Hey fam, I will be at this years “Fairyland Children’s Book Fair” supporting the Youth Writers Workshop. This past Spring I had the distinct pleasure of working with artist Michaela Ellis to design and plan an awesome series of workshops incorporating team building, games, writing, and drawing exercises, and time to work on their own stories. Some of those stories have been completed and will be published in a journal which you can get that supports young writers. At this years Fest Whitley Gilbert and I will be introducing some of these young creators to you and tabling with them where you can come get your book signed by them 🙂
Ok, come check us out and meet one or two of the 30+ authors who will be there such as Nidhi Chanani, Natasha Triplett, Laura Atkins, Bo Lu, Eugenia Yoh, Malick Sickstein, Charlotte Cheng, Angela Dalton, and more.
Hey fam, I have the pleausre of speaking on a panel for the Story Sunbirds, a new children’s book organization. This is their mission:
At Story Sunbirds, our mission is to cultivate a dynamic and inclusive children’s literature community rooted in justice and anti-racism and anti-colonialism. As a collective of writers, illustrators, and publishing professionals, we prioritize the holistic growth and needs of all children, ensuring their voices and experiences are at the forefront of our creative work.
I will be on a panel called “Finding a Unique Path That’s True to You” which will be about getting into making children’s books by any means necessary, with Intisar Khanani, Navjot Kaur, Zetta Elliott, and moderated by Danielle Davis.
This past June I read at a great cafe called Kinfolx in Oakland for a team of story lovers called “Storyland”started by Indya McGuffin and Bean Tupou. They are a new organization trying to bring stories to families.
It was a great event and my brother Eli Jacobs Fantauzzi(Fist Up Films) came through and blessed us with some photos from the event!! This one above is me sitting behind Indya and Bean.
During and after the readings they had coloring supplies and pasta shells there for making necklaces or bracelettes! Activities are always a hit with kids; especially those who have wiggles and want to move their hands, arms, etc.
Here’s a photo of the amazing set up Marcus Books had at the event! In case you didn’t know, Marcus is the oldest Black owned bookstore in the Bay!
Chapter 510 was also there with books created by young people and information about the incredible work they do as a literary organization that gives kids instruction and space on creative writing.
Here are some fotos from my portion of the reading. Eli really captured the work Bean and Indya put into the event because it was packed with families!
This was super fun and a great way to spend Juneteenth reading stories featuring Black families:) The babies had lots of questions and very cute comments to share as always!
That’s it fam. I’ve linked all the folks involved so please scroll back up to learn more about them.
Dig this? Check out these fotos from my visit to Alvarado elementary in Union City.
I’ll be at this market tomorrow in Alameda. If you’re around come through! I’ve been to Faction Brewing before but this will be my first time working with Alternative Entertainment.Here’s the link for the event!
Yo, this weekend at the Bay Area Book Festival I will be on two panel discussions and representing for the Social Justice Children’s Book Fair who helped to plan the “Family Day” this year. This event has been happening for 10 years! I’ve been a vendor there, a panelist, and attendee. There’s a book market place, a family day curating the best in kid lit, panel discussions, workshops, your favorite authors, and there are a bunch of activities.
Wanna go? check out the organization and the schedule here. Wanna see the panels I’ll be on? Scroll down.
This one is about the themes of activism in stories and the activism happening in real life around stories, book bans, diverse books, history, and more. Here’s more info about this panel.
Here’s the second panel I’ll be on with Zetta Elliott, Matthew Smith, Maya Gonzalez, and Laura Atkins. We’ll be talking about alternative methods to the traditional publishing worlds. More info about this panel here.
Hey fam, this is my video explainer/pitch about the Social Justice Children’s Book Fair, what it does, and why its existence is so important right now. We’re in a $5k fundraising drive to match a $5k grant that was given to us. Since 2017 we’ve brought the funk here in the Bay Area re: Bipoc, Queer, Immigrant, and Social Justice minded kid lit creators. We have been volunteer based until last year and we’re trying to make our work more sustainable.
I’m one of several founders, and organizers of an annual book festival called the “Social Justice Children’s Book Fair”that takes place annually in the Bay Area since 2017. We highlight Bipoc, Queer, Immigrant, and Social Justice minded kid lit creators and we invite in literacy organizations.
Beyond the shit show of a presidency, there’s an intensifying attack on books from book banning, firing librarians or educators, burning books, death threats, to defunding entire libraries. Why? The bans are not new, but it’s gotten worse over the last 5 years. The types of books they go after are the kinds of folks me, librarians, parents, teachers, and my fellow organizers champion.
And that shit makes my blood boil. It’s not just a passion for me, this shit is personal. I hated reading growing up. There were few to zero mirrors in books back then for me. I know too well what happens when Bipoc/Queer stories are erased from shelves. It sends a message that says “You, your culture, your story, your life is unimportant. And I’m not having that shit.
As we approach our 9th year, we as an organization have big plans to expand our work. Already this year we were selected to partner with the Bay Area Book Festival to build out theirFamily Dayprogramming (come join us in Berkeley on May 31).
That’s just the beginning. We hope to launch an Award highlighting the best of indy social justice children’s books. We want to mentor aspiring creators, and so much more. The challenges are massive and to face them, we’re going to need back up.
With Over eight years of volunteering we’ve have laid a solid foundation. Now it is time for growth.
Peep. A dope creator offered to give us a $5k grant and we’re trying to match it in 30 days. If you’re on Facebook or Instagram, help us amplify the word. If you know folks who love kid lit, books, social justice, or children’s books that feature voices who’ve been ignored for too long. Share this with them and
❤️Fam, I’m so happy to share I’ll be at the 25th Annual “Malcolm X Jazz Festival” in Oakland May 17th, 11am-7pm selling books, prints, stickers, and more
đź–¤This event is Family friendly so bring your kids, elders, friends, folks , etc for food, jazz, vendors, graffiti, dance, politics, culture, and community.
💚This event is historic in its unity between Black, Asian, Latino, and working class activists and artists. You may have never been before, you might’ve missed it last year (as I did) , but this is your invitation to come home. Leave a comment below of why this is a good place to be. Go to East Side Arts Alliance to get more info!
Bring good energy, love, and an open mind .
Dig this? Check out some videos and info from Life is Living
This is pretty damn cool, I get to be an instructor alongside Michaela Ellis w/ young storytellers at thee FAIRYLAND! Isnt that cool, no? I have been going to Fairyland since the 80s yall. First as a child, then as a young parent in the mid 2000’s, and now as a writer/illustrator for the past 4-5 years and as a parent to mydaughter. This workshop is a way to get young storytellers some practice and community. We’ll be working on writing AND drawing our stories in this series so tell a friend. More info: https://fairyland.org/youthwriters
Dig this? Check out that time I was invited to lead a picture book workshop for MFA Comics students at CCA.
Folks, the time has come for the 8th annual Social Justice Children’s Book Fair! We have been working and planning on this one for a whole year! Peep this video.
📣 Some of y’all still might not know this but I’m one of many organizers of this little but powerful book fair for kids. We rep Bipoc, Queer, Social Justice Minded, traditionally published and self published creators trying get their work to kids. We started this in 2017 right after the first Trump Election. All volunteers, all gas for 8 yrs now. This year we finally got some funding via The Akonadi Foundation and fiscal sponsorship from The Social Good Fund w/the help of “Jill Kunishima”.
We’ve hosted hella authors, illustrators, publishers, organizations, and community. People in red states, shit even counties just outside of the town hate on it, but if you’re feeling some type of way-don’t forget the power of a small dedicated group of homies. Take a break, but keep going. Stay principled and curious. #socialjusticechildrensbookholidayfair
