Author Visits

Dear Educators,

For over twenty-five years, you have welcomed me and my work into your libraries and classrooms.  With your help, I have spoken to about 200,000 young people in person or virtually.  You and your colleagues have reached out to me from the Caribbean and Canada; Italy, Turkey, Africa;  Sweden, Saudi Arabia, Asia, Australia and all over America.  Together we believed that reading and books are for all children, not just some.  And that the right book in the hands of the right child could change lives and destinies. Last year, an influencer online posted the book jacket to my novel The Skin I’m In.  In thirty hours, there were over 600,000 views from people who grew up reading the novel.  That number has increased to over 700,000 now. Many were introduced to the book by teachers and librarians like you.  A quote here on my site sums up what I believe those online viewers were saying,  “You got us reading.”  I’d like to think that we got them reading, you and I together.  In this age of uncertainty and book bans, let us recommit ourselves to continuing to put books (in a host of forms) into the hands of our young people.  Every child deserves to be literate, to think critically and deeply, and to discover for themselves the power, beauty and freedom of reading and stories well told.