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Zetta Elliott

Goodreads Author

Born

in Ajax, Canada

Website

http://www.zettaelliott.com

Twitter

zettaelliott

Genre

Children's Books, Literature & Fiction, Women & Gender Studies

Influences

Octavia Butler, Jamaica Kincaid, Toni Morrison, Jean Toomer, Ezra Jack ...more

Member Since

February 2010

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I’m a Black feminist writer of poetry, plays, essays, novels, and stories for children. I was born and raised in Canada, but have lived in the US for 20 years. I earned my PhD in American Studies from NYU in 2003; I have taught at Ohio University, Louisiana State University, Mount Holyoke College, Hunter College, Bard High School Early College, and Borough of Manhattan Community College. My poetry has been published in the Cave Canem anthology, The Ringing Ear: Black Poets Lean South, Check the Rhyme: an Anthology of Female Poets and Emcees, and Coloring Book: an Eclectic Anthology of Fiction and Poetry by Multicultural Writers. My novella, Plastique, was excerpted in T Dot Griots: an Anthology of Toronto’s Black Storytellers, and my plays I’m a Black feminist writer of poetry, plays, essays, novels, and stories for children. I was born and raised in Canada, but have lived in the US for 20 years. I earned my PhD in American Studies from NYU in 2003; I have taught at Ohio University, Louisiana State University, Mount Holyoke College, Hunter College, Bard High School Early College, and Borough of Manhattan Community College. My poetry has been published in the Cave Canem anthology, The Ringing Ear: Black Poets Lean South, Check the Rhyme: an Anthology of Female Poets and Emcees, and Coloring Book: an Eclectic Anthology of Fiction and Poetry by Multicultural Writers. My novella, Plastique, was excerpted in T Dot Griots: an Anthology of Toronto’s Black Storytellers, and my plays have been staged in New York, Cleveland, and Chicago. My essays have appeared in School Library Journal, The Huffington Post, and Publishers Weekly. My picture book, Bird, won the Honor Award in Lee & Low Books’ New Voices Contest and the Paterson Prize for Books for Young Readers. My young adult novel, A Wish After Midnight, has been called “a revelation…vivid, violent and impressive history.” Ship of Souls was published in February 2012; it was named a Booklist Top Ten Sci-fi/Fantasy Title for Youth and was a finalist for the Phillis Wheatley Book Award. My short story, “Sweet Sixteen,” was published in Cornered: 14 Stories of Bullying and Defiance in July 2012. My YA novel, The Door at the Crossroads, was a finalist in the Speculative Fiction category of the 2017 Cybils Awards, and my picture book, Melena’s Jubilee, won a 2017 Skipping Stones Honor Award. I received the Children’s Literature Association’s Article Award for my 2014 essay, “The Trouble with Magic: Conjuring the Past in New York City Parks.” I am an advocate for greater diversity and equity in publishing, and I have self-published numerous illustrated books for younger readers under my own imprint, Rosetta Press; 3 were named Best of the Year by the Bank Street Center for Children’s Literature, and Benny Doesn’t Like to Be Hugged is a first-grade fiction selection for the 2019 Scripps National Spelling Bee. Dragons in a Bag, a middle grade fantasy novel, was published by Random House in 2018; the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) named it a Notable Children’s Book. Its sequel, The Dragon Thief, was named a Best Middle Grade Book of 2019 by CBC Books. Say Her Name, a young adult poetry collection, was published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers in January 2020; two picture books, A Place Inside of Me from FSG and Awesome Chevonne! from Flyaway Books, will follow. I currently live in Lancaster, PA.

I’m represented by Johanna Castillo of Writers House. ...more

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Zetta Elliott’s books

Average rating: 4.06 · 4,586 ratings · 1,156 reviews · 53 distinct works • Similar authors

	Dragons in a Bag (Dragons in a Bag #1) 3.89 avg rating — 1,364 ratings — published 2018 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Bird by Zetta Elliott (Goodreads Author), Shadra Strickland (Goodreads Author) (illustrator) 4.36 avg rating — 625 ratings — published 2008 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Say Her Name by Zetta Elliott (Goodreads Author), Loveis Wise (Illustrator) 4.42 avg rating — 634 ratings — published 2020 — 8 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Wish After Midnight 3.62 avg rating — 455 ratings — published 2009 — 8 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Ship of Souls 3.44 avg rating — 231 ratings — published 2012 — 9 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Place Inside of Me: A Poem to Heal the Heart by Zetta Elliott (Goodreads Author), Noa Denmon (Illustrations) 4.71 avg rating — 139 ratings — published 2020 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Dragon Thief (Dragons in a Bag #2) 3.95 avg rating — 220 ratings — published 2019 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Mother of the Sea 4.28 avg rating — 160 ratings — published 2017 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Melena's Jubilee: The Story of a Fresh Start by Zetta Elliott (Goodreads Author), Aaron Boyd (Illustrator) 3.76 avg rating — 109 ratings — published 2016 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Benny Doesn't Like to Be Hugged by Zetta Elliott (Goodreads Author), Purple Wong (Illustrator) 4.25 avg rating — 76 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Zetta Elliott's Blog

let hope blaze

I don’t want to talk about the election and definitely didn’t plan to write a poem about it. But then I went for a walk with Cozbi on Friday and she named the condition of the golden maple trees: blight. Turns out these “tar spots” are the result of a fungus that doesn’t kill the tree. The next day I heard hollering in the street and that’s how I found out that Biden had won. I walked to the farme

Series by Zetta Elliott

Dragons in a Bag (2 books)
by

Zetta Elliott (Goodreads Author)

3.90 avg rating — 1,583 ratings

Genna & Judah (2 books)
by

Zetta Elliott (Goodreads Author)

3.64 avg rating — 477 ratings

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Every Body Looking

by Candice Iloh

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Black Writers Matter

by Whitney French

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Black Leopard, Red Wolf (The Dark Star Trilogy #1)

by Marlon James

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Mar 17, 2019 09:20AM

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Zetta Elliott has read Kondo & Kezumi Visit Giant Island by David Goodner (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Zetta Elliott made a comment on her status in Every Body Looking " Charlotte wrote: "This sounds interesting! I like books in verse because they're so quick to read." They're especially good for reluctant student reade ...more "
Nov 11, 2020 02:23PM
Zetta Elliott voted for Just Like Me as Best Picture Books in the Semifinal Round of the 2020 Goodreads Choice Awards. Cast Your Vote
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Zetta Elliott is currently reading Every Body Looking by Candice Iloh	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Quotes by Zetta Elliott

“And that’s what love does, it wipes out all the messy parts so you can see the picture clear.”
― Zetta Elliott, A Wish After Midnight

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“As if they could not believe a black person would dare to defend herself. It’s as if they expect us to just give up without a fight, to let them kill us, as if this is their right.”
― Zetta Elliott, A Wish After Midnight

tags: racism, self-defense

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“I’m not sure which matters more—where the seed comes from, or where it takes root and grows.”
― Zetta Elliott, A Wish After Midnight

tags: class, coming-of-age, roots

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Topics Mentioning This Author

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Literary Fiction ...: Favorite Reads of 2010	12	46	Jan 13, 2011 08:34PM
Young Adult Book ...: Fun game- grab the book nearest to you RIGHT NOW	296	918	Oct 06, 2015 07:17PM
Into the Forest: 2017 Challenge Progress	154	122	Jan 05, 2018 05:31PM
Lucy Preston Lite...: Time-Travel Novels Featuring/By People of Color (POC)	2	19	Jul 04, 2018 09:10PM
Lucy Preston Lite...: Timeless inspired Kid books	20	78	Jul 14, 2018 10:16AM
Nothing But Readi...: Ashley's Reading Challenges	165	196	Jan 07, 2019 05:11PM
Cozy Mysteries : May 2019 Mini Challenges	68	91	Jun 09, 2019 09:06PM
Nothing But Readi...: Author Alphabet Challenge : 2019	92	377	Jan 03, 2020 07:15PM
The Lost Challenges: Famous Quotes Spell Out #3	102	84	Oct 28, 2020 02:17PM

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