Today we are thrilled to reveal the cover for THE TALK: CONVERSATIONS ABOUT RACE, LOVE & TRUTH edited by Wade Hudson and Cheryl Willis Hudson. The book will be released on September 29, 2020, by Crown Books for Young Readers. Preorder here!

In the powerful follow-up to We Rise, We Resist, We Raise Our Voices, thirty diverse and award-winning authors and illustrators capture frank discussions about racism, identity, and self-esteem. Here is an invitation to all families to be advocates and allies for change.

Featured contributors: Selina Alko, Tracey Baptiste, Derrick Barnes, Natacha Bustos, Cozbi A. Cabrera, Raúl Colón, Adam Gidwitz, Nikki Grimes, Rudy Gutierrez, April Harrison, Wade Hudson, Gordon C. James, Minh Lê, E. B. Lewis, Grace Lin, Torrey Maldonado, Meg Medina, Christopher Myers, Daniel Nayeri, Zeke Peña, Peter H. Reynolds, Erin K. Robinson, Traci Sorell, Shadra Strickland, Don Tate, MaryBeth Timothy, Duncan Tonatiuh, Renée Watson, Valerie Wilson Wesley, Sharon Dennis Wyeth

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Wade Hudson is an author, a publisher, and the president and CEO of Just Us Books, Inc., an independent publisher of books for children and young adults. He has published over thirty books, including We Rise, We Resist, We Raise Our Voices, an anthology co-edited with his wife. In addition, Wade has completed the poetry collection Journey: Poems and is currently working on a coming-of-age memoir.

Wade has received a New Jersey Stephen Crane Literary Award, the Ida B. Wells Institutional Leadership Award, and the Madame C. J. Walker Legacy Award, and has been inducted into the International Literary Hall of Fame for Writers of African Descent. He also speaks to students and professional groups around the country about his life’s journey, writing and publishing, and the importance of diversity and inclusion. Born and raised in Mansfield, Louisiana, Wade lives in East Orange, New Jersey, with his wife, Cheryl. You can find Wade’s website here.

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Cheryl Willis Hudson is an author, an editor and a publisher. She is cofounder and editorial director of Just Us Books, Inc., an independent company that focuses on Black interest books for young people. Cheryl has written over two dozen books, including Bright Eyes, Brown Skin (with Bernette G. Ford), AFRO-BETS ABC Book, From Where I Stand, Hands Can, Construction Zone, My Friend Maya Loves to Dance, and Brave. Black. First.: 50+ African American Women Who Changed the World. Cheryl is also co-editor with her partner, Wade Hudson, of the middle-grade anthology We Rise, We Resist, We Raise Our Voices. A member of the Children’s and Young Adult Committee of PEN America, Cheryl is also a recipient of the Stephen Crane Award and an inductee of the International Literary Hall of Fame for Writers of African Descent. You can find Cheryl online here.