I gave myself an extra special holiday gift this year. Was it expensive? Absolutely. Was it worth it? Again, a resounding yes. Will I do it again? Read further and see the answer. What was this present – well, a little background first. As a professional author with a host of short stories and three […]
The Gift of #Ownvoices Read More »
You never know how the things you experience today can prepare you for an opportunity tomorrow. Likewise, you also never know how a person you met yesterday can influence your five year outlook. Let’s just say life is a puzzle and it’s up to notice the pieces and put them together. I vividly remember the
PWID 2016 Scholarship winner – Nabeeh Bilal Read More »
As I sit here thinking about how I am going to explain what this opportunity means to me, I get flooded with emotions and I feel my heart start beating a little faster. I have always believed that I have to trust my instincts and intuition, and that things will work out the way they should in
PWID 2016 Diversity Scholarship Winner Khannie Dastgah Read More »
Not too long ago, I found myself in a well-known, independent feminist bookstore wondering where all the characters of color were. This was a while into my time working there as a bookseller, but I often thought back to the first day I stepped into this particular shop–how magical it was (especially compared to Barnes
A New Challenge – Jill Kuangfung Read More »
Fellow African American children’s author, Urania Smith, teamed with me, B A Binns, to sponsor three diverse authors to attend the 2016 Illinois SCBWI conference, Prairie Writers and Illustrators Day (PWID) coming up on Saturday, November 5 at Harper College in Palatine, Ill. Urania and I both want to see ways to see more authors
Diverse authors/illustrators at the Illinois SCBWI conference Read More »
For the record, the title of this blog is meant to be a hook. Authors know what I mean, that thing good novels use to capture a reader’s attention. In reality, the contest I am going to tell you about had lots of entries. Entries that shared more than a few things in common. Last
What if you gave a contest and nobody came? Read More »
Presenting the winners of my contest to provide free tuition for diverse children\’s authors and illustrators to attend Illinois SCBWI\’s 2016 conference – Prairie Writers and Illustrators Day – PWID Contest Results… PWID 2016 Faculty…PWID 2016 Faculty… The three winners who will be my guests at the conference are: Jill Kaunfung – http://jill-kuanfung.squarespace.com/
2016 Prairie Writers results Read More »
On November 5, the Illinois chapter of the Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) is having its annual conference, Prairie Writer’s and Illustrator’s Day. The one-day conference is held at the Wojcik Conference Center, at Harper College in Palatine, Illinois. This conference contains valuable information for people who craft children’s books, with information about
Illinois Writers and Illustrators conference scholarship Read More »