Authors Phil Stamper and R. Eric Thomas had a conversation in the days leading up to the publication of their new books: Stamper's first middle-grade novel, Small Town Pride (HarperCollins), and Thomas's YA debut, Kings of B'more (Kokila).
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| R. Eric Thomas | |
Stamper is the author of The Gravity of Us; As Far as You'll Take Me; Golden Boys; and other queer books for kids and teens. Thomas is the author of Here for It, or How to Save Your Soul in America; he is also a television writer, a playwright and the long-running host of The Moth in Philadelphia and D.C.
Here they discuss leaving home, finding opportunities and creating their own universes.
Phil Stamper: Hi Eric! So excited to chat, since you know how much I loved your debut, Here for It.
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| Phil Stamper | |
R. Eric Thomas: Phil! I'm so thrilled to be talking to you, too! Readers won't know this, but one time I ran into you in real life outside of the Penguin Random House building and I worry that I freaked you out with my enthusiasm.
PS: Ha! That was the most disorienting experience. I work at PRH, so I was in full publisher mode, and seeing my two worlds collide right in front of a revolving door was hilarious. BUT I was so happy to meet you! I'd been a fan of your column for a while, and I was freaking out too.
RET: I'm glad the freakout was mutual.
I can't wait to get my mitts on Small Town Pride! You're prolific; I'm sure you get this question all the time but, like, how? Did you make a deal with Rumpelstiltskin or something? What's the secret?!
PS: Honestly, as a querying writer, a writer on submission and then a debut author, you hear all these stories about how if your first book doesn't do well, then you're doomed. I think I was mostly desperate, to be frank. I had so many stories I wanted to tell, and I was so eager to get them out in the world. That said, I think I have a healthy work-life balance now.... I'm so proud of the books I have on shelves, and I can't wait to celebrate the launch of Small Town Pride. How are you feeling leading up to the launch of Kings of B'more?
RET: What you said about being desperate really resonated with me. I've tried so many doors throughout my working life and when I find one that's open, I run through it. Kings of B'more was one of those doors. My editor, Joanna Cárdenas, reached out to me after reading Here for It and said that the chapter about a friend I made in high school really stuck out to her. After talking with Joanna, the whole thing just came to me: a romp about platonic love. It's a contemporary riff on Ferris Bueller's Day Off that focuses on two Black queer best friends who face an impending move they fear will separate them. I honestly can't wait for this book to be in the world and for people to meet these characters. I love writing memoir, but there's something so magical about a fictional world and all its idiosyncrasies and foibles. You've got two worlds you're navigating this year, with Golden Boys and Small Town Pride. Do they feel hugely different for you or is it all part of one Stamper-verse?
PS: The Stamper-verse!!! I love it. I will say I relate to a lot of what you said, and your book sounds incredible. My "worlds" are all interconnected, to some extent, but I think the biggest difference going into my 2022 books is a perspective shift: my YA books are all about leaving your hometowns, your comfort zones, and finding joy elsewhere. But with my middle-grade debut, which follows a 12-year-old rural kid who ultimately throws his town's first Pride festival, I really wanted to bring that sense of queer joy home. I got to reimagine my own, challenging upbringing as a gay kid in rural Ohio and see what it would have been like if I said, "No, I don't want to leave. I want to make my village a more accepting place." So, in that way, Small Town Pride is the biggest departure from the Stamper-verse. Speaking of departures, how challenging was it to shift from adult memoir to YA fiction?
RET: It's funny because a lot of readers have expressed surprise that I'm shifting genres. For me it's all about voice: I'm always just looking for the right story to fit the voice. Slipping into YA fiction was easy for me; it felt like coming home, to borrow ideas from the new Stamper-verse. I think, and I wonder if you agree, a lot of opportunity in writing fiction, be it in middle-grade, YA or other categories, is to make a world we didn't have. I don't know that I believe we can heal what was broken for us by writing fiction (that's what therapy is for). But I think that we can be change agents in the world as it is and open new possibilities for those coming after us. Is that the experience you've had?
PS: It's funny to hear you talk about voice--as a reader of your work, I had no concern that your voice would translate well to YA fiction! I would often read your pieces and think, "God, I wish I could write like that." But to your question, that's absolutely the experience I've had. I think it's easy to fall into a trap where you're reminiscing or writing self-insert fanfiction of your own life. Now that I have a few books out there, I've been able to take different pieces of myself and turn them into something that means a lot to me. It's special (and lucky, I guess!) that it also means a lot to readers. Have you had any feedback from teen readers yet? They are the best, most passionate people out there, especially when you write queer YA.
RET: Yes! Teen readers offer such an incredible perspective. I am always going to seek out teens and librarians to read everything I write in the early stages. Those who read Kings of B'more early have been extremely excited about it, so I'm hopeful. I'm also hopeful that Small Town Pride and Kings of B'more will put us in the same physical space again. I promise not to freak out (as much) next time I see you.
PS: I hope so! And no promises--after the last few years, I get even more excited seeing author friends out in the wild. Thanks so much for chatting with me!
RET: Thanks for chatting with me, too! Happy Pride!