Black Girl Dreaming
Thriving vs Surviving
Yerrrr…happy Fall, it’s my favorite season! The summer blew past, and I ain’t even mad, I don’t like heat waves at all, and the hurricanes, so many hurricanes. However, it was nice being outside every now and again, to see friends and family, to enjoy just being outside. It’s almost time for Wild Tongues Can’t Be Tamed to comes out. There’s so much to catch you all up on so….Let’s get into it!
Welcome Back to Black Girl Dreaming.
A newsletter where I share notes on life, lessons learned, my big ole Black girl dreams, and my quest to conquer all of the things. I am excited to have you 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!
THRIVING VS. SURVIVING
There’s still a whole-a$$ global pandemic going on, and most of us are just out here trying to survive each day. Strangely enough for me, 2021 has been a year of thriving vs surviving. When it comes to my personal life, writing life, and entrepreneurial life—this season of thriving has really been a game changer for me. Like, I got married this year (still riding that high baby), for TBIR I got to partner with the Mayor’s office of Media & Entertainment as one of their virtual Curators this year (my face has been all over NYC’s MTA trains and at bus depots all over NYC) - what an amazing experience. My book WILD TONGUES CAN’T BE TAMED has been pretty much everywhere (shoutout to my amazing publicists and marketing team at Flatiron), and I’ve been participating in so many other things…see below for all the updates!
CELEBRATING LATINX HERITAGE MONTH
Recently, I was on a panel with other Latinx folks for an important conversation hosted by @HBOMax @palantehbomax for #AreYouListening, a campaign inspired by the iconic HBO show #Habla, created to encourage our community to actively listen to each other. Filming “Are You Listening: The Future of Us,” felt like having a real talk conversation among close friends. The amazing panelists and I were able to discuss so many different topics that impact our community and I’m so grateful to have shared this space with them. Check out the video below and feel free to tag me on social to let me know your thoughts @sj_fennell.
The amazing Angie Cruz, author of Dominicana, nominated me for the “Good Morning America Inspiration List” and I’m still not over it. Sometime, I forget how much work I do for my community, and to receive a recognition like this from an OG in the literary community is beyond anything I could’ve imagined. Definitely one of the highlights of my year so far!
WILD TONGUES CAN’T BE TAMED UPDATES
I can’t keep calm because WILD TONGUES CAN’T hits shelves in less than a month!!! There has been so much love for this book, I’m so excited for readers to get their hands on a copy. In the meantime, here’s the media recap if you need more reasons to pre-order this book!
The fabulous Zibby Owens shouted about Wild Tongues on Good Day LA
Wild Tongues was included in the September issue of Elle magazine, calling it “A beautifully edited collection of reflections on the Latinx diaspora. With writers like Naima Coster, Kahlil Haywood, and Lilliam Rivera, it highlights a vast variety of identities and writing styles.”
Other major media hits include Oprah Daily, Glamour, Teen Vogue, Be Latina, and more!
ANDDDD I received my first STARRED REVIEW from Publishers Weekly, a national trade publication.
Don’t forget to pre-order your copy and submit your receipt to receive this amazing tote bag!
WHAT I’M UP TO THESE DAYS
Gearing up to be in conversation with Honduran Garifuna writer and founder of Ain’t I Latina, Janel Martinez on October 14th @ 7PM ET.
Reading When We Make It by Elisabet Velasquez. This is also Bookish Gang book club pick for October over at The Bronx is Reading!
Binging Evil and Lucifer
That’s all for now folks, follow me on social media for updates and more.