Diversity and Representation FT. Innosanto Nagara + Hal Schrieve

Join Innosanto Nagara, author of the bestselling A is for Activist, and Hal Schrieve, author of the debut YA novel Out of Salem, which was longlisted for the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature, discuss diversity and representation in books for younger readers and celebrate the publication of Nagara’s new book, M is for Movement. Moderated by Monica Johnson, director of Booklyn and organizer of the Radical Playdate.

Author and illustrator Innosanto Nagara’s books encourage children to grow up with confidence in themselves, and to be proactive citizens who are passionate about causes from environmental issues to LGBTQ rights and civil rights. Born and raised in Indonesia, Inno now lives in Oakland, California, with his wife and son and several other adults and children in a cohousing community, and where he founded the Design Action Collective, a worker-owned cooperative design studio. In addition to his new book M is for Movement, he is the author of the bestselling A is for Activist, Counting on Community, My Night in the Planetarium, and The Wedding Portrait.

Hal Schrieve grew up in Olympia, Washington, and is competent at making risotto and setting up a tent. Xie has worked as an after-school group leader, a summer camp counselor, a flower seller, a tutor, a grocer, and a babysitter. Hir current ambition is to become a librarian. Xie has a BA in history with a minor in English from University of Washington and studies library science at Queens College, New York. Xie lives in Brooklyn, New York, and hir poetry has appeared in Vetch magazine. This is hir first novel.

Monica McKelvey Johnson is a comix zinester, community organizer, curator, and mama living in Brooklyn. She does a bunch of stuff: creates feminist comics and zines, and distributes as Wool + Brick Press; curated the exhibition, Lil’ Radicals: Multicultural and Social Justice Publications for Kids in the 21st Century (2019) at Booklyn Inc; and organizes Radical Playdate at Interference Archive. She is currently Managing Director at Booklyn, a not-for-profit artist and bookmakers organization in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. She is super-psyched to start a zine press for kids. Get in touch! @woolandbrick