CBC Diversity
Month
Tell us about your most recent book and how you came to write/illustrate it.
My debut novel is Children of Blood and Bone and it comes out on March 6th, 2018. From a creative standpoint, I came to write it by discovering the orisha—West African deities—through a stroke of luck while on a fellowship in Brazil. This gave me the idea for CBB after I discovered a digital painting two years later that gave me the inspiration for the characters and events in the story. From a professional standpoint, I came to write CBB after the first book I tried to get published went nowhere, but solidified for me that I would be most happy writing full-time. Additionally, I was heavily influenced by the tragedy of police brutality and felt compelled to say something about it through my work.
Do you think of yourself as a diverse author/illustrator?
Yes because I’m black and Nigerian-American, and my diverse background has a big impact on what I write, why I write, and the way I write.
VP & Publisher of Crown Books for Young Readers, Random House Children’s Books
Senior Year. Second Semester. It started with a Children’s Literature class I took with Jane Yolen. I admit, I hadn’t read any children’s books…since middle school, seventh grade, back in my day. And I had definitely never heard of Natalie Babbitt and Steven Kellogg, part of the course reading. I read TUCK EVERLASTING and was profoundly moved – and horrified that I had missed out on Natalie Babbitt because I was “too old” when she started writing children’s books. (Then I binge read everything else by Natalie Babbitt.) Same with Steven Kellogg, only I was able to read all of Steven’s picture books in one day.
Fast forward. I’ve graduated from college. I’m in Taiwan, teaching English as a second language and loathing it. Teaching is not my avocation. For solace, I reread and reread the three books I brought with me: RAMONA THE PEST, PIPPI LONGSTOCKING (remember, second semester course reading) and THE JOURNALS OF SYLVIA PLATH (Remember, I’m all of twenty one, full of recent college graduate angst.)
Upon my return to the States, I have a new career plan. I’m from New York City. That’s where most all the publishers are: I should get a job in publishing, children’s publishing. My Chinese immigrant parents are aghast. Odd enough to choose publishing as a career choice; why am I making it even harder by choosing a niche like children’s books? I won’t be swayed. Even though I know nothing about the business (Remember, this is the mid 80s.) out of my newly discovered passion for children’s books, I’m determined to work in children’s publishing only. And since I’m an English major, a job in the editorial department makes the most sense. It doesn’t really occur to me that there are a myriad of jobs in the publishing sector and I don’t have to limit myself to one department. (Today, I tell students and interns: Don’t do it this way!)
The Big Bed by Bunmi Laditan; illustrated by Tom Knight (Farrar, Straus and Giroux BYR, February 2018). All rights reserved. @macmillanchildrensbooks
