*If you're 12 or under, it's not legal for anyone to collect your e-mail address. You can subscribe to this blog in a reader and follow me on twitter to get much of the same information, just not put together in tidy packages. But heck, if you're 11 or 12, you already know that life isn't always tidy. Thanks!
When Booklist wrote it will "inflame passions" they were warning librarians about possible controversy. But what about lighting the passionate fire of all the #LGBTQ youth who will at long last see themselves in history? It does that, too. Flame on!
16 Days Away...
A new tally... 28 copies preordered so far to donated to LGBTQ Kids and Teens through Brave Trails.
15 Days Away...
I felt the same way when I discovered this amazing Queer secret from history! Thrilled to include it in the book, and so fun to see this early buzz on Twitter.
There's an online launch party, and you're invited!
Bruce Coville wrote the groundbreaking short story "Am I Blue?" as well as "My Teacher is an Alien" and more than 100 other books for kids and teens. He's a brilliant storyteller, taught me (and about 1,000 other SCBWIers) the meaning of numinous, and his praising my book – and how it will help young readers – is humbling and awesome.
I'm with Jenny, Anne Lister's secret code was thrilling to discover, and to share. (It's in the introduction to the book.
There's going to be a launch party on April 6, 2021, and you're invited! Details bit.ly/NoWayLaunchParty Hope to see you there. The light in me recognizes and acknowledges the light in you, Lee
Linda Sue Park is an amazing writer. I've learned SO much from her (her 12 minute writing sprints changed my creative life), and her books are this brave and powerful poetry... having her blurb my book made my year.
Getting an editorial review from Foreword Reviews, when they only review books they love and recommend, is a big deal. Having them praise my book's "sense of joyous wonder" is thrilling.
I'm sad that the world of children's literature has lost Kathleen, and at the same time I'm so grateful for her kind words about my book. That someone whose nonfiction for kids I admired so much saw the value in what I wrote... that was (and remains) awesome.
Yeah. Susan really is that funny in real life. Super grateful she read my book, saw the power of it, and was willing to give it such a kick-ass blurb!
There's going to be a launch party April 6, 2021, and you're invited! Details: bit.ly/NoWayLaunchParty
Hope to see you there. The light in me recognizes and acknowledges the light in you, Lee
So you may have heard I have a book coming out. In April. It's nonfiction, and it's the kind of book that would have totally changed my life if I'd read it when I was 11. Or 15. Or heck, any time up through my writing it. (And I've been working on it since 2010.)
It's called NO WAY, THEY WERE GAY? HIDDEN LIVES AND SECRET LOVES, and it's being published by Lerner Publishing Group's Zest Books imprint. It was honored as a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection. And it's all about empowering young LGBTQ people.
So I've cooked up this fun pre-order idea. For folks to buy a copy from my local indie bookstore, Pages: A Bookstore in Manhattan Beach, California, to donate to an LGBTQ teen via this wonderful nonprofit, Brave Trails.
It's all being set up, and there will be a special landing page for the virtual book launch party and everything, but I wanted to let you all know about this. Because, wouldn't it be amazing to put this book into the hands of just the readers for whom it will make a huge impact for the good?
And yes, No Way, They Were Gay? is a book about history, but it's not history like I was taught history, all dates and names to memorize. It's not history as medicine. It's more like chocolate. Empowering chocolate.
Because history is fascinating when you put aside the denials of hundreds of years of historians and actually let people tell you their own truths. Primary source materials - like letters, diary entries, poems, songs, ancient artwork - let us hear the stories of men who loved men, women who loved women, people who loved without regard to gender, and people who lived outside gender boundaries.
It's super cool. And exciting! If you want to get a head start on the preorder donation, you can preorder the book at Pages: A Bookstore now. But you can wait until the launch party event page is up, too. Either way, save the date - April 6, 2021 at 5pm Pacific.
And just to keep the fun going, here are three TikTok posts that are helping build the buzz...
I'm so jazzed their reviewer (Letitia Montgomery-Rodgers) "got" it, and since Foreword Reviews "only recommends books that we love" it's even more of a grand compliment. Here's another excerpt from the review:
From Gandhi to Eleanor Roosevelt, Wind doesn’t shy away from revealing his subjects in their full complexity. A fellow traveler and guide on a journey of discovery, Wind calls out the shadow sides of those profiled, as well as what’s laudable. His book transmits rare facts and firsthand accounts with a sense of joyous wonder. It also encourages readers to come to their own conclusions about the facts provided. Each chapter closes with some iteration of the question, “What do you think?” Even in regards to his own book, Wind emphasizes that history is an interpretative place that requires critical thinking.
At a time where issues of social justice are often deemed either overinflated or “solved,” Lee Wind makes a powerful case that queer historical erasure is an ongoing issue.
Foreword Reviews is read by over 30,000 indie book lovers, including librarians and booksellers, so that's pretty awesome. It's gratifying to know that this review will help my book reach – and empower – more readers, which is really what it's all about.
A screen shot of the Kirkus Reviews review of my new book!
Getting an editorial trade review from Kirkus Reviews is a huge compliment - and I'm so delighted they liked No Way, They Were Gay? Hidden Lives and Secret Loves.
Another great line from the review:
“Deftly weaving in primary sources (in bold text), cheeky sidebars, and his own narrative observations as a gay man, Wind keeps the tone conversational and playful.”
I'm chuffed* to be one of the fifty nonfiction authors who contributed an essay to this remarkable collection, and 25 of us celebrated with a book launch party/panel hosted by The Writing Barn this past Saturday January 16, 2021. There were over 450 registrants, and the chat was flying by as each of us on the panel had the chance to answer one question each!
There was so much wisdom and inspiration shared by the authors brought together by Melissa Stewart (who conceptualized and edited the collection) and I thought sharing a few highlights would be fun:
Donna Janell Bowman with the metaphor of her picture book bios not being panorama shots, but done using a zoom lens.
Laura Purdie Salas sharing how she makes a list of 20 different approaches she could take with a new manuscript, to stretch herself and find the best one.
Paula Yoo on searching for great nuggets in the research that move the story forward and/or reveal the emotion of the main character.
Ray Anthony Shepard and Anita Silvey both speaking of how a single sentence to encapsulate the whole project is key.
Carole Boston Weatherford on how she creates works of art that are hybrids of poetry and other forms.
Laurie Wallmark saying we have to write about what we're interested in, that way kids will be interested, too.
Michelle Markel's advice on turning to books you wish you had written, "good writing is contagious and inspires you."
my turn! Thanks to Melissa Stewart for the photo (and the opportunity)!
And I shared, in answer to the question about gems of writing advice, a three-sided gem:
1) about being Gay, and how I didn't come out until my 20s, and so how everything I do is about being authentic and my mission is to empower young people be their authentic selves right now. Having a mission for everything I do creatively feels key.
2) How history, as it was taught to me, was presented as medicine. And how with my new nonfiction book coming out in April, NO WAY, THEY WERE GAY? Hidden Lives and Secret Loves, I wanted to make it more like chocolate. Empowering chocolate. Having a vision for the book feels key, as well.
3) And how, with juggling a full time job, a part time job, writing and promoting my books, my marriage, parenting, family, and everything else, I used to think I needed a giant block of 3 or 4 hours to get anything creative done. And then Linda Sue Park shared her 12 minute writing sprint strategy with me: You set the timer on your phone for just 12 minutes, and tell yourself that's all you need to focus for. If the timer goes off and you're in the flow, you can set it for another 12 minutes, and then another, etc... But if all you have time for is one 12 minute writing sprint, at least you've written for that day. The secret is doing this daily... I'm more productive now, and feel more like a writer now, because of this method, than ever before. It's completely changed my creative life.
My contribution seemed well-received, with folks both commenting in the event chat and online that it resonated for them and they were excited to try the 12 minute writing sprints themselves. And a number really liked the idea of history not as medicine, but as chocolate!
I'm very excited about being part of NONFICTION WRITERS DIG DEEP, published by the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE). And it's really cool that proceeds from sales of the book are being split between SCBWI, NCTE, and WE NEED DIVERSE BOOKS!
*A word I've learned since becoming a little bit obsessed with the Great British Baking Show. So much so that I asked my husband to make me scones for my birthday last week. They were scrummy.
Hi everybody! This is Lee Wind. It's January 2021, it's my birthday, and I got a present. (Although, they didn't send it as a present.) But it's the ARCs for my new book, for NO WAY, THEY WERE GAY?
So this was the last time I saw it, right? In manuscript and I printed it out. And now, I've got to put on the gloves because cardboard is vicious. And now, I get to open it, and see it for the very first time!
And I thought, you know, it's kind of fun to do it as a video, so... careful not to kill myself with the Xacto knife...
And I have my family here, my husband behind the camera, my teenage daughter right here... Oh my gosh-oh my gosh-oh my gosh. WOW. It's a book!
Oh my gosh. It really looks like a book! That's so cool. Wow, this one's kind of... let's look at the one underneath it. Ah, it's a little, you know, it's still a little banged up but you know what? I love it anyway.
I'm so excited. Oh my gosh, look-look-look-look-look!
Ahhh! Oh my gosh. Oh. It looks so cool.
Hey! That's me! (laughs)
Anyway, I'm really excited. Wow. It's available for preorder! And these are my ARCs. NO WAY, THEY WERE GAY? HIDDEN LIVES AND SECRET LOVES by Lee Wind.
Anyway, wanted to share this moment with all of you, with the people I love best. Thank you. The light in me recognizes and acknowledges the light in you. Until next time.
SCBWI is launching a new series of FREE digital workshops, "SCBWI Celebrates #OwnVoices," and the first one will be this Thursday January 14, from 1pm-2:30pm Pacific, on Celebrating Queer Voices.
With authors Kalynn Bayron, Mike Curato, Alex Gino, Bill Konigsberg, Abdi Nazemian, and J Yang, and moderated by Phil Bildner, the discussion will cover:
"the joys and challenges of bringing queer representation into their work and the importance of telling the stories they wish they had as a kid."
The session will be held live on Zoom, and will be followed with a safe space social (hosted by me!) for those who identify as part of the Queer community. (That link will be provided during the live workshop.) If you're not able to attend live, the workshop will be recorded and made available on the SCBWI website by 1pm Friday January 15, 2021.
Here's more on the workshop faculty:
Phil Bildner (moderator) is the award-winning author of numerous books for kids including the 2021 Charlotte Huck Award Honor-winning, A High Five for Glenn Burke and the Margaret Wise Brown Prize-winning picture book, Marvelous Cornelius. He is also the author of the highly acclaimed Rip & Red middle grade series. Phil taught middle school in the New York City Public School system for eleven years and is the founder of The Author Village, an author booking business.
Kalynn Bayron is the bestselling author of the award-winning YA fantasy Cinderella is Dead. She is a classically trained vocalist and when she’s not writing you can find her listening to Ella Fitzgerald on loop, attending the theater, watching scary movies, and spending time with her kids.
Mike Curato is the author and illustrator of everyone’s favorite polka-dotted elephant, Little Elliot. His debut title, Little Elliot, Big City, released in 2014 to critical acclaim, has won several awards, and has been translated into over ten languages. There are now five books in the Little Elliot series, including Little Elliot, Big Family; Little Elliot, Big Fun; Little Elliot, Fall Friends; and Merry Christmas, Little Elliot. Mike had the pleasure of illustrating What If… by Samantha Berger, All the Way to Havana by Margarita Engle, Worm Loves Worm by J.J. Austrian, and contributed to What’s Your Favorite Color? by Eric Carle and Friends and Sunny Day: A Celebration of the Sesame Street Theme Song. His latest books, released in 2020, are The Power of One written by Trudy Ludwig, and his first YA graphic novel, Flamer! Publishers Weekly named Mike a “Fall 2014 Flying Start.” In the same year he won the Society of Illustrators Original Art Show Founder’s Award.
Alex Gino is the author of the middle grade novels Rick, You Don’t Know Everything, Jilly P! and the Stonewall Award-winning George. They love glitter, ice cream, gardening, awe-ful puns, and stories that reflect the diversity and complexity of being alive. For more information, visit alexgino.com.
Bill Konigsberg is the award-winning author of six young adult novels, including Openly Straight and The Music of What Happens. His latest novel, The Bridge, is in development as a limited series at Amazon. In 2018, The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE)’s Assembly on Literature for Adolescents (ALAN) established the Bill Konigsberg Award for Acts and Activism for Equity and Inclusion through Young Adult Literature. Prior to turning his attention to writing books for teens, Bill was a sportswriter and editor for The Associated Press and ESPN.com.
Abdi Nazemian is the author of three novels. His first, The Walk-In Closet, won the Lambda Literary Award for LGBT Debut Fiction. His most recent, Like a Love Story, an Indie Next Pick, Walden Award finalist and Junior Library Guild Selection, was awarded a Stonewall Honor, and was chosen as one of the best books of the year by Entertainment Weekly, Audible, Buzzfeed, the New York Public Library, and more. His screenwriting credits include the films The Artist’s Wife, The Quiet, and Menendez: Blood Brothers, and the television series The Village and Almost Family. He has been an executive producer and associate producer on numerous films, including Call Me By Your Name, Little Woods, and Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood. He lives in Los Angeles with his husband and two children.
J Yang is a New York-based illustrator who happens to be a Chinese-American trans man. During quarantine, he has acquired a cherry shrimp hobby, learned a couple of new recipes, and has become a square-shaped grandma in a D&D campaign. You can find his work in Portrait of a Tyrant, Our Rainbow, Spirit Day, and upcoming The Good Hair Day and If You’re A Kid Like Gavin. J is currently at large.
Hi Community! I'm Lee Wind. It's December 2020, and this is the November/December 2020 Newsletter. It's been quite a few months, and I think what I've realized is that there are certain people that thrive on creating chaos, including the current occupant of the White House.
And I've also realized that I don't thrive on chaos. I thrive on being grounded, and breathing. Like in meditation or in yoga, when you have a solid foundation, then you can stretch and grow and expand. Like roots of a tree and reaching up to the sky.
It's been a very, very challenging time, and I just want to acknowledge that. And I hope that you and yours are well and safe and are finding moments of being grounded so you can thrive, too.
So it's the video newsletter. I have a few updates. The first, about author stuff...
I'm very honored to be one of 50 authors participating in "Nonfiction Writers Dig Deep" which is an amazing compilation of essays, an anthology of essays, orchestrated and edited by Melissa Stewart, who has so many amazing nonfiction books for kids that are out there. And she wants to let people know that nonfiction comes from a place of passion, too. It isn't just facts and dates.
Which I love, because I really believe, so strongly, that history to me was taught as medicine, and I think it should be like chocolate, and that's really the whole idea behind my new book coming out, "No Way, They Were Gay? Hidden Lives and Secret Loves."
I want to tell you about a book I read recently that I really loved. "You Brought Me The Ocean" - which is a graphic novel. It's sort of the origin story of Aqualad. Written by Alex Sanchez and illustrated by Julie Maroah. Julie is the creator of "Blue is the Warmest Color," which was amazing, and Alex of course has done "Rainbow Boys," and "The God Box," and so many other powerful Queer teen novels. I'm very excited to tell you that this book was amazing. I savored it! It was so beautifully drawn, and the story was so exciting. They're young Queer kids of color and Oh, yes! You must read it. It was so great!
Inspiration! So this month - these two months - the words I'm finding really inspiring, that are helping me stay grounded, are the words of Bayard Rustin. Actually, so inspirational that it is the opening spread of the chapter on Bayard Rustin in my upcoming nonfiction book.
This is - what is this, you ask? - this is a printout of an early version of a draft of the book - of the ARC - which is very exciting. You can see that it's very dynamic and exciting. It won't be in oranges, I don't know, my printer ink went wonky. It is black and grays. The quote from Bayard Rustin is right here, it's sort of a pull quote from later in the chapter, and it says:
"...If we want to do away with the injustice to gays it will not be done because we get rid of the injustice to gays. It will be done because we are forwarding the effort for the elimination of injustice to all." —Bayard Rustin, in a 1986 interview
I love that. Right? We can't each just be for ourselves. We have to stand up for everyone that is disenfrancished, for everyone who is left out, for everyone who is not getting their voices heard, and stand up together and then we will eliminate injustice for everyone at the same time. I love that vision. I love that that was 1986, and it feels like it could have been said today. So, Bayard Rustin, an amazing forefather of our modern Gay rights movement, and a real big player in the Civil Rights movement. He was the guy who organized the big march on Washington where Martin Luther King Jr. made that amazing "I have a dream" speech. You'll find out lots more about Bayard in the book, but that really inspires me.
The final thing I wanted to share is gratitude. That I've very grateful that you're part of my community and I'm part of your community. Because truly, community is the antidote to chaos. And so, I invite you to take a deep breath with me. (inhale... exhale)
And I want to thank you, and I want to tell you that the light in me recognizes and acknowledges the light in you.
This is exciting, and a real honor to be included...
The book is published by the National Council of Teachers of English, and Melissa, who edited and organized the whole thing, has published over 180 nonfiction books for kids!
Here's the blurb from NCTE:
In Nonfiction Writers Dig Deep, some of today’s most celebrated writers for children share essays that describe a critical part of the informational writing process that is often left out of classroom instruction. To craft engaging nonfiction, professional writers choose topics that fascinate them and explore concepts and themes that reflect their passions, personalities, beliefs, and experiences in the world.
By scrutinizing the information they collect to make their own personal meaning, they create distinctive books that delight as well as inform. In addition to essays from mentor authors, the book includes a wide range of tips, tools, teaching strategies, and activity ideas from editor Melissa Stewart to help students (1) choose a topic, (2) focus that topic by identifying a core idea, theme, or concept, and (3) analyze their research to find a personal connection. By adding a piece of themselves to their drafts, students will learn to craft rich, unique prose.
And the list of contributors (the other 49 besides me) is impressive! The book features essays from essays by Sarah Albee, Chris Barton, Donna Janell Bowman, Mary Kay Carson, Nancy Castaldo, Jason Chin, Lesa Cline-Ransome, Seth Fishman, Candace Fleming, Kelly Milner Halls, Deborah Heiligman, Susan Hood, Gail Jarrow, Lita Judge, Jess Keating, Barbara Kerley, Heather Lang, Cynthia Levinson, Michelle Markel, Carla Killough McClafferty, Heather Montgomery, Patricia Newman, Elizabeth Partridge, Baptiste Paul, Miranda Paul, Teresa Robeson, Mara Rockliff, Barb Rosenstock, Laura Purdie Salas, Anita Sanchez, April Pulley Sayre, Steve Sheinkin, Ray Anthony Shepard, Anita Silvey, Traci Sorell, Tanya Lee Stone, Jennifer Swanson, Stephen R. Swinburne, Don Tate, Laurie Ann Thompson, Pamela Turner, Patricia Valdez, Sandra Neil Wallace, Laurie Wallmark, Jennifer Ward, Carole Boston Weatherford, Paula Yoo, and Karen Romano Young.
And me!
Really proud to be part of this.
Gratitude to Melissa for the opportunity, and to the readers out there who need to hear that Queer nonfiction for Kids and Teens has an important (and impassioned) place at the table, too!
If it sounds like your jam, you can preorder the book here: bit.ly/NonfictionDig
The light in me recognizes and acknowledges the light in you, Lee
Here's the summary of my presentation, which will be hosted by David Greene and the awesome folks at the Contra Costa County Library:
Your Voice Matters: Indie Publishing and You
Indie Publishing and Print on Demand can be game changers for you, your book, and under-served readers hungry for works that speak to them.
There’s lots to do to set yourself up for success:
1) Target Your Audience
2) Quality Wins the Day
3) Get Your Book Vetted
4) Join the Conversations Already Happening
5) Know Your Timeline and Then Publish
6) Target Your Audience (Now That You Have the Book!)
7) Celebrate Each Milestone
Repeat with your next book. And the next.
As an author, Lee Wind published the crowd-funded young adult novel “Queer as a Five-Dollar Bill” celebrated by Publishers Weekly as an Indie Success Story and one of the top five independently published middle grade and young adult books of 2018. He has two books publishing from Indie Presses in 2021, the middle grade nonfiction “No Way, They Were Gay? Hidden Lives and Secret Loves” (Lerner) and the picture book “Red and Green and Blue and White” (Levine Querido.) As the director of marketing and programming for the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Lee loves empowering indie publishers to have their voices heard. Learn more about Lee and his books at www.leewind.org Find out more about IBPA at www.ibpa-online.org
So much going on... Click here or the video above to watch the October 2020 edition of the Lee Wind video newsletter.
Transcript:
Hi Community, I'm Lee Wind. It's October 2020, and I've been thinking a lot about poetry. So, I'm going to do an acrostic today, that's going to be the structure of this enewsletter.
I was going to do HUBRIS, but it didn't have a "T" in it for Trump.
And then, I was going to do TRUMP, but then that was too much about Trump.
And anyway, I settled on this one. So, we'll spell it out together. The first letter of our acrostic is "V", for VOTE. [laughs]
I don't know about you, but I watched the first debate - well, I watched part of the first debate, for me, it was too much like watching a schoolyard bully incident, where the adult in charge, the moderator, had no power, and didn't stop the bully.
“Joe Biden is a stutterer. Like many others, he has overcome the disability by understanding it and exercising extraordinary perseverance and discipline. If you know and love a stutterer and you watched the presidential debate last night, within minutes it became obvious what was going on. Abusive tone of voice, rapid fire interruptions, zigzagging change of topic, personal insult and humiliation, and family pain are all tripwires that scramble a stutterer's ability to speak. There was nothing unplanned or spontaneous in the President's strategy. The bastards did not prep him to attack Joe. They prepped him to attack Joe's disability hoping that by triggering his stuttering they might deceive an audience unfamiliar with the disability into thinking that Joe was stupid, weak, uncertain, confused, or lost to dementia.”
I thought that was a really good analysis of what the heck was going on. Because it was horrible to witness. But there was a purpose to it, and it was sort of nasty. So, VOTE.
Actually, I just sort of gave it away, the acrostic, but let's keep going.
O! [It slips on the wall] Let's try it again!
O! [laughs] It's not all about politics. I have to say that something exciting is happening in October. On October 15, School Library Journal is doing a Day of Dialog, and I'm going to be on a panel!
It's called "Remaking History in Fiction and Nonfiction."
The moderator will be Mahnaz Dar, Reference and Professional Reading Editor at School Library Journal and Library Journal.
And my panelists, my fellow panelists are really going to be amazing:
Kyandreia Jones, Randi Pink, Michael O. Tunnel, and my friend Paula Yoo.
So that's really exciting! I'm going to be on a panel, I'll be talking about my book coming out from Lerner, NO WAY, THEY WERE GAY?, And I'm really excited to be part of that, and to reach all those librarians, and have a great conversation about how history has been sanitized for the protection of the people in power, and has sort of disenfranchised so many people - women, disabled people, people of color, and LGBTQ people. So I'm really excited to be part of that.
The next letter in our acrostic is "T"!
Back to politics. So, Trump makes it all about Trump, but I want us to take a moment and just acknowledge that Joe Biden is, in fact, a pretty stand up guy. And in fact, in his evolution towards embracing Queer people and Queer rights, he actually came out publicly in favor of Gay marriage before President Obama did it, and in fact kind of pressured President Obama to do, which was a very cool moment, back in 2012.
So, shout out to Joe. Also, Kamala Harris - amazing, can we talk?
So it's not just voting against Trump, it's really voting for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, and really acknowledging that if we can get the shift of power to happen in the Senate so it isn't controlled by Republicans, we may be able to, as Obama always quoted Reverend Martin Luther King, [Jr.] saying, bend the arc of history towards justice. 'Cause it's been bending the wrong way, and we need to get it back.
And then, "E" is the final letter of our Acrostic.
And it's because I'm Excited, because it was just announced that I sold a picture book to Arthur Levine of Levine Querido, and I'm really amazingly... It's like an endurance sport.
"E" could also be for Endurance sport. Because writing books for kids and teens, it takes a long time. First of all, to get good enough, and then to find the right home for the projects that you're doing. Wow. I've been writing picture book manuscripts for 16 years - more than 16 years, and finally sold one. It's my debut picture book. The illustrator's going to be the incredible Paul [O.] Zelinsky, I am just like pinching myself because Wow, it is so exciting!
It's called RED AND GREEN AND BLUE AND WHITE, and it's about two kids who are friends, one celebrates Chanukah, and the other celebrates Christmas, and something happens in their town, and how they band together to stand up, for each other and for themselves, and against hate and for love. It's inspired by a true story, and I can't wait for you to see it. I'm very excited.
So, there you go. Sort of like a Sesame Street episode. Today's - this month's - video newsletter is brought to you by the acrostic VOTE. I hope you do.
Take care, stay safe, and until next month, hopefully we'll have good news in November.
'Bye, take care. The light in me recognizes and acknowledges the light in you.
I have been dreaming of having a picture book manuscript I wrote deemed good enough for an agent to love, good enough for a publisher to love, good enough for an amazing illustrator to love for a very long time. Like 16 years.
So it is with immense delight that I share the announcement that just happened yesterday in Publishers Weekly's Children's Bookshelf:
The announcement text reads:
Arthur Levine at Levine Querido has acquired world rights to Lee Wind's (l.) debut picture book, Red and Green and Blue and White, inspired by the true story of how an entire town stood up to hate during the Chanukah / Christmas season. Caldecott Medalist Paul O. Zelinsky will illustrate; publication is slated for 2021. Marietta Zacker at Gallt & Zacker represented the author, and the artist represented himself.
It is a moment of ebullient gratitude... to my amazing agent Marietta Zacker, for loving this story enough to find it a publishing home. To the story's legendary editor, publisher Arthur A. Levine for loving it enough to acquire it and share it with readers everywhere. To the story's celebrated and oh-so-talented illustrator, Paul O. Zelinsky (!!!) who is taking my words and fashioning magic on the page. Magic, I tell you. Magic.
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Thanks as well to my friend (and elementary school librarian) Yapha Mason, who introduced me to to the true story eight years ago.
I'm so excited to introduce kids – and the world – to this story of friendship between two kids (one who celebrates Chanukah, the other who celebrates Christmas) who together inspire an entire town to stand up for each other, to stand up for community, to stand up for love.
I can't wait for you all to read it.
The light in me recognizes and acknowledges the light in you,
Click here or above to watch the September 2020 Lee Wind Video Newsletter.
Transcript
Hi Community,
I'm Lee Wind. It's September 2020, and whoa - six months of sheltering in place. There are fires and smoke, and for the last week it's been really crazy, and there's still this ongoing sense that we have to do more than be allies. We need to be accomplices and help dismantle these systems that are so oppressive.
And in the midst of all of it, in the midst of all of it, some nice things have happened. And I find myself a little self-conscious, awkward, feeling like maybe I shouldn't be talking about the nice things that have happened, even though they're things that I've worked on for a very long time. And I've realized that when the sky is amber, (laughs), when things are difficult, it's important to still share good things, because it's hopeful, and it's nice, and so with your indulgence, I'll share a few nice things that have happened.
It's almost as if I'm a gardener - I'm a vegetarian and not much of a real gardener out in a garden – but I feel like there are projects I've worked on for so long that are flowering and bearing fruit, and that is a lovely thing to celebrate. And so, with your indulgence, I'm going to share three really lovely things that have happened.
She does an amazing job, and she does these great interviews with people, and she did this cool interview with me! So it's very exciting, you can go there, check out the cover, check out the interview, it says a lot about the book, and about why I wrote it, and the importance of putting this nonfiction, these true stories from history, stories of men who loved men, and women who loved women, and people who lived outside gender boundaries. Taking the primary sources and putting them in front of kids and letting kids read it themselves, and how empowering that can be, and that is. And I'm really really excited about that and very grateful to Betsy for the opportunity, and very excited that the book is coming out in April 2021.
So that's the first seed that was planted - oh my gosh - so many years ago. More than ten years ago I started on that journey, so it's very exciting to see that book slowly making its way out into the world with a big cover reveal this week and that interview.
The second lovely thing, is something that came about because of these video newsletters. After the video newsletter I think back in January or February, I was contacted by an editor of the English Journal, uh, journal (laughs) which is published by the National Council of Teachers of English, and they asked me if I would be interested in writing the “Bookended” column, it's sort of like an essay that happens at the end of each of their journal issues, that talks about something about the author's experience in English classes in either middle school or high school. And so I got to write this essay, and it came out this past week, in September.
The first page of my three-page essay in the English Journal September 2020 issue, called "Who's the Monster? (Hint: It's not the whale.)"
So that's something where the seed was planted in February, I guess, and that is flowering now. And that's very exciting because 16,000 middle school and high school English teachers will read that. And so I'm very excited, and it just feels very nice, to reach both librarians - school librarians in particular - and to reach English teachers at this moment feels very very exciting.
And then third thing I want to share is that I have been blogging at I'm Here. I'm Queer. What the Hell Do I Read? for thirteen years. September 15th, 2007 was my very first post, and now it is 13 years later. And that is amazing, and exciting. And actually, I looked it up, Google counted for me, and this post that's going up, is post #2,700. I've done two thousand seven hundred posts on my blog about LGBTQ kid and teen books and culture and politics, and so much more, and you've been here as part of the journey, and I'm so grateful for that.
And just last week we passed three million page loads!
So...
BOOM! (mind blown sound)
Wow! It's very exciting. I'm very very grateful, and very humble[d], trying to come at this from a place of humility, too, because oh my gosh there's so much going on in the world, and that you would allow me to take a little time to share with you some good news that's happened for me, in the midst of all this, is very lovely.
So thank you so much. Stay safe, be kind to yourselves and others, and we're all in this together, and thank you for letting me share.
Until next time, the light in me recognizes and acknowledges the light in you.
Disclosure: As of July 5, 2020, if you click on a book here on this blog and it takes you to bookshop.org, there is an affiliate relationship in place where 10% of that book order will come back to me, Lee Wind. I hope that works for you. And if it doesn't, no worries. I hope you buy your books somewhere that feels good to you. Thanks!
What if you knew a secret from history that could change the world?
“Get Balanced with Dr. Marissa Pei” Talk Radio show - Lee booked as featured guest on September 25
October 2018 - Publish Date of Queer as a Five-Dollar Bill: Oct 2, 2018
Lambda Literary Festival - panel on Crowdfunding Queer Lit and reading - online Oct 1. Register here.
Star Style Radio Show with Cynthia Brian - Lee featured guest on October 3 program. Listen here.
Pasadena Fall Art Night - YA panel on Oct 12 in Pasadena
West Hollywood Library Teen Read Week - 10:30am October 13
San Gabriel Valley Pride - Authors Tent presentation, 1:00 pm on Oct 13 in Pasadena
Launch Party at Highways - 7:00pm in Santa Monica
Models of Pride - present "Discover our LGBTQ History" and give out free copies of Queer as a Five-Dollar Bill from the Camp Brave Trails booth on Oct 20 in Los Angeles
November 2018
Book Baby Independent Authors Conference - lead networking session "How do you measure success?" in Philadelphia, PA
Presentation and Reading at Palm Springs Public Library on Queer as a Five-Dollar Bill on Nov 7
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