I'm honored once again to have been asked to participate in the #31DaysIBPOC Blog Challenge, a month-long movement to feature the voices of Indigenous, Black, and people of color as educators, writers and scholars. 

With the effort of distance learning in the forefront of my brain, the idea of emotional labor resonated with me but not for the work I'm doing with my students. In the past year, I've been part of numerous discussions related to race, equity, and inclusion in publishing and education, and who speaks and who is silent and the cost of that, particularly for women of color, shaped my thoughts.

​Here is my post on The Emotional Toll of Speaking Up.

I'm so excited to finally share some book news! My middle grade debut DARK TIDE was acquired in a five-house auction by Rosemary Brosnan of HarperCollins/Quill Tree Books in a two-book deal! Thank you to my wonderful agent Lindsay David Auld for believing in this story and championing it through the submission process!

Right now the book is scheduled to release in winter 2022! I'll be sure to share more news in the coming months, but right now it's a dream come true.

Last spring I was honored to be awarded the inaugural Kweli Color of Children’s Literature Manuscript Award. Given in partnership with SCBWI, the award is presented to the manuscript deemed best during the critique sessions at the conference and includes an all-inclusive trip to the annual SCBWI Summer Conference in Los Angeles.

I arrived in Los Angeles full of expectation and more than a bit of worry. I had never been to the Summer Conference, but I had heard much about how wonderful and amazing it was. And big. This year’s conference hosted over 1,100 attendees!

I was honored this month to be asked to participate in the inaugural #31DaysIBPOC Blog Challenge, a month-long movement to feature the voices of Indigenous and teachers of color as writers and scholars. 

I thought hard about what I wanted to say and decided on sharing about my identity as a Black woman navigating two predominately white spaces, in education and publishing.

​Here is my post on Teaching and Writing in the Intersection.

This spring, I attended the Kweli Color of Children's Literature Conference for the third time. Kweli is a conference for writers and illustrators who identify as Indigenous or as people of color. It is organized by Kweli Journal and its founder Laura Pegram.

Everything about Kweli is joyous and rejuvenating. This year, I submitted a manuscript for critique and not only received wonderful feedback, but my manuscript was selected for the Kweli/SCBWI Emerging Talent Award. The award includes an all expenses paid scholarship to the 2019 SCBWI Summer Conference in LA! I'm honored to have been selected for this award and looking forward to learning at the summer conference in LA. 

Here is a blog post I wrote for Kweli about my conference experience on Craft, Community, and Love.