Locus & Ignyte Awards, Oh My!
Award nominations, Honduran Garifuna Writers, & The 8th Annual Bronx Book Festival!
Welcome Back to Black Girl Dreaming.
A newsletter where I share notes on life, lessons learned, my big ol’ dreams, and my quest to conquer all of the things. I am excited to have y’all here with me on this journey. If there’s anything you’d like me to discuss, feel free to drop me a line, or hit me up in the comments section. And as always, thanks for reading!
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The Black Girl Survives in this One Paperback on-sale Now!
The gorgeous anthology that I co-edited with Desiree Evans, THE BLACK GIRL SURVIVES IN THIS ONE is finally available in paperback, and newly on-sale this week! I’ve always been a horror fan, thanks two my two brothers who terrified me into loving the genre. You can read more about my love for it, and why I was so thrilled to bring this project to life on PS (formerly Popsugar).
“This is such an important read for Black women — including Latina readers — because we never get to see ourselves in genres like this. Just look at how all of the best shows that represented us were canceled, from "Lovecraft Country" to "The Horrors of Dolores Roach." Even though those shows were badass, networks still decided that nobody could relate to Leti in "Lovecraft" and Dolores, but the twist is we did, and we wanted more. I want readers to know that they matter; they belong in horror, and "The Black Girl Survives in This One" is only the beginning of us inserting ourselves in the genre to come out on top as the heroes we deserve to be and see ourselves as!”
The book has been listed as a top ten finalist for the Locus Award, check out the full list here, and it’s been listed for an Ignyte Award, check out the full list of nominees here, and please vote for THE BLACK GIRL SURVIVES IN THIS ONE! It’s also the perfect gift for the budding horror fan in your life. Juneteenth is also right around the corner and this would be a great anthology to devour to keep with the vibe of Black girls slaying monsters and surviving at the end! Cop yours here.
Meet the Honduran Garifuna Writers Mentees!
I am so utterly thrilled to announce that Christine Osoria and Gusto Yadarez are the inaugural Honduran Garifuna Writers Mentorship Intensive mentees! I absolutely love mentorship programs, in fact when I was board chair of Latinx in Publishing I helped build the foundation to launch the Writers Mentorship program along with Sophia Jimenez and Carolina Ortiz, two amazing editors in the publishing game! Through the LxP writers mentorship program we received so many wonderful submissions from really talented writers. But the one thing I didn’t see enough of, was Honduran writers. I keep asking where are we on the bookshelves, it’s so sad that more of us aren’t traditionally published. My hope is that with the launch of this mentorship program we will see more Honduran and more Garifuna writers traditionally published. Stay tune for more details and updates coming.
Please consider supporting this mentorship program by making a tax deductible donation via our fiscal sponsor Highlights.
Catch me at the 8th Annual Bronx Book Festival on Saturday, June 21st! I’ll be moderating the keynote conversation with Jason Reynolds, as well as a horror/thriller panel featuring Ibi Zoboi, Elle Gonzalez Rose, and Elizabeth Aygemang! Come meet us at Fordham Plaza in the Bronx!
HERE’S WHAT I’M UP TO THESE DAYS
Watching
I devour so much TV and so many movies. I recently went watched the new Mission Impossible film, it was good, a bit confusing in the beginning (but we got there haha). I still can’t believe that Tom Cruise is out here doing all of these dangerous stunts! I also saw Final Destination Bloodlines and oh my goodness, it was everything. I loved it so much, and already want to see it again! I’m currently rewatching Colony on Peacock because I’m in between shows and movies lol. If you’re loving something, please let me know, I’m always down for recommendations for shows and movies.
Reading
I’ve not read anything new at the moment, but please give me recommendations! I’m planning to dive into some new books at the Bronx Book Festival this weekend!
That’s all for now folks, follow me on social media for updates, even though I’m kinda on hiatus, I pop online every now and again.