I was informed about this organization doing some great work to inform everyday folks about the work that educators, teachers, and advocates for literacy do to bring fresh and diverse stories to class rooms. They also provide resources for educators. On their Youtube you can see a varety of different writers sharing their expertise or experiences and they play a key role in helping parents and community members understand what real life teachers are and are not doing in the classroom.
Hey, the Bay Area Book Festival is upon us and I am happy to be participating as a panelist on May 31st and June 1st. The above panel on Day 2 of the fair will be for all those folks in the Bay who are thinking of self publishing or getting into the children’s book industry and want to hear about the strategies we emplored to get in. Panelists Zetta Elliott, Maya Gonzales, Matthew Smith, myself, and moderator Laura Atkins have a combined 80+ years worth of experience working in this field. Come thru!
I didn’t mean to get emotional, it just happened. Ok so recently the wonderful people over at the El Cerrito Public Library invited me to do a visiting author presentation for staff and patrons. It is only the second time I’d been back at this libary since I was a child.
Lemme back up a bit. I was born and raised in Oakland primarily, but I’ve lived in cities all over the east bay and had family and grand parents in San Francisco. I went to a little school called Fairmont in El Cerrito and the public library was attached to it. I never went back to the school or the library since I was a kid because it was not the most welcoming space for me as a child. When my friend and local poet Dani Gabriel released her book “Sam!” that was the first time I’d been back in the building in over 25 years.
When I gave my presentation about a career in the arts, working in murals and making art for social justice movements, picture books, art Books and more I broke down a bit because of all the memories of being mistreated at my elementary school and the library.
BUT, a lot has changed and I’m happy to report that this library is a welcoming and loving space. Shout out to Therese Dix, Heidi Goldstein and all the staff I met there recently. The library has books that are diverse in ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and so much more. The vibe and array of colors sing when you walk in now and that makes me really happy for the up coming generation of children so they can not only see themselves and feel welcome, but find a joy in reading. VISIT THIS LIBRARY.
Photo credit: Tom Rogers, El Cerrito Public Library, and me
Also, I took a short trip to visit my friend Robin Yee Wilson at the Educators Book Depot in Richmond. This is a place where teachers can come and get free kids books for their classroom libraries and Robin slowly trying to get the word out to Contra Costa teachers that such a recource exists. Especially for those teachers who are working with tiny or non existent budgets. VISIT THEM HERE.
Hey yall, this coming Saturday I’ll be moderating a panel about community and i’ll be a speaker on another panel about food and culture. Juiced! If you’re going to the Bay Area Book Fest come see me.
1-Community Love
Saturday, May 4 | 1:00 PM – 1:45 PM I’m moderating this panel featuring Roxanne Chester, DeMareon Gipson, and Booki Vivat
2-Food and Culture
Saturday, May 4 | 2:00 PM – 2:45 PM featuring Ying Chang Compestine, Meera Sriram, and Me!!
If you’re curious to see the schedule of my panels and all the others that will be happening for the 10th annual Bay Area Book Festival please go to this link HERE.
Hey, if you’re having trouble getting into kids books and want to hear from some folks who’ve gotten in through an alternate route sign up for this talk. LINK TO REGISTER
Hey if you’re in the Bay Area on May 9th and you’d like to support an organization that puts literacy first for Bay Area youth come check out “Building on Books”. This will be a fundraiser for Tandem’s work giving away books to families and educators, traning for those who work with kids, and so much more. this event will feature food, drinks, activities, and a talk by Tiffany Golden, Darshana Khiani, and myself.
Another school visit! This month I got a chance to visit a k-5 school in Berkeley California called “Black Pine Circle” in West Berkeley. I’ve visited a bunch of schools recently and this is one of them. These photos were taken by one of the teachers at the school.
Whenever I get a chance, I show the kids a bit about what I do beyond kids books and what made me want to make them.
This group of kids had some great questions and comments for me and it was fun to visit, meet teachers and the Black Pine Circle staff. I hope to get back there again sometime in the future.
Dig this? Check out some other schools/libraries I’ve visited:
Hey folks, I’m going to be a virtual vendor at the third “Virtuous Con“. I’m excited to participate, check out the panels, and to interact with attendees. Once you register for this event you’ll be able to virtually interact with the different creators and vendors. More info and registration here.
What is this? Virtuous Con is a company created by Cerece Rennie Murphy that produces and hosts virtual events, as a vehicle for independent science fiction, fantasy, and comics creators to grow an audience for their work. Each event venue creates an authentic experience for attendees including virtual “booths” for vendors to interact live with attendees about their products and live panel rooms to interact in real-time discussions. Murphy created Virtuous Con out of a need to help many of her BIPOC creative colleagues and friends whose businesses were disproportionally impacted by the COVID-19 shutdowns.
Here’s the first and second part of an interview I did with Oakland Creates founder Avy Jetter. Check it out and come to the Oakland Creates Art, Comics, and Zine show in Oakland this weekend!
Oakland Creates Art, Comics and Zine Fest began as a vision about bringing folks together through art and giving them an opportunity to present their best selves, learn how to make a living while both interacting and serving their community with positive action. A vision to help empower folks to learn about themselves and develop themselves in multiple areas of the lives whether it’s education, healing, leadership or fulfilling their own art vision.
part 2
Oakland Creates prioritizes women of color, Queer, Disabled, Black artists and or any underrepresented artists whether they be new or emerging artists just starting out or artists that just have not been given proper promotion or marketing. Oakland Creates holds space and gives opportunities to amazing creative folk who have something awesome to say to the world and our local community. Oakland Creates celebrates storytelling and positive engagement. Let’s keep the conversation going. Because if we don’t tell our own stories, then who will?
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