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!

​I'm thrilled to share that Kingdom of Dust, my West African-inspired middle grade fantasy, is a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection! This is a huge honor and means that Kingdom of Dust now has an important boost in finding its readers. 

Junior Library Guild is a trusted organization that librarians and educators can use to find excellent books for their collections. On their website they state, "JLG titles are curated by our renowned editorial team who reads and reviews thousands of manuscript submissions each year (prior to publication) to choose the best, award-worthy books for our members. With nearly 95% of our selections going on to win awards, honors, starred reviews, and industry accolades, you can trust JLG to bring top-quality books to your library that will engage and appeal to your readers."

I'm honored that Kingdom of Dust will be included in the fall catalog of the Junior Library Guild and hopefully seen by lots of potential new readers!

It's been almost a year since the publication of A Comb of Wishes and it's been an amazing ride so far. Thank you to all of the readers, teachers, librarians, and booksellers who have embraced the book!

Now it's time to welcome the PAPERBACK of A Comb of Wishes! If you are in Massachusetts, I welcome you to join me on Saturday, January 21, 2023 at 1 pm at Whitelam Books in Reading, MA for a in-person event. I can't wait!

To celebrate the in-person Paperback Book Launch and the one-year publication anniversary of A Comb of Wishes, I am hosting a giveaway.

I have a new educator's guide to share for A Comb of Wishes and I am donating a set of 10 paperback books to one lucky person. This prize is perfect for a book club or for adding to a classroom library.

To enter, please LIKE and SHARE the giveaway post on Twitter or Instagram and enter your details in the Google Form.

​Entries must be submitted by January 22, 2023, 11:59 pm ET. Good luck!