Highlights Foundation: Pride Celebration 2022
Jas Hammonds, Anna-Marie McLemore, NoNieqa Ramos and Em Dickson joined us for a PRIDE Celebration of Stories. They had a wonderful conversation with Highlights Foundation team members Alison Green Myers and Alexandra Villasante about:
Supporting stories you love and getting those books into kids’ hands
Their careers in the kidlit LGBTQIA+ space
Bringing things out into the open and going “anywhere we want” in terms of genre
Helping each other find safe spaces in publishing
Having the wonder and freedom to write what you NEED to write
The unique challenges of gender diverse authors in kidlit
They also shared their favorite recent LGBTQIA+ titles:
Man o’ War, by Cory McCarthy
All Signs Point to Yes, edited by Cam Montgomery, g. haron davis and Adrianne White
Reclaim the Stars: 17 Tales Across Realms & Space, edited by Zoraida Córdova
Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School, by Sonora Reyes
Prince & Knight, by Daniel Haack and illustrated by Stevie Lewis
Different Kinds of Fruit, by Kyle Lukoff
This Is Our Rainbow: 16 Stories of Her, Him, Them, and Us, edited by Katherine Locke and Nicole Melleby
Alice Austen lived Here, by Alex Gino
The Science of Being Angry, by Nicole Melleby
The Passing Playbook, by Isaac Fitzsimons
The ABC’s of LGBT+, by Ash Hardell
Your Mama, by NoNieqa Ramos and illustrated by Jacqueline Alcántara
The Disturbed Girl’s Dictionary, by NoNieqa Ramos
The Grief Keeper, by Alexandra Villasante
Lake Lore, by Anna-Marie McLemore
A Clash of Steel: A Treasure Island Remix, by C.B. Lee
Travelers Along the Way: A Robin Hood Remix, by Aminah Mae Safi
The Weight of Feathers, by Anna-Marie McLemore
We Deserve Monuments, by Jas Hammonds
Deep in Providence, by Riss M. Neilson
The Best Liars in Riverview, by Lin Thompson
When the Moon Was Ours, by Anna-Marie McLemore