As young adults begin to form their identities and progress into adulthood, it is of the utmost importance that they feel seen and welcomed in large spaces such as the media. It is empowering to see someone of their own race, ethnicity, gender, and/or sexuality succeeding in the media and provides a sense of hope and self-confidence that is extremely significant in the formation of their identities. We sat down with four Black YA authors who are instilling hope in marginalized youths one novel at a time. Let’s hear what they have to say about their experiences in the publishing industry, their inspirations, and the future of Black representation in the media!
Trigger Warning: This article contains references to racism and a brief mention of police brutality. Please exercise personal care while reading.
The Authors
Nia Davenport
Nia Davenport attended the University of Southern California and studied Biological Sciences and Theatre. She has an M.A. in Secondary Education, and she teaches English and Biology. She is also the author of Out of Body and the adult sci-fi novels The Blood Trials and The Blood Gift. When she isn’t writing, she enjoys vacationing with her family, skiing, and being a huge foodie. She lives in Texas with her husband and kids. You can find her online at www.nedavenport.com, on Twitter, or on Instagram, where she talks about binge-worthy TV and great books.
Namina Forna
Namina Forna is a young adult novelist and the author of the New York Times bestselling fantasy YA series The Gilded Ones. Originally from Sierra Leone, West Africa, she moved to the US when she was nine and has been traveling back and forth ever since. Namina’s books have been translated into 25+ languages, nominated for several awards, and optioned for film and TV. Namina herself is an accomplished public speaker, especially on the topics of feminism, storytelling, and challenging dominant narratives.
Kalynn Bayron
Kalynn Bayron is the New York Times bestselling author of young adult novels Cinderella Is Dead, This Poison Heart, This Wicked Fate, You’re Not Supposed to Die Tonight, and Sleep Like Death, and the middle-grade Vanquishers series. She is a classically trained vocalist, and she grew up in Anchorage, Alaska. 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. She currently lives in Ithaca, New York with her family.
www.kalynnbayron.com • @KalynnBayron
Juliana Goodman
Juliana Goodman is a college professor and Young Adult author. Her debut YA novel, The Black Girls Left Standing, was nominated for an Edgar Award. She is also a contributor to Out of Our League: 16 Stories of Girls in Sports. When she’s not writing, she can be found watching horror movies with her cat, Pickle, and her poodle, Darcy.
The Questions
Publishing is an incredibly difficult field to get into, and can be especially challenging for Black authors. Can you tell us a little about your experience when you were trying to get your first book published?
Nia: I bumped up against a lot of moving goalposts. I also received many rejections where non-Black editors said they couldn’t connect with the voice of my Black protagonist. This phrasing always infuriates me because publishing definitely doesn’t do a good enough job of recognizing the value in stories outside of a White, cishet perspective.
Namina: It took me 12 years to even get an agent. I wrote my first book in 2006, started querying in 2007… Back then, there was no avenue for Black writers trying to enter either YA or MG fantasy. The opportunity just wasn’t there. Agents would tell you to your face and in written rejections that there was no room for you. Things slowly started changing around 2014, and then really ramped up in 2020, but yeah, it was really rough and demoralizing.
Kalynn: Cinderella is Dead was my debut, and it was the manuscript that I queried with. I received about 70-ish rejections when I was looking for a literary agent. A lot of them were form rejections, but some were more personal. Unfortunately, the overwhelming tone was that retellings had been done to death and that there wouldn’t be a readership for a story like Cinderella Is Dead, which was hard to hear because I had not seen a Cinderella retelling with a Black queer girl at the center. I hadn’t seen many retellings at all with Black protagonists, so it didn’t make sense that the market was somehow oversaturated. It was disappointing but not wholly unexpected.
There were times I kept pushing out of sheer spite. I knew that what I was being told was based on a level of disregard for Black authors and our stories. I knew there were readers out there, just like me, who would want this story. Once I found my amazing agent, Jamie, we faced another few rounds of rejections that also felt very much like some publishers just weren’t sure how to market a story like Cinderella is Dead. Again, it’s hard to hear that you don’t know what to do with a story simply because it has a Black cast. I wanted to say, “Do the same thing you do for everybody else!”, but I had to keep my head down and just keep trying. When we landed with Bloomsbury, I knew I had found the right home for my work.
Juliana: I went into the process knowing it could take a long time and many rejections. But I really wanted to be an author, so I was prepared to play the long game. I made sure to do as much research about the process as I could, from writing query letters to choosing which agents to submit to. I also engaged with the Black writing community. There was another Black YA author who was offering query critiques to Black writers, and her notes were really helpful to me. A difficult but freeing notion for me was that publishing isn’t strictly about the merit of a manuscript. Timing and luck play a huge role in it as well, and that’s something you don’t have control over as an author.
How do you find ways to intertwine the fictional worlds you create with the real-life social and cultural problems addressed in your stories?
Nia: My stories always draw inspiration from real-life social and cultural problems. I use storytelling and my characters as a vehicle to have discussions via literature about real-life issues. In Love Spells Trouble, real-life issues, including gentrification, family rifts, separation from one’s cultural roots, and elitism, are explored.
Namina: Each book I write comes from a desire to address something in the real world. With The Gilded Ones, it was patriarchy. The moment I realized it was a system, I decided to write a book to break down and explain what living in a patriarchy meant. I think, personally, that fantasy is the best vehicle for exploring social issues because there’s this remove when it’s a different world. So that’s why I write it. But yeah, I start with the real-world problem first, then create a world around it.
Kalynn: This is actually a fairly easy task for me. I’m constantly inspired by the world around me, and I have found that real life offers up some of the most devastating world-building tools. I can look around, even within my own lived experience, and see the oppression of Black people, of queer people, of women. I see the way oppression compounds when you share more than one marginalized identity. In Cinderella is Dead, I took most of those world’s rules for women and girls right from laws and/or societal norms right here at home. I think genre fiction is a great place to blend these kinds of real-world issues with tales of the fantastic. Maybe if I can imagine a fantasy world where we tear down those systems of oppression, it can inspire some to take action in their real life.
Juliana: My debut novel is a contemporary story, so that was pretty straightforward. I wanted to explore Black girls who are victims of police brutality, so I decided to tell the story from the POV of the younger sister. There are some details in the story that reflect real-life cases, but it was also important that these characters have their own story. By weaving real life into fiction, I try to show what’s happening in a larger sense while also exploring perspectives you probably wouldn’t see on the news. After a murder, there’s a lot of press, but the story doesn’t end there. Families have to go on and learn to live with what happened, and my novel shows a version of what that might look like for one family.
For speculative stories I’ve written, like Furious Girls (FIYAH Literary Magazine), I had a real-life concern I wanted to address, and I built the world around that issue. There had been so much discussion about the angry Black girl stereotype, so I turned anger into a tangible thing that these teens were dealing with. The story was fictional, but the roots of their powers and how the people around them reacted to it were real.
What role do you see Black female characters playing in the current YA literature landscape, and how can publishers and readers promote inclusivity and representation in the genre?
Nia: We have gotten so many terrific Black female characters in the current YA literature landscape. We also still do not see nearly enough being published and championed by publishers. Black protagonists are often not given the space to be messy, flawed, and imperfect. They are often held to irrationally high standards. I’d love to see more Black female characters who are messy and imperfect being championed and adored the same way messy and flawed White female characters in YA literature are often hyped up.
Namina: Hmm, this is a tough one. Because honestly, we’re in an era where Black characters and Black stories are being pushed back. If 2020 was an era where the industry opened to Black stories, 2025 is the era where the industry closed again.
I would say that one thing I think will help in the long run is stopping the demand that Black people tell important stories. This is something I’ve encountered time and again in publishing, where there’s this demand that Black people tell painful but important stories. And while there is a need for stories such as these, I want there to be room for Black people to tell different types of stories, too. Happy stories, small stories, silly stories, horrific stories. The point is, Black authors have been typecast, and our works have been, too. I’d like for us to get paid the same amount of money as other authors to tell different types of stories.
Kalynn: Black authors have always had to carve out our own spaces because we are so often excluded. Every story I write with a girl like me at the center feels right, it feels like home, so the roles we play are the same as the roles non-Black characters get to play. We are the main characters. We are the lost royalty, the dragon tamers, the ones with magical powers, the romance heroines, the objects of affection, the detectives, the ones to be fought over and adored and loved and hated and feared. We get to be all of those things in the pages of our stories!
As far as what publishing can do to better support us, it’s a really long answer, so for the sake of not turning this interview into a novel, I’ll say this — put the marketing dollars behind our stories the same way you do for our White colleagues. We need that support because we are not consistently being embraced by wider audiences, retailers, or influencers as readily or as easily as our White colleagues. We need those extra marketing and promotional dollars.
Juliana: I see them taking the lead and really stepping into their own and continuing to push the limits of what’s expected from Black girls. They’re leading international heists, they’re discovering magical powers, they’re surviving horror stories. Black girl characters are a force to be reckoned with in contemporary settings, and we’re seeing them tackle even more speculative worlds, as well. Publishers can help promote inclusivity and representation by continuing to acquire stories that center Black girls and then promoting those stories to their targeted audiences. Readers can help by continuing to read Black stories, whether it’s by purchasing or checking out from the library, and writing reviews. If there’s a book you love, let everyone know so they can read it, too.
We are curious about what has shaped your writing journey. Can you share some Black authors who have significantly influenced or inspired your work, whether in the mainstream or not?
Nia: N. K. Jemisin, L. A. Banks, and Beverly Jenkins are three Black authors who have heavily inspired my work. N. K. Jemisin writes sweeping fantasy stories with lush world-building, and it’s something I’ve always taken with me when constructing my own fantasy worlds. L. A. Banks wrote terrific ensemble casts within paranormal and fantasy stories that take place in a contemporary setting. I’m pretty sure reading her works fostered my love of ensemble casts, which I frequently use in my own stories. Beverly Jenkins is a masterful storyteller and romance writer. She marries a romantic arc and a narrative plot arc perfectly in her books. This is another aspect of storytelling I always strive to achieve in my own novels.
Namina: I would say probably my biggest influences were Toni Morrison and Pearl Cleage. Toni Morrison is one of the first Black authors I ever read, and to realize there was this Black woman who wrote stories that had an impact across so many lives filled me with hope. Pearl Cleage is an alumna of my alma mater, Spelman College, and she came many years ago to speak. I don’t think she knew that this little African girl was looking at her, hoping that one day, she would follow in her path.
Kalynn: Toni Morrison, Zora Neal Hurston, Octavia E. Butler, Audre Lorde, James Baldwin, of course, but my colleagues who are writing alongside me today are also incredibly inspirational — Tracy Deonn, Dhonielle Clayton, Leah Johnson, Justin A. Reynolds, Tiffany Jackson, Lamar Giles, Namina Forna, there are so many!
Juliana: Sharon G. Flake, Sharon Draper, Jacqueline Woodson, Rita Williams-Garcia, and Lori Aurelia Williams. As a kid, I would read books for school, but none of them featured Black characters, unless it was a slave narrative. I had to go out of my way if I wanted to read Black stories, and these were the authors I gravitated towards. What I really loved about their style is that it always felt like the characters were talking to me. Lots of dialogue and distinct voices that pulled me in. Their work was always so genuine to me, like the characters could have been people I knew. It was artistic but not in a way that insists upon itself. Telling the reader a good story was important to them.
I’ve taken a lot of those lessons and tried to recreate the same vibe in my own work. I love writing dialogue and include a lot of it. My characters are sometimes rough around the edges, but they have smart and insightful things to say about life. My number one goal is to bring you into my world with these characters and tell you a good story.
What are the most immediate and impactful messages or themes that you hope young people take away from your stories?
Nia: One of the major themes I hope young people take away from my stories is that it’s alright to not have it all together. So much pressure is placed on young people to be model students, citizens, kids, etc. But that’s not reality. There’s also beauty and meaning in a young person being allowed to be beautifully messy and undergo their own coming-of-age arc in real-time. I also hope young people take away the message that the sky really is the limit for them. If you can dream of it, then you can achieve it. You just have to find the path forward!
Namina: That only you get to decide who you are. I think in this era where marginalized people are being told that they’re dangerous and wrong, I hope that my books always offer solace and a safe space. You are welcome. You are loved.
Kalynn: Most importantly, I need readers to know that there is a place for us, and that place can be right at the center. We don’t have to be relegated to the sidelines. I also, very specifically, want my queer readers to know that I see you, and that you are never alone.
Juliana: Power, resilience, and hope. Even when it seems impossible for you to do anything, you can always do something. It might be difficult, it might take some time, but you have the power to do what you want in this life. It won’t be easy, and maybe you won’t get everything you want exactly when you want it. But if you keep going, refuse to quit, you’re going to see some results.
I also aim to provide normalcy for my readers. It’s easy to feel isolated during difficult times because the rest of the world seems to be moving on while you’re stuck trying to process your pain and confusion. You feel left behind, that maybe if you had done something different or been born someone different, you wouldn’t be going through this. So I know how important it is to know that you’re not the only one. Even if you don’t personally know or see these other people in the same situation, they’re out there, they’re surviving, they’re making it, and stories are an excellent way to bridge that gap.
Bonus Questions
We love asking authors about the books that inspired them as children. What were your favorite books or authors to read growing up?
Nia: The Goosebumps series, Sweet Valley High, The Baby-Sitters Club, and the Fear Street books were some of my favorites to read growing up. The problem was that Black girls were never the main protagonists of these books, and I yearned to see myself spotlighted as the main character in the stories I adored. This is why I started stories about Black girls and women myself.
Namina: I was a ridiculous fantasy fiend, so I read everything. Ella Enchanted, Dealing with Dragons, The Lord of the Rings, Redwall, His Dark Materials. I could go on.
Kalynn: The Nancy Drew books and the Baby-Sitters Club books were on heavy rotation in my house. Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark was also great for me as a young scary-story lover. A teacher read Tuck Everlasting to me in the third or fourth grade, and it stuck with me. I still think about that story all these years later.
Juliana: Who Am I Without Him? by Sharon G. Flake, Like Sisters on the Homefront by Rita Williams-Garcia, and When Kambia Elaine Flew in From Neptune and Broken China by Lori Aurelia Williams.
Which fictional world, not created by you, would you want to live in for a day, and why?
Nia: This is hard because fantasy is my favorite genre, and my favorite fantasy stories take place in incredibly violent or dangerous fictional worlds that I wouldn’t last a day in. However, I adore the city of New Orleans, and the world of The Originals seems pretty cool — if I could be one of the Originals, and if I could make everybody Black and Brown.
Namina: Avatar: The Last Airbender. I think I’d be a very solid earthbender, no pun intended.
Kalynn: I’d like to visit the world of Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones. The Studio Ghibli adaptation is so special, but so is the novel! I’d like to be there for a day just to catch a glimpse of Howl and the Witch of the Waste.
Juliana: Clown in a Cornfield by Adam Cesare, but only on the condition that I survive the night! I’m a huge horror fan, and this is one of the scarier YA novels I’ve read, so it’d be quite an achievement to be in that world for a day and live to tell the tale.
Nia Davenport, Namina Forna, Kalynn Bayron, and Juliana Goodman are four amazing Black authors paving the future of YA novels and Black representation. A huge thank you to them for participating in this interview!
Find Nia Davenport here.
Find Namina Forna here.
Find Kalynn Bayron here.
Find Juliana Goodman here.
Check out our interview with authors who are disabled here.
For more book recommendations, browse our Diversifying Your TBR: Beautiful Black Voices in Literature collection on Bookshop.
