By Danielle Wilkinson Today we’re excited to welcome Ayana Gray to the WNDB blog to discuss Beasts of Prey! I saw that the idea for BOP came from a collection of experiences you tucked away in your mind for later, including going to Ghana. I was wondering when was the moment you … [Read more...] about Q&A With Ayana Gray, Beasts of Prey
YA fantasy
Burn It Down: On World Building a Defiant Queer Response to Hogwarts
It Ends in Fire by Andrew Shvarts is on sale now. By Andrew Shvarts As soon as I decided to write about a magic school, I knew the book would have to be about burning it down. Write long enough, and you begin to notice your recurring obsessions, the themes, and the images you come back to … [Read more...] about Burn It Down: On World Building a Defiant Queer Response to Hogwarts
Cover Reveal for Vial of Tears by Cristin Bishara
Today we are thrilled to reveal the cover for Vial of Tears by Cristin Bishara. The cover art was designed by Syd Mills and the book was designed by Chelsea Hunter. The book will be released on October 5, 2021, by Holiday House. Two sisters become trapped in the underworld—and in the machinations … [Read more...] about Cover Reveal for Vial of Tears by Cristin Bishara
Namina Forna’s the Gilded Ones Is a Feminist Magic Epic
The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna is out now. Order it here! By Karis Rogerson Namina Forna is the author of the YA fantasy The Gilded Ones, which has been described as “Utterly transporting and on a massive scale” by Stylist. When I first saw the cover and synopsis for The Gilded Ones, I … [Read more...] about Namina Forna’s the Gilded Ones Is a Feminist Magic Epic
Mark Oshiro Writes Kidlit Because That’s Where They See Representation
By Karis Rogerson Mark Oshiro is the award-winning author of Anger is a Gift, a 2018 YA contemporary about police violence in communities of color, grief, anxiety, and the power anger has to make a change. Their upcoming novel, Each of Us a Desert (September 15, 2020), is a YA fantasy about a … [Read more...] about Mark Oshiro Writes Kidlit Because That’s Where They See Representation
Shveta Thakrar’s Star Daughter Is About the Child of a Star and a Mortal
By Karis Rogerson Shveta Thakrar chose to write her debut, Star Daughter, as a YA fantasy not just because it’s a genre and age category she was already reading and therefore familiar with, but because she wanted to fill a gap. “The dearth of representation,” she told We Need Diverse Books. “I … [Read more...] about Shveta Thakrar’s Star Daughter Is About the Child of a Star and a Mortal
