Zetta Elliott's Blog, page 122

The Enchanted Inkpot

Somehow I've only just discovered this site, but it's got a great conversation up right now about diversity in YA fantasy fiction—stop by to hear the thoughts of Cindy Pon, Shveta Thakrar, and other authors. Here's some of what Cindy had to say:

as a reader of color with a love for fantasy, i never saw anyone like myself in any of my favorite books, much less on the cover. i've been writing since around twelve years old, and it wasn't until Silver Phoenix (when i was thirty-two!) that i wrote...

meet Shaun David Hutchinson

This post is connected to my last post on re-imagining the family (and thanks to KT Horning who posted this link on Facebook).  Shaun has a new book (The Deathday Letter) coming out in June, but for now, stop by his blog and read his three great posts about YA & Sexuality. I love the first line of this excerpt (my emphasis):

And we all have a part to play. Readers can demand more books with LGBT characters.  Writers can include them in their books.  And it doesn't have to be some huge...

re-imagining the family

I'm reading a book right now that's so profound, I'm forced to slow myself down so I can fully grasp its concepts and their meaning in my life.  Not too long ago I decided "family" wasn't a useful term for me…there had been too many failures, too much hurt and disappointment.  Community, I decided, was the better option since it could be imagined and constructed in a myriad of ways.  Then last week, my friend Rosa loaned me her copy of Ties That Bind: Familial Homophobia and Its Consequences ...

cover girl

If a picture's worth a thousand words, a book's cover is probably worth ten times as much!  Ever wonder about the story behind your favorite book's cover?  Then be sure you follow Melissa Walker's blog—in addition to being a YA author, she gets the nitty gritty on a cover's back story.  Stop by today and find out how Wish came to look oh-so-fine…

NYC Teen Author Festival

It's that time of year again, and I *want* to be excited about this—I really do!  Especially since two of my friends (who happen to be awesome authors) are included this time around: Neesha Meminger and Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich.  You can find the entire schedule over at readergirlz, along with the names of the many authors who are participating this year.  Now, *please* correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems like there are close to 70 YA authors lined up for signings, panels, and...

signed, sealed, delivered

Don't yet have your signed copy of A Wish After Midnight?  Well, there are ten signed copies at the Court St. Barnes & Noble, so go get yours!  I'm also excited about the NYPL ordering more than fifty copies of the new edition of Wish…

readergirlz

Many thanks to Lyn Miller-Lachmann for this great review of Wish over at the readergirlz salon.  Lyn is the editor of MultiCultural Review and the author of Gringolandia—a BBYA selection for 2010!  I'm excited about the panel Lyn and I will be on (along with Joseph Bruchac!) at the Empire State Book Festival in April.  Stay tuned for more details (we're heading to Philly the next day!)

And…from across the pond—another great photo!  Thanks to my good friend Laura Atkins for always supporting...

Terrorism in Teen Lit

For my Huffington Post blog, I decided to interview Neesha Meminger about her representation of terrorism in teen lit.  At long last, the post is up and I'd love if you stopped by and left a comment so the HuffPo folks know these topics matter to readers of YA lit.  Unfortunately, due to the word limit, this third question didn't make the final cut but here's what Neesha had to say about how can girls can make history:

I think the focus has to be less on how to make history within in its...

Diversity Roll Call ~ Women's History

Susan over at Color Online is asking folks to make a list of women's history books, but I've decided to answer her other question instead: "who and what should we be reading in honor of women?"  In the latest issue of Ms. Magazine, there's an article about young black feminists and this great list of blogs:

Eternal Summer of the Black Feminist Mind

Combahee Survival

BrokenBeautiful Press

Quirky Black Girls

Here's some of their manifesta:

Because Audre Lorde looks different in every picture ever...

Wish does D.C.

This great shot is from my very creative friend Rosamond King, who was on tour with COCo Dance Theater in Washington, D.C.