Debut You is an interview feature on Our Stories Matter blog. Debut authors, who have released or have upcoming releases in 2022, are given five questions to answer about themselves and their book. Currently, the questions are the same for all authors. We hope you enjoy getting to know Brittany J. Thurman and can offer your support. Go here for past Debut You features.
Describe yourself in five words, then expound on one of them.
Attentive, curious, thoughtful, steadfast, and always reserved.
Reserved: You will catch me watching, listening, and wondering. I take in conversations and the motion that surrounds me. I think the word ‘quiet’ gets a bad rep, which is why I like to use the word reserved. My mind is loud with questions and answers—I just don’t always voice them. There is always something to see or hear, something that could become my next story.
Explain your book’s journey—how long did it take—from idea to publication?
Back in 2016, I was sitting outside on my lunch break and decided to write. That day in Pittsburgh was oddly warm, bright, and sunny for early spring. So, I started to write a poem called “You Girl,” which was an ode to the beauty within Black girls and Black women. Our ingenuity, our glow, our grace, and our innate ability to soar. I haven’t always recognized these qualities within myself, but I have always known they are there. I wanted to recognize what exists within us: the abundance of potential, the capabilities we have and have had all along. But my poem was missing some crucial elements to becoming published. When I went to conferences and spoke to editors, or when I received feedback from critique partners, I heard the same words over and over. They told me my poem needed narrative, characters, and plot. My poem was not quite there, not quite ready. While I don’t believe every picture book has to have a full-fledged plotline and three-act structure, I did believe my poem needed a boost.
So, I dug through “You Girl” to get to its essence—its core. I tried to get back to what I felt that day on that Pittsburgh bench. I began to pull out those aspects that would turn my poem into a story:
Brown girl with brown skin
honey and cinnamon and henna ink
skin that expands deep
deeper than the universe.
skin so smooth
so right and so
you
I pulled at my focus on Africa, the continent, and transformed that focus into Africa, my character. I pulled at the aspect of Black excellence and transformed that into the ingenuity that exists when we get between those double Dutch ropes. I pulled at family and ancestry, incorporating Africa’s Nana, the ultimate double Dutcher. This process of pulling and revising, putting the story away, and coming back to it took about two years until I felt ready, and I showed the story to my agent, Marietta Zacker.
In 2018, we went on sub, and in late 2018, my agent called me on a Friday morning to tell me we had an offer. I was at the laundromat and happened to look down at my phone when it started to ring. I left my clothes (‘cause they could wait!) and stepped outside. Once I heard the news, I started jumping up and down (think Africa between the double Dutch ropes!). I did not care about all the people staring because that phone call was one of the best in my life! But the process from acquisition to published book would take three more years. At the time, I knew publishing any book, especially a picture book, takes quite a while—truly, I did not understand how long.
But for me, I was ok with the wait (even though I am an impatient person) because Anna Cunha’s illustrations paired with my words was much more than anything carved from my own imagination. I think all things happen as intended. In total, this has been close to a five-year journey. I’m looking forward to the flight Fly will have from the shelf to a child’s hands. That’s another journey, and I’m ready for it.
Belief in oneself is important; besides you, who has been your cheerleader(s) throughout this process?
Similar to Africa in Fly, my grandmother has been my cheerleader from idea to pub. My grandmother, who I call ‘Gran-Gran,’ is the first person I call when my patience is not so patient. She’s the one with the right advice and precise understanding and is always ready for the hug I need, even if that hug is from afar. She has seen my tears when I wondered about my own words on the page and if they would ever be in a book. She is always ready to tell me that no matter the situation, it will all work out.
Gran-Gran has been there through the entirety of my quest to write. I don’t think there are enough thank yous for all the support and love she has shown me.
Understanding your audience is essential. What do you know for sure about the audience you are writing for?
Tenacity courses through them, from head to toe. Vibrant, bright. Full of wonder, destiny, and questions. No matter how many times they are told no, they don’t let negativity get in the way. They are determined and always courageous. But also, they are comfortable with not having all the answers. Getting to yes means taking the first step—one of many that will lead the way. My readers know that fulfillment of dreams takes teamwork, community, and always those who have come before us.
Tell us about your book.
Fly follows five-year-old Africa and her quest to double Dutch in an upcoming competition. But, as her brother points out, Africa has never, ever double Dutched. Africa has a determined personality, and she definitely does not let anything her brother says get in her way. So, she decides to learn how to double Dutch. On her own, Africa practices moves in the bathroom. She tries reading a book on double Dutch, but she gets all tangled up. Even her brother steps in to help, but that doesn’t work either.
Finally, Africa realizes the secret to double Dutch relies on community. So, she asks her friends if they can teach her their moves. Africa’s friends don’t have a clue how to double Dutch either, but they show her moves they do know. Bianca can dance. Omar can step. Kay and Laura are experts in handclap games and songs. Whitney tumbles with gymnastics. All these skills are those in which Africa can use to double Dutch.
Soon, competition day arrives, and Africa knows she’s not only going to jump and fly, but she will also double Dutch to the sky.
As a kid, I wanted to do so many things, but I was quick to let fear get in the way. With Fly, I wanted to show a Black girl confidently achieving a dream (one of many). We don’t have to know all the answers or how we will get from point A to point Z. What we do need to know is that trying is a must. Getting to the end, that’s figureoutable, too.
YOU did it, congratulations! Your story is going to be read by children or teens, educators, parents, librarians, book bloggers, etc. How do you feel, and are there any other projects in the works—that you can discuss?
Is there only one word for this feeling? For me, there are several. I am feeling elated, ready, a tad bit nervous (but nerves aren’t a bad thing!), eager, and of course, a little impatient 😉
It has been five years from idea to publication, and I am here for my readers, parents, educators, for those who pick up Fly and know they will soar.
I have several projects in the works that I’m excited to talk more about. In April 2022, Fearless: Boulevard of Dreams by Mandy Gonzalez, co-written by me, will be out! This is the second book in the Fearless series.
I have two soon-to-be-announced picture books, one of which I can talk more about! Forever and Always is a picture book about a young girl waiting for her dad to come home from work. To tick away the seconds, she decides to make him a gift. Forever and Always will be illustrated by Shamar Knight-Justice, published by Greenwillow/HarperCollins.
I also have one soon-to-be-announced nonfiction picture book about a vital part of Black literary history. I can’t wait to talk more about that book and the integral people who sparked change.
Thank you for including me in Debut You, Our Stories Matter!
Fly
Anna Cunha | Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books | January 11, 2022 | PB | 40 Pages | Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound
Brittany J. Thurman has always had an affinity for stories told by her grandmother. Those same stories hold space in her writing today. She is a former children’s specialist dedicated to ensuring children’s literature truthfully reflects the world in which we live. Brittany holds an MFA from Carnegie Mellon University, where she studied Dramatic Writing. She also has a BA from Kingston University, London, England, where she studied theater. She resides in Louisville, KY, where you’ll find her biking along the waterfront when she’s not writing.
Connect with Brittany J. Thurman
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