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| photo: Jasiatic | |
Alicia D. Williams is the author of Genesis Begins Again, which received a Newbery Honor, was a William C. Morris finalist, and won the Coretta Scott King-John Steptoe Award for New Talent. Williams, a Master Teaching Artist of arts integration, infuses her love for drama, movement, comedy, and storytelling to inspire students to write their own narratives. Her new book is the novel-in-verse Mid-Air (Atheneum).
Handsell readers your book in 25 words or less:
After a tragedy, two boys restart a Guinness World Records mission. Will they complete their quest and save their friendship? Or ruin it altogether?
On your nightstand now:
Whoa, that's a loaded question. There isn't one book on my nightstand. There are books--with an s--on my nightstand. Always.
Hear me out. I have one for pleasure, another for Sunday self-care, a few for research, others for mentor texts, and ughh, okay... I'm a Libra.
On my nightstand sits:
My journal. It's important to have a safe place to dump my thoughts, worries, lessons, and positive self-talk.
My notebook of story ideas. I've got one, and the cover has a picture of Wonder Woman. My notepad is full of random plots, pieces of dialogue, and subjects that I hope to live long enough to write.
Atomic Habits by James Clear. I need to be better at organization and time management. The number of books stacked on my nightstand is an example.
A Wish in the Dark by Christina Soontornvat. I started this in August of 2023, and I love it so much that I couldn't finish it. I wanted to linger with it longer.
A Vein of Gold by Julia Cameron. Recently my daughter shared that she was reading The Artist's Way, a book she learned about from TikTok. I had Julia's follow up, A Vein of Gold, and because of my daughter's excitement, I moved it from the shelf to my nightstand.
Favorite book when you were a child:
I recall enjoying the Choose Your Own Adventure stories. But Judy Blume's Blubber was the first time I ever saw a character that was remotely relatable to me. That book opened the door to other Judy Blume books.
But Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret was my favorite. The story included friendship, new girl to new clique, body changing and puberty, and--most importantly--uncomfortable conversations parents didn't want to have.
Your top five authors:
You know this is an unfair question, don't you?
Virginia Hamilton. The People Could Fly introduced me to folktales. It was not only my introduction, but my daughter's, too. Because of her work, I fell in love with folklore.
Anne Ursu. I remember the day Anne said, "I want to read your manuscript." My manuscript was a hot mess! It wasn't even finished. But I got it done and sent it off. Anne offered revision notes and got me to query. If she hadn't asked to see my work, I'm not sure I would've gathered my courage to enter the publishing world when I did.
Laurie Halse Anderson. She offered me true, genuine encouragement before my first novel came out. She didn't know me, but she gave me advice, author to author. That conversation meant so much.
Renée Watson. She bravely writes inclusive stories and empowers readers to love themselves and defy body expectations. I was an assistant teacher in kindergarten when I first read Watson's Piecing Me Together and it was so helpful.
Jesmyn Ward. She brings humility, empathy, and compassion to her characters. She writes beautiful, poetic prose.
Book you've faked reading:
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. I never read it in high school or college. It's incredible how many craft books reference this book, so it feels as if I've read it.
Book you're an evangelist for:
Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward is a story I come back to again and again. My copy is marked up with highlights and margin notes. This story holds many parallels that one might miss on the first read. She's a brilliant storyteller.
Book you've bought for the cover:
Internment by Samira Ahmed. The girl on the cover is fierce, undaunting, and powerful.
Book you hid from your parents:
When I was young, I had a little green diary with a gold lock. What I wrote was lackluster. It held no secrets or stories worth hiding. Until I snuck and read my cousin's diary, that is. That's when I realized that my life was messy only because of my parent's lifestyle, and not of my own creation. She, on the other hand, had her first and second kisses. She had secret boyfriends. She had worthwhile secrets. That's when I began to create my own scandalous life. Yes, it was untrue, sure. I was too insecure, too chubby, too shy to even think about a first kiss. But I had crushes. Real crushes. And, boy, was my fraudulent life worth hiding.
Book that changed your life:
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou was the one book that spoke to my life. It reflected a Black family like mine. Maya experienced a painful event of abuse, and so had I. Through her story, I learned I wasn't alone and how to manage my guilt and shame, too.
This book continues to be banned because some parents believe children shouldn't be exposed to such topics. I don't know where I would be, how angry I would've stayed, how low I would've sunk, if I had not read this book. It contains conversations that adults don't want to have. Children hold secrets whether adults want to believe this truth or not. These events are difficult for children to process, trust me, I know. But this story allowed a safe space for little me to do so.
Favorite line from a book:
I'm a Libra. You expect me to pull just one line?
From Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston:
"So they chewed up the back parts of their minds and swallowed with relish. They made burning statements with questions, and killing tools out of laughs."
Five books you'll never part with:
Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse. Karen creates a memorable historical fiction with grief and determination, forgiveness and deferred dreams.
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor. I love the balance of the ensemble cast as the reader is carefully led through racially tumultuous events and shown the resilience of a Black family in the South.
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson is a brave book. It speaks to so many sexual abuse survivors because of the care Laurie takes in handling this topic. It allows readers to feel the character's anxiety and trauma, but with enough buffer to feel safe.
A Taste of Power by Elaine Brown. I read this in college and could not put it down. Elaine Brown shares her experience in the Black Panther Party and how she navigated hierarchy and patriarchy while fighting to make a difference.
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston. Hurston's writing is like eating gingerbread with buttermilk on her porch. This is a beautiful, empowering story about a woman coming into her own and finally loving on her own terms.
Book you most want to read again for the first time:
Voodoo Dreams by Jewell Parker Rhodes. The story revolves around voodooiene Marie Laveau. This book is delicious and oh, so haunting! Later, I discovered that Jewell Parker Rhodes was also a kidlit writer too, yet this story was my introduction to her work.