One of the highlights of inaugural Project LIT Summit was the accessibility and awesomeness of our authors: Kwame Alexander, Tiffany Jackson, Nic Stone, and Jeff Zentner.
Here’s what our attendees wanted to share with Jeff, author of The Serpent King and Goodbye Days. His third book, Rayne & Delilah’s Midnite Matinee, is coming in 2019!
Jeff, thank you for…
- Spending time with us and allowing us to learn from you.
- Travis, for breaking my heart and putting it back together again, and for the way you write about the south in all its glorious imperfection.
- Being real
- talking about rewriting what it means to be American. It makes me realize that we all have a part in this.
- Your empathy and candor. You get what we are trying to do, create more empathetic and caring human beings. Your stories are helping us get there.
- shedding a different light on the event with your male perspective. I can’t wait to read Serpent King!
- Being SO supportive of this community and for being a part of this amazing day!!
- being there and writing awesome books!
- talking about the usefulness of the phone in the writing process.
- Supporting our students and the work of this movement. Thanks you for sharing stories that our Nashville youth can see themselves in.
- Writing such thought-provoking stories, speaking so eloquently, and being such a nice person.
- Speaking at the summit and connecting with everyone! My students love your books and were excited to get to meet another author!
- writing for teens – you are definitely bringing your art to your audience (adults, too). Thank you for not shying away from issues of white supremacy, racism, abuse, poverty, grief, and oppression in your books and writing characters who are indelibly imprinted on our hearts.
- Writing about a place I know
- Dill, Lydia, & Travis. Eventual lovers of life and going for their dreams.
- being part of our day!
- Time and your enthusiasm.
- Your stories!
- being a writer on top of your many other responsibilities!
- being so personable. You are so talented and treated each of us very respectfully and gave each of us quality time, making us feel so comfortable and inspired to write on our own.
- literary contributions to YA literature.
- Your humor and your mad writing skills.
- Your humor, and writing important stories that students will cherish for years to come.
- being awesome and for writing great books for our kids!
- your commitment to teenagers.
- Talking about revision
- your thoughtful and considered dialogue. Your wit and humanity are also very welcome.
- being an amazing human being and wonderful writer!
DR. JARRED AMATO 