The 2025 Children's Africana Book Awards (CABA) were celebrated on Saturday, November 1, 2025 in Washington, DC and I had the honor of accepting a chapter book honor award for Kingdom of Dust.

The awards are presented annually to the authors and illustrators of the best children’s and young adult books on Africa published or republished in the U.S. Africa Access and the Outreach Council of the African Studies Association (ASA) created CABA in 1991 to encourage the publication and use of accurate, balanced children’s materials about Africa. The Center for African Studies at Howard University is the institutional base for the Awards.

The event opened with several activities for families run by a staff of wonderful volunteers. Children could spin cotton, complete a "Dress a Camel" craft, explore the tradition of masquerade, or make autograph books to have authors sign later in the day. Book sales were provided by Loyalty Bookstores.

The highlight of the program was a performance by the Taratibu Dancers! Their group aims to cultivate creativity, discipline, and confidence in youth through a dynamic blend of performance, culture, and personal development. The young artists performed several pieces that incorporated rhythmic dance, singing, and spoken word poetry. It was so inspiring!

I also enjoyed a wonderful school visit on October 31 at the Ida B. Wells Middle School, where I spoke to the entire the sixth grade! The visit was sponsored by An OpenBook Foundation, which provided a signed copy of Kingdom of Dust to each student.

Again, I am honored to have received this award and thank CABA, the Center for African Studies at Howard University, An Open Book, and my publisher HarperCollins/Quill Tree Books for making the trip possible.

I had a wonderful day at the Massachusetts State House on October 7 for the 2025 Mass Book Awards ceremony, which is celebrating its 25th year ☺️. Sponsored by the Massachusetts Center for the Book, the award recognizes significant works of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, translated literature, graphic novel/memoir, and children’s/young adult literature written, illustrated, or translated by current Commonwealth residents. An annual “notable contribution to publishing” award recognizes the work of Massachusetts-based presses. 

I was honored to receive an honors award for Kingdom of Dust, which was presented by author Lauren Wolk. The judges citation reads:

"Kingdom of Dust is a fantasy novel inspired by West-African mythology that follows Amara, a young girl who must find her land's lost storytellers in order to save her family and society. Filled with lush prose and accessible text for readers of all ages, Kingdom of Dust has secured its place in modern fantasy canons for children. Amara's journey tackling both climate justice and restoration of her people's stories is unforgettable."

​The winner of the Middle Grade/Young Adult category was Dead Things Are Closer Than They Appear by Robin Wasley (Simon & Schuster BYR) and an honor award was also bestowed on Better Must Come by Desmond Hall (Atheneum). Congratulations to my fellow category honorees!

The inaugural Newton Children's Book Festival took place this past Saturday, December 14, 2024. Hundreds of families came out to the New Art Center in Newton, MA to meet over 60 children's book authors and illustrators.

The festival kicked off with a sold-out launch event on Monday, December 9 featuring New York Times bestselling author Tui T. Sutherland.

​I was honored to be Tui's conversation partner at the West Newton Cinema, and we had such a great time talking about fantasy, books, and reading, while answering questions from loads young Wings of Fire fans. 

The brainchild of literacy advocate, Mia Wenjen (Pragmatic Mom), the organizers pulled off a fabulous event. Newtonville Books was the official bookseller for the event and were so kind and wonderful. I had a great time talking with kids and parents and catching up (or meeting for the first time) with other local authors and kidlit creators. ​

I’ve teamed up with my fellow #22Debuts author K. Tempest Bradford to share two webinars for writers, both pre- and post-published. We both feel strongly that authors should have a web presence, even a basic one. We’ll give you the tools to create and maintain a website and a social media presence even if you aren’t tech-savvy or trained in digital marketing.

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!