
Reading Cranky Chicken, I loved the relationship between the two different personalities, Chicken and Worm. What was it like writing their relationship together?
Chicken was the first character who turned up in my brain and she burst onto the page with that unwavering unibrow. It was clear right from the beginning that she was going to be spectacularly cranky. But she only truly became alive to me when she met Worm. I always find characters most intriguing when you see them in contrast with someone else. When they have someone to react to and bounce off of. So as soon as the two were together on the page, I got a pretty immediate sense of who they were and how, despite their differences (and possibly because of them) they are perfect for each other. I love mismatched friendship tales – maybe because I feel like all my friendships are slightly mismatched. Maybe that’s what friendship is? With my very closest friends I share deep core principles, but there is always so much about us that is different, too (and often quite opposite!). It’s these differences that allow us to challenge each other and provide alternate perspectives and allows for great conversations. Chicken and Worm are just like this, and they are always learning together. These characters are so vivid to me they almost write themselves. They are such a joy to work with.
What would you say are some of your favorite craft elements to work on?
I do love the craft of writing and illustration. All the little decisions and ideas and skills and thoughts that add up to make the magic that is a book. I love talking about it, learning it, teaching it, practising it. I love it all! I think my favourite might be whatever I feel my current weakness is, because I do love a good challenge. Before writing CRANKY CHICKEN, my weakness was dialogue. As soon as I admitted this to myself, my brain threw me the idea for CRANKY CHICKEN. My brain is cheeky like that – of course it went and threw me a dialogue only concept when I felt that was my weakness. So I studied and learned and challenged myself to be better, and I hope I did Chicken and Worm proud!
Could you describe your illustration background in some detail? Like how you got into art and what your art education was like?
As a kid, I always turned to drawing when I was moved by something. It was my way of trying to make sense of a complex world. I loved art all through school and was always known as ‘the girl who draws’. That said, drawing never came as naturally to me as writing. I felt like I could call myself a writer but I was never quite as confident in my art. So when it came to university and deciding what I was going to do with my life, I was too scared to follow my secret goals as an artist and chose something else.
I studied occupational therapy, having always been drawn to working with people (specifically children), and went on to specialise as a paediatric counsellor. I worked in this field for about ten years and I can see now, looking back, that I was kind of becoming a specialist in the hearts and minds of children (something that is really useful now that I make books for kids!). At some point I realised working as an OT wasn’t fulfilling me in quite the way I’d hoped and I turned back to art in my spare time. A friend pointed out that all the art I was making (and the stories I was writing) was clearly for children’s books, which was news to me. Once this was said out loud it was like a door opened up inside me that I didn’t even know was there and very quickly I realised that this was my calling.
After that I did everything I could to make it a reality. I read everything about becoming a children’s book author / illustrator I could find online, attended workshops, wrote and wrote and wrote and drew until my hand was sore. At some point I realised that I needed some formal education in the arts if I was going to break into illustration professionally. There were no illustration degrees where I was living at the time, but there was a great Arts School and an equivalent to a Graphic Design degree. So I enrolled in that (part time as I continued to work) and basically used my electives to pick and choose and create the degree I was hoping for. I managed to make nearly every one of my assignments into some kind of kids book! My first published children’s book, Squish Rabbit, came from a character I designed for one of those assignments.
For those curious about what goes into making a graphic novel, how would you describe the process?
For me, the thinking part of storytelling always takes the longest. An idea stays in my head anywhere from six months to several years before I commit anything to paper. This is because it takes that long for an idea to become rich enough to be worth working with – I need to consider it from every angle, watch the characters move and talk and react to each other, consider all the different possibilities and start building the world of the story. Then, eventually, I start making notes and doing some character sketches. Typically I work with the words first, developing the script over time. I let the characters talk to me and flesh out the story bit by bit, letting in unroll in my mind and then on paper. After that I break up the manuscript into pages, figuring out where the page turns will be and how to pace the story across an entire book. Through all this I will also be developing the visual style for the book – playing with how the characters will look, the colour palette and building the visual world. Next comes storyboarding, where I do quick rough sketches of each page, working with the classic comic book panels and challenging myself to come up with fresh perspectives and to match the illustrations to the developing emotions of the narrative. I also have to rough out how the speech will look on the page, fitting it into all the speech bubbles (in CRANKY CHICKEN I use a font I created based on my handwriting). After this I rough out which colours I will use on each page, making sure there’s good variation across the book and that the colours match the mood of each spread. Then comes the final art – doing all the line work and colouring. And then I sleep.
What’s a question you haven’t been asked yet but wish you were asked (as well as the answer to that question)?
I LOVE this question. I haven’t had the chance to talk about gender representation in comic books yet, which is something I’m really passionate about. As a young reader I loved comic books and grew up surrounded by ones my parents collected on their travels – Asterix and Obelix, Tin Tin, Footrot Flats (a New Zealand comic) and The Far Side. But at some point in my teens I realised all the comic books I had access to were written and illustrated by men (and featured all male leads). Of course this has changed a lot over time, but it’s still quite a male dominated industry. This only made me want to make my own comic books even more. As soon as I stumbled across Chicken, I knew she’d be my perfect lead – she’s spectacularly cranky and somehow more loveable for it, plus she’s got this admirable confidence that comes from being pretty comfortable with who she. I wanted to put her front and centre in a book that joys in all her cantankerous ways (we so rarely celebrate female grumps in stories, which is another reason I fell in love with Chicken as a character). All that said, I never use gender to shape a character, but rather allow my characters just to be exactly who they are. Chicken identifies as female, Worm is more gender fluid (which is something I can relate to and is how worms actually present in nature) but both play with different gender norms throughout the book – play is something I enjoy a lot in gender expression. Interestingly, because the entire book is in first person speech there’s no pronouns and therefore few gender signifiers in the book, and I’ve found about 90% of reviews automatically assume both characters are male. It’s a shame that male is still our default – not that I blame individuals, this is a long entrenched societal norm. But I’d love to be a small part of the change!
What advice might you have to give to other aspiring creatives?
Well … try not to listen to too much advice! Or at least, figure out what works for you and only listen to that. There’s a lot of conflicting advice out there and it can often steer people wrong. I think the best thing you can do is read lots of great books, watch lots of great films, engage with all the art you’re drawn to, do all the things that bring you joy and then write and write and write (or draw and draw and draw). Play with the ideas that fascinate you, as opposed to the ones you think you should pursue. So there’s my advice, which I also advised you not to listen to, so do with it what you will.
Are there other projects you are working on and at liberty to discuss?
Yes – so much more crankiness! I have just finished proofing all the final illustrations for CRANKY CHICKEN 2 and last week I handed in the final manuscript for book 3 (phew!). While waiting for feedback from my editor I have a little time to work on a couple of picture book manuscripts I have knocking around my mind. One I’m currently storyboarding and the other one I’m still writing (it’s currently with my critique partners for feedback). I also have a newer idea for a middle grade graphic novel which I’m currently collecting ideas for and world building. I always have many stories on the go, all in various stages of development. My brain is very active and needs to be kept busy.
Finally, what books/comics would you recommend to the readers of Geeks OUT?
I could spend my life just reading graphic novels and comic books and have so many I’ve loved. Here are just a few that are on my desk currently…
The Okay Witch by Emma Steinkellner, Strong Female Protagonist by Brennan Lee Mulligan and Molly Ostertag, Snapdragon by Kat Leyh, Treasure in the Lake by Jason Pamment, The Daughters of Ys by M.T Anderson and Jo Rioux
As a playwright, David Valdes‘ work has been seen across the US and abroad, is published by Samuel French, and earned multiple awards, fellowships, and commissions. He is the author of five books, including the forthcoming Spin Me Right Round. As a gay Cuban-American in a multiethnic family, intersectionality is his jam. He resides outside Boston with his daughter.
I had the opportunity to interview David, which you can read below.
First of all, welcome to Geeks OUT! Could you tell us a little about yourself?
I write books and plays, teach writing and theater, and am a single dad to a teenager. I’m a gay Cuban-American, so a lot of my work foregrounds queer and intersectional stories. My geek side is fed by any hooky sci-fi and all things speculative—I love seeing elements of our world but spun into time- or space-travel, magical or impossible events, and futuristic what-if scenarios.
Congratulations on your upcoming book, Spin Me Right Round! Could you tell us what it’s about and where the idea for the book came from?
Spin Me Right Round is kind of the love child of Back to the Future and Love Simon. My daughter and I were watching season three of Stranger Things together and she found the 80’s stuff really cool and funky, and it was fun for me to re-see my own past through new eyes. I had the idea of Spin Me Right Round almost immediately—Back to the Future was my favorite movie in the mid-80’s. The first draft of the book came so fast, it was done in eight weeks. (I had no idea how many drafts lay ahead!)
What sparked your interest in Young Adult fiction?
I’m around teenagers all the time, not only my daughter and her friends, but 18-year-olds—I teach freshmen at Tufts and Boston Conservatory. Their voices and their ideas fill the air I’m in.
What were some of the first queer books you read and connected to, as well as those that paved your own interest in storytelling?
I found the The Boys on the Rock by John Fox in Mr. Paperback in Maine and was shocked that it said it was a gay novel right on the back cover—and the front has a shirtless gay kid sunbathing on a rock. I bought it and then hid it inside the lining of my coat so that I could sneak it into my house unseen. I only read it at night after my mom was asleep. It was illuminating—gay sex did not work how I imagined—and a little sad, because a rom com it is not. But it was the first time I read a queer story with queer hero, one whose life and loves were treated seriously.
For many queer authors, fiction is a medium in which they can explore their own truths vicariously, reimagining queer youths that they themselves didn’t get to have. Was there anything like this in the motivation for writing Spin Me Right Round?
I set Spin Me Right Round on a campus very much like the religious boarding school I went to. Whereas I was completely closeted in high school (apologies to my girlfriends Cindi, Jill, and Colleen), my protagonist Luis is out out out. It was fun mashing up worlds, with the guy I couldn’t be sharing space with the guy I was.
Spin Me Right Round centers a queer Latinx (Cuban-American) protagonist. Could you tell us about some elements of this character you’re excited for others to see in the book?
Luis is a lot – he can be too full of himself but he also can be hilarious. I liked the idea of seeing what happens when somebody so sure of his place in the world ends up in another world.
The book allowed me to create a community as diverse and inclusive as the ones I’ve found in real life but are so absent from popular media. Chaz’s life is populated with kids of color, his best friend is nonbinary, and the important adults in his life are Black and Latina. I’m excited to have a book that defies the pattern of four white boys on bikes with one Black friend and a girl; in this book, the kids of color are the leads; girls and women are core to his life.
On your website it mentions you have quite a background in theater. Could you talk about that a little here and what pulled you towards that direction?
The first play I ever saw was when I was 9. I was really poor and my family never went to the theater. Someone invited me to a local community theater production of the Fantasticks – and I was hooked by the magic they made with simple props and lighting. I started writing skits in high school and plays in college. Now I’ve written 25 plays and one musical—and I still love the magic of it.
As an author, what advice would you give to other aspiring writers?
Rejection is not personal. You have to write, submit, keep writing, and keep submitting. You can’t ever know what a reader’s day or week or year were like before they got your manuscript. You don’t know what pressures their business is under. So many factors beyond you are controlling the outcome. So let it go.
In both playwriting and fiction, I’ve had rejections that actually led to opportunities months or years later—people who saw my work and didn’t publish or produce it, but who filed away in mind that they wanted to work with me someday when the time was right. I never knew they were thinking of this until they finally reappeared. It’s a good reminder that no one can champion work you haven’t written and submitted.
What’s something you haven’t done as a writer that you’d like to do?
I’d love to be in a writer’s room for TV, helping make stories queerer and more focused on people of color; I’d especially like to work on genre projects in comedy or thrillers, not just topical and issue-focused fare.
As a writer, who or what would you say are some of your greatest sources of inspiration and creativity?
In my life, my daughter, naturally; Spin Me Right Round wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for time shared with her. In writing or the arts, James Baldwin has always been a touchstone, with his queer and non-homogeneous worldview. Cristina Garcia’s Dreaming in Cuban is one of the most impactful books in terms of my sense of what and how to write. In general, I get inspiration from exposure to all modes of storytelling: hearing people talk about their lives, reading an unusual news story, or watching a great TV show or a movie – any good story can inspire me to make my own.
Are there any projects you are currently working on and at liberty to speak about?
I just turned in a second book for Bloomsbury about the romantic lives of three kids whose actual identities don’t match their online personas very well—and what happens when real and virtual worlds come together. I’m hoping to be in submission soon with an adult novel about the aftermath of a queer kid’s disappearance in a small town. And I’ve just started writing a fun project I can’t say much about but would be the most me a YA novel could possibly be.
Finally, what LGBTQ books/authors would you recommend to the readers of Geeks OUT?
Ash Van Otterloo was born and raised in the Appalachian foothills, then made their home for seventeen years as an adult in Eastern Tennessee.
They currently reside in the PNW with their best friend and four wild forest gremlins. Ash is the author of CATTYWAMPUS & A TOUCH OF RUCKUS! (Watch for new announcements soon)
Whether or not their house is haunted is a topic for gossip among their neighbors. The ones, at least, that the ghosts haven’t monched yet! You can learn more about Ash at ashvanotterloo.com.
First of all, welcome to Geeks OUT. Could you tell us a little about yourself?
Sure! I’m Alder (Ash) Van Otterloo, my pronouns are they/he, I was born in Charlotte, NC, and grew up in North AL/GA/East TN. I’ve always loved expressing myself through language, though I got a later start in my author journey. I’m trans and nonbinary/agender, queer, a parent, a lover of nature and hiking, a lifelong learner, and I write middle grade books with a hint of spookiness and varying degrees of magical reaslism. I also work as a creative writing tutor and freelance editor.
What can you tell us about your newest story, A Touch of Ruckus? Where did the inspiration for this book come from?Also, nice title by the way!
(Thanks!) A Touch of Ruckus is the story of Tennessee Lancaster, a girl who uses her secret gift (she calls it her ‘superburden’) of psychometry to learn her family members’ difficult secrets and play peacemaker to their constant bickering. She tries escaping the drama to visit her beloved grandmother inside an old growth forest, but there her gift does something new—it awakens a ghost from an old watch who starts haunting her! Her new friend Fox talks her into looking for ghosts on purpose, and soon, they’re both in over their heads. The ghosts have secrets to tell about the Lancaster family, and keeping the peace is not an option!
The story has cozy Halloween vibes, heart-in-your-throat haunting scenes, a tenderhearted nonbinary crush, themes of communication and the importance of mental health awareness…and SO MANY CORVIDS!
As a writer, what drew you to writing fiction/ fantasy, especially that intended for younger audiences?
I adore that fantasy allows young readers to explore their fears and feelings in a way that’s every bit as colorful, adventurous, intense, and fantastical as the strong emotions they’re experiencing at that age. Everything’s new, a little bit scary, and unpredictable! Fantasy can match those big feelings, stride for stride, and serve as a safe mirror—sometimes even a dress rehearsal—for the new experiences of growing up, but in a low-risk, high-empathy way. I really love that. Outrageous stories about struggling characters are affirming, and they say, “No, you’re not too much. Your enthusiasm, interests, anger, and sadness aren’t too big. Your fears aren’t, either. It’s okay that you have them, and you can learn to navigate them.”
Were there any books that touched you or inspired you growing up?
You know, I didn’t realize the pattern as a young reader, but I was consistently drawn to stories about community outsiders who overcame difficulties in communication or culture to find beautiful niches in the world to thrive as their truest selves. I loved Anne Shirley and Gilbert Blythe, The Borrowers, Charlotte from Charlotte’s Web, the Pevensie children, and Beetle from The Midwife’s Apprentice.
They were all often displaced or varying degrees of misunderstood yet managed to fight for their character arcs that included compassion, healing, and a desire to bring goodness to the communities that hadn’t embraced them at first. I think those notes of hopeful, Promethean fierceness really stuck with me, and carry over into my own writing.
Also, what magic systems/worlds/ characters drew your attention then and now?
When I was young, I was so drawn to anything mysterious and weird! I loved cryptids, local ghost stories and legends, and anything that explored possibilities just beyond the realm of everyday life. That hasn’t changed much, though I’ve developed a deeper appreciation for old stories and archetypes, too, and seeing how we’re still using the patterns from legends and fairy tales today. I really enjoy trying to find new ways to explore older-than-dirt themes, because it makes me feel like I’m adding a useful link to a long chain of storytelling.
Your first published book, Cattywampus (also another nice title as well) features a variety of queer characters, including a character that is intersex (which is still rarely seen in middle grade literature). What drew you to writing about this subject, and do you feel you draw on your own experiences as a queer Appalachian non-binary person while writing in general?
Writing Katybird was a unique undertaking! I needed to familiarize myself not only with many firsthand perspectives of others and the concrete details of what it means to androgen insensitive (Katy’s specific intersex experience), but I also had to become quite clear on how Katy’s experiences and mine intersected or diverged!
Being nonbinary like me (which has to do with the cultural construct of gender) is different from being intersex (which is a distinct, physical experience). Many people who are intersex are also trans/nonbinary, while others identify strongly with their gender assigned at birth. I decided to write Katy’s character because many people from my home region view both gender and sex as attached purely to a very binary categorization of humanity based on physical sex characteristics—you’re “one or the other”—when this is simply not true. There’s so much variety encompassed in the human experience that falls outside the rigid physical and gender binary! In fact, there are as many intersex people in the world as there are naturally redheaded people! (For more information and a much better explanation of what it means to be intersex, please visit https://interactadvocates.org !)
Tangible traits are sometimes a bit easier for folks to wrap their minds around, I think, especially for people who are resistant to new information. Careful, thoughtful education and inclusion can go a long way in stretching out people’s ability to perceive the world beyond their own very basic binary understanding. Both physical sex and experience of one’s own gender can defy categorization, and that’s a wonderful, normal, and beautiful part of reality. This is what I hoped to convey to readers.
In a more general sense, Katy’s arc speaks to anyone who feels misunderstood or undervalued within their home culture, and encourages them to recognize their uniqueness as an crucial and precious gift to the community around them.
While steadily growing, queer rural/ Appalachian life in literature is still underrepresented. What does it mean to you personally bringing this to the page?
Because queer folks have always existed (and will continue to exist!) in Appalachia and rural areas, I want to be careful when expressing my gratitude for the opportunity to write queer rural middle grade books. In one sense, I count myself humbly lucky to live in a moment in history where the stories are being valued and embraced in the publishing world, because wow, what a happenstance and privilege is that after all that waiting? But it’s not that those queer stories haven’t always deserved space—they absolutely have. So we’re not overly beholden to anyone for this. I view this moment more as a creative partnership that I’m grateful to take part in, as we begin to collaboratively bring balance to imbalance. The world needs queer perspectives, wisdom, beauty, and imperfections, just like it needs every other voice—and it’s lucky to have us.
I do feel a strong sense of responsibility to write with excellence and honesty, and to do everything I can do hold the door open for more queer writers, especially those writing from intersections of racial diversity, neurodivergence, disability, and fellow trans writers, whose voices are still underrepresented from the region. It takes hundreds of queer rural stories from all different perspectives, walks, genres, interests, and styles to form a beautiful, lush body of work that any young queer person can visit and find themselves present. That’s the dream, ultimately.
What are some of your favorite parts of the writing process? What are some of the hardest/ most frustrating for you?
I enjoy writing conflict and dialogue! Somewhat related, I love creating relationships between characters with opposing life philosophies, which is my favorite relationship dynamic in real life too. It’s so much fun to see characters challenge one another’s small beliefs just by being themselves, or gently nudging one another toward new understandings through love or opposition. Dreaming up odd couples then setting them free on the page blisses me out like nothing else.
The most frustrating part of writing is absolutely navigating my own attention span, hands down. I’d write for days on end if my focus would let me! I’m a roamer, and I like to tinker with lots of different hobbies. But in some ways, this really drives me to try and hold my own attention with plot twists and compelling emotional arcs, so it probably works out best for readers in the end.
What advice would you give to other aspiring writers?
Fight the urge to compare your writing to your favorite authors, and instead keep an open mind about what sort of writer you might be. Try lots of different stories and voices, and make sure you’re bringing your own heart and emotional experiences to the table. There’s only one you!
Aside from writing, what are some things you would want others to know about you?
Weirdness of every sort makes my soul happy. I adore nature, especially plants, entomology, and mycology! I have a lot of tattoos, a ball python named Sophie Adder (Ghibli/snake pun), three cats, an old dog, and some really amazing kids who I’m lucky to raise.
What’s your greatest fear?
Clowns, hands down. The creepy ones are fine; they’re straightforward. It’s the cheerful ones you have to watch for. What do they want from us? It can’t be good.
Are there any projects you are working on and at liberty to discuss?
I’m currently working on a contemporary MG about a 12yo whose mother is suffering from an addiction problem and mental health issues, which the MC compensates for by performing well in school and winning the approval of authority figures. When the mom ends up in rehab, the main character stays with an estranged aunt who runs a close-knit community garden, where they encounter kind, supportive new neighbors (many of whom are elderly, disabled, and/or queer). A mysterious Shadow begins following the MC, challenging their old rules for survival, and slowly the MC begins forming their own identity, separate from meeting their mother’s needs.
Finally, what LGBTQ+ books/authors would you recommend to the readers of Geeks OUT?
I really strongly recommend fellow queer middle grade authors who debuted and sophomored in 2020/2021! We poured so much time and skill into our novels, and despite running into parent after parent looking for great MG books with queer representation, there’s a huge disconnect between the books and potential readers due to pandemic/lack of buzz. And, unfortunately, like everyone, authors are tied to a capitalist system in order for their books to reach young readers.
If we want amazing queer rep in kidlit, we have to bolster demand via purchase of the big wave of queer MG books which happened to coincide with the pandemic. (Hie thee to bookshop.org!)
