[ Music ] ^M00:00:07 >> Hello, everyone. And welcome to the National Book Festival. My name is Sasha Dowdy from the Library of Congress, and I'm here today with Jerry Craft, whose featured book at the Festival is New Kid, as well as the upcoming, Class Act. If you'd like to see Jerry's presentation at the Festival, log in to National Book Festival dot com, and you will find this presentation on the Children's Stage. So, welcome, Jerry. It's great to have you here today. >> It is great to be here, thank you. >> This is so wonderful to have you here, to talk about your fascinating books. While we wait for the questions to come in from the public this year with us, I just wanted you to talk about what it has been like to, you know, just be groundbreaking author of a book that not only won the Caldecott Award, but, I'm sorry, the Carter Scott King Award, but also the first-ever Newbery, for a graphic novel. >> Yeah, that has been absolutely amazing, you know, I wasn't a reader as a kid. Like, I mean, I only read comics, basically. Everything else seemed like a chore. And my teachers used to take those comics from me, because they weren't real reading. So for that kid to grow up and when, you know, one of the biggest awards in children's literature, and proved that comics are real reading, it's kind of, like, you know, bringing a--you know, it's just pretty amazing, and sometimes I still can't get over it. But I'm enjoying it, a lot. >> That's wonderful. We already have some questions rolling in. I'm sure everyone is excited. From Katie, we have--do you have any other graphic novel suggestions that you think need to be on school shelves, alongside New Kid, and Class Act? >> Wow, so I'm a big graphic novel person. I mean, Raina Telgemeier, I mean, I always start with her. I think that Guts is actually my favorite of her books, and that's her newest one. Jarrett J. Krosoczka's Hey Kiddo, American Born Chinese was ground-breaking for me, because it showed me--it gave me more courage to know that I could talk about race and class in a graphic novel. So that really inspired me. Boy...Rollergirl, El Deafo, All American Girl, by Robin Ha. I could literally spend every day reading another one. Real Friends, Shannon Hale. And it's just so amazing that comics and graphic novels are finally considered real reading. So I really appreciate all the people that kind of paved the way for me, and you know, kind of got people knowing that, you know, maybe we can think of this in terms of a Caldecott, or a Carter Scott King, in terms of, you know, just as good as a prose before real reading, as a prose book. So, or as an annulet. Can't forget Kazul [assumed spelling]. >> Great. Thank you for those great recommendations to share a shelf with. So a lot of folks want to know, like, J.G. Williams, what serves as your inspiration for writing? >> So, with me, because I wasn't a reader, and I try to figure out why, exactly that is, and I think that a lot of it specifically as, you know, an African American boy, born in Harlem, grew up in Washington Heights, I didn't really see characters that spoke to me. There were a lot of books, and you know, I always say this, but there are a lot of books I saw that are about slavery, or civil rights, or gangs, and police brutality, and although those are important books, I think that any book that a kid wants to read is an important book, you know, any book that when you wake them up, you see that the bed, you know, is by the pillow, you know, that they had gone to sleep reading it. You know, on the floor, you know, by the bed, and they're reading it at the breakfast table, and the school bus, and you know, it wasn't until I had two sons of my own where I realized the power of books. I remember my kids going, "Dad! We have to go to the store on August 5," and I'm like, okay, like GameStop? You talking like a new Pac-Man, or Sonic? And they're like, "No, the new Wimpy Kid is coming out!" And I was like, wait a minute? You know when a book is coming out? Like whose kids are you? And that was when I really started to see it. And at the National Book Festival, I went in 2014, when I had illustrated the book called the Zero Degree Zombie Zone, for Scholastic, I saw Raina Telgemeier, and Jean Yang, and Jeff Smith, and these people with these long lines of kids, just standing there, just, they couldn't wait, they couldn't be more excited. And I've never seen the power of books like that. So I always said that one of my goals was to come back here, and be a participant of a book that I wrote and illustrated, and to be able to talk to people, and you know, that was really one of the most life-changing events that I had ever been to. So thank you for having me back. >> Oh, it's amazing. It's a pleasure to have you back. So you are such a huge advocate for graphic novels as a legitimate medium for reading, and David would like to know, what do you say to those critics that say graphic novels are not real reading? >> Well, you know, again, if you give a kid a book, you know, say a classic book, and they don't want to read it, and it's a chore, and you know, books, like, you know, some of the classics were hard reading for me. And you get that same book and graphic novel, and they read it three times, you know, like I've had teachers come to me and say that a kid who has never finished a book the entire year has read New Kid twice or three times, and said, "Miss so-and-so, you have to read this tonight so we could talk about in the morning." Like, that's irreplaceable, you know? So people who kind of look down on it are really missing a vital part to--because the end, the end game is to get kids reading, you know? And if they decide to branch off, which you know, I did from Marvel Comics, but you know, my vocabulary from Marvel Comics is, you know, uncanny, astonishing, Armageddon, macabre, I mean--these were all Marvel Comics words. And it helped me out. So by the time I did venture off into reading Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, it wasn't a chore anymore, but I had really been primed for that. So that's what I would tell them [overlapping speakers]. So there. >> You are a true expert, now. They can't argue against you now. >> that's right. >> So you've touched on this a couple times, that you had some trouble reading real books, or quote, end-quote, real books or classics, when you were a kid. Nicole wants to know, which superheroes did you doodle on your homework? >> Oh, Spiderman, Silver Surfer were the big ones. Iron Man, and then I would make up my own. So some of my earliest--when I do school presentations, I show a comic book that I did in the sixth grade, that had some Marvel guys in it. It was an Iron Man, Beastrom, X-Men, Ghost Rider, but I also had my own character, and I wrote that story, and I was able to, you know, make up a story about, you know, an archaeologist, who uncovered this magic sword, so I had to know what an archaeologist was. I had to look up in the dictionary how to spell archaeologists. I had to know about artifacts. So I did a lot of research. And I do remember in, I think it was 9th grade, in my biology class, my biology teacher, Barbara Silver, I convinced her to let me do a comic book as my term paper in biology, and that was also a life-changing event, you know, I'm reminded every time I see her at the reunion that that was something that really--because it was about plants. And I did it as kind of like superheroes. And to this day, I remember the xylem and phloem system, and photosynthesis, and all that kind of stuff, but that was because of research that I put into making the comic, whereas if it's just a term paper, I--I mean, I don't remember any other term paper I ever did. I'm sure I did, though. But yeah, it was very important for that to happen. >> She sounds brilliant. She really trusted you, and it paid off. But it's amazing. So Ellen would like to know, are there any novels you love that you would want to adapt into a graphic novel? If you have a lot, maybe just a couple? >> Oh, wow. >> Convention-- >> So you know what? Again, I--I kind of caught up on novels, afterwards, you know? Because I went from basically going through high school, not really loving books, college, you know, I went to school of visual arts, not really loving books. As an adult, I started reading manuals, on like how to use Adobe Photoshop. So I could read, I just didn't really enjoy it. So when I started, when I have kids, that was the first time that I really became conscious of these two little [inaudible], you know? I remember reading, But Not Buddy to my sons, and they loved it. I remember reading Holes. And those are the ones that I was like, I didn't know what those little shiny things were, but I knew that they were good books. So we started looking for more of those. So you know, Great Expectations was the one that I read in high school, the first big-boy book that I finished and loved. But for my second life, for my newfound life as a reader, it would have to be Holes, and But Not Buddy, I think. So, interesting. >> I think we would all read your adaptations of those titles. >> Thank you. >> Yeah, absolutely. ^M00:10:54 So, here's a question from Amelia, about the impact of your book. The independent school where I teach will be discussing New Kid as a faculty book club book. What school policies should we, as faculty, address, in terms of equity for POC students and families? >> Okay, so the big thing is, oh man, I could do a whole session just on this. So you can call me directly [laughs], no, but the big thing is, depending on the kid. First of all, not all POCs, or you know, kids of color, are the same. You know? I came from more of a middle class family with a mom and a dad. I lived in the Brownstone, so that house where Jordan Banks in New Kid lives, is where I grew up, in a Brownstone. I had friends I went to school with living with just their moms in a project in the South Bronx. You know, I had other friends whose dads were, you know, like really loaded, you know, so you can't group them all, okay? But there are kids that I remember going to a school and the kid really loved my book, and he liked me, and the teacher said hey, you know, I will buy you this book and you can have it. And he was like, "thanks, but no." Like, man, I can't be seen in my neighborhood carrying no book. You know? So that kid can't just be written off as being defiant or stupid, or illiterate, or something like that, you know, there's a lot of pressure sometimes not to succeed. So I think you, as teachers and faculty, may have to say hey, you know what? Let's have a comfortable place where this kid can stay after school and do his homework, so that he doesn't have to, you know, carry a book bag back to school, I mean, back home where he might be ostracized. You know? Not assuming that you always know what's best. Sometimes talk to the kid. What do you need? How is it? Because one of the things that most people in society don't realize, like, I go places, and I am often the only African American male in the room, you know? And that doesn't happen, you know, the opposite, you know, when you talk about being a, you know, white person, being in the room with 4,000 African Americans. That would be very uncomfortable. So there really is a lot of code-switching and going back and forth that, sometimes before a kid even gets to school, they are exhausted with the code switching and all that stuff that has to go. So the more you talk and get actual conversations, the better, you know, the better for everyone. >> Great, thank you so much for that. That's some usable advice. Love it. >> Good. >> So Leah has a question related to your answer. What do you feel is the importance of proper representation of black people for children? >> So, hi Leah, and that's a great question. So one of the biggest things is that, again, you know, when I grew up, you know, I grew up watching The Brady Bunch. I grew up watching The Partridge Family. You know, all these kinds of things, right? And identified with white characters. When I say we know you, I mean, you know, being around, and being the fly on the wall, and seeing the movies, and watching Friends, and watching Seinfeld. But generally speaking, it's not the other way around, you know, my kids, you know, people wouldn't think twice of giving them Wimpy Kid, or Amulet, or Bone, or something like that. But generally speaking, white kids don't get books with black characters, and if they do, if the only ones that they get are like the Black History Month books, like the books that they have to do to write a term paper on a Frederick Douglas, or Harriet Tubman, they're not seeing contemporary stories. So they don't see kids like how I was as a kid, using humor. You know? They think that everything is gang related, and you know, just a mom, and black dads do not exist. But when you look at comedians, it's always Dave Chappell, Chris Rock, Eddie Murphy, or Richard Pryor--so those funny black men had to be funny black boys, at some point. And you don't see a lot of humor associated with African American kids in books. So that's why I think that as happy as I am that people think that New Kid is groundbreaking, I'm also sad because it really shouldn't be in the year 2020 having a black boy with his mom, his dad, his grandfather, going into private school, really shouldn't be groundbreaking, but it is. So it's kind of a bittersweet thing. But I accept it, and thank you. >> Thank you so much. So we are focused on kind of rewinding back to your journey as an author. [Inaudible] wants to know, how did you get your start? Was there someone who encouraged you? Perhaps aside from your biology teacher? >> You know, I did a comic strip called Mama's Boys. And then I couldn't get it published. And I self-published. And so in 1997, I self-published my first book, which is a Mama's Boys book. And then ten years later, I did another one. And then people starting coming to me, African American authors, saying "I can't get published either, can you help me to publish my book?" And I said, "Okay!" So I literally started a company, Mama's Boys, Inc., where I helped to publish other people's books. So over about a 20-year span, I did maybe three dozen books, you know, Baby Boy, What Will You Be? And a lot of picture books, and you know, What's Below Your Tummy-Tum? All from authors who couldn't be published, you know? And it wasn't until 2014 that I got to illustrate this guy, [inaudible] Pinkney, from Scholastic. Asked me if I wanted to do the Zero to Be Zombie Zone for Scholastic. So that was the first traditional book after, you know, 3,000 books, and I really had given up. I really didn't think that I would ever be traditionally published. And it wasn't until 2017 that Angelo Harwell, Ellie [inaudible], and Rosemary Brosnen [assumed spelling] from Harper Collins decided that this might be a story that could be successful, and I am ecstatic to reward them for their faith and encouragement. So, thank you, Rosemary. Thank you, Andrew. And my agency, [inaudible], thank you. >> Great, thank you. We have several people asking us similar questions about the future. Kirsten, Katie, and Chris. I'll read Katie's question. Do you have any other graphic novels planned or in the works that address race and class in addition to New Kid, and Class Act. >> Well yeah, so definitely, whereas I think New Kid may touch more on race, Class Act definitely has a big class component, and this would be out October 6. And then I will start work on the third book. So there will be a third one. I'm not giving any secrets yet, because it's still formulating, but give me a couple of years for that, and then that will end the New Kid Trilogy. And then I will decide where everything goes from there. But that is definitely my priorities. >> Great, thank you. Here's a question from Karen. I'm a third and fourth grade teacher. One of my students, Michael, picked up your book and read it in two days. He loved it, and can't wait for Class Act to come out. He's camping this weekend, but do you have any advice for young writers? >> So, with either a young writer, and young artists, is so many kids are so hard on themselves, so like when I did school visits back in the day where you could actually go into a school, I would give them pencils with no erasers, because I found that a lot of young artists would do one line, and then immediately start erasing, and if you had those old pencils, the big, hard, ugly plastic erasers, and they would rip the paper, and there would be tears coming, it's like "relax, take a breath, it's not the end of the world, try it out." So you know, fill your sketch book. There's sketch books, they do a couple of pages, and do a--let's get another one. You know, they don't finish anything. So just encouragement, you know, they can write about their lives. It's kind of interesting with the 40 books that I've done, that the one that is the most successful is the one based on my life, and also like my son's lives, so it's more, it's the most realistic book that I've done, you know, as far as personal. So not everything has to be an anime story, a Monica story, you know, you can write about what it's like to be, you know, just an average kid, doing average stuff, but just find the difference, the nuance that makes them different. So just the encouragement, and keep them away from kids that go oh, drawing is stupid, you know, that's--that's a big thing. And that's probably a really good start. >> That's wonderful. I love that advice, to not give them pencils with erasers. ^M00:20:41 >> Yes. >> Here's a question from Leslie that a lot of folks would want you to answer. What's your process for writing your books? >> So I start out with a story arc, and I kind of follow through. So like with New Kid, I knew that I wanted to start in September, first day of school, and go all the way to the end of school. And then from there, I broke it up into months, and figured out, you know, sports, what would happen September, October, November, December, all the way through, and then different things. I watched my sons go through school to see like, okay here are term papers due, here are reports that are due, here's this--and then I just go back, so before I'm even writing stuff down, like I do write down notes, but even with the new book, it's just simmering in the back, you know? It's, everything is processing, so when I think about going oh, you know what? I need to have Coach Roach in there, because kids really like him. You know? I need to have Alexandra, with the puppet. So I'll have her with a scene with Jordan, and then once I write it down, I must go over it 100 times. And I think of stuff, like I was at maybe, I think it was TLA, and I heard teachers talking about oh my goodness, boys get to be in 8th grade, the boy odor will knock you off your teacher's chair. And I went: Body odor! I forgot all about that. So in Class Act, there's a big thing about boys and body odor and--but it's--it's different. You'll see. So as I think about that, then I go back and I put it in, and I fill it in, so it's not really the writing, it's the re-writing, and the re-drawing, and the re-writing and the drawing, so that's why it takes so long. And then it takes about a year to draw it seriously, once I, you know, put all the nuts and bolts in. So it's a long process. So I am taking a little bit of a break, but I am--it's starting to formulate. >> Wow. We have a follow-up question from Daniela. How long did you get--how did you get your inspiration? You kind of answered that. And also how long did it take, writing the book, and editing? >> So, I pitched the concept in 2014, and I started to do not every day, but you know, chapters here and there, and it started getting some feedback from different people, and then I'd say I really started writing it in 2016, and then when I sold it to Harper Collins in 2017, I worked on it literally every day from 9:00 a.m. until sometimes 2:00 or 3:00 a.m., from January 2017, until February 2018, so it took 13 months of working like 16-, 17-hour days, and then the book launched a year later, which was February 2019, and then a year after that in January, I got the awards, and when Harper saw that this is a book that people wanted to see, I, you know, the one good thing about quarantine is I had absolutely nowhere to go, all my trips got canceled, and so I did the same thing, I worked from 9:00 in the morning until sometimes 4, 5, 6 in the morning, and I finished that, and they rushed it off to the press, the printer, and it is ready. They have an actual hard copy which, you know, the ink is still wet, it's so new, so it's--I'm excited for everyone to see it. >> Wow, that's great. Thank you so much, it's a huge labor of love, isn't it? You can feel it. >> Absolutely. >> Here's a question from Celeste. For years I've had a boy's book club, for third grade African American boys, and it included graphic novels. Why aren't there more graphic novels for that grade level with African American characters? >> So, okay, so this is a big thing that I just feel like people think that African American boys have to have characters that suffer. And you know, just like, I would love to see New Kid, you know, Jordan Banks drew on lunchboxes, and you know, I have a shirt, but I made my own shirt, you can see that. But you know, there is just something about boys of color, where they just don't show them eating cookies and making pizza with their dads, and going to parks and stuff. And I'm hoping more than anything that having both the commercial success, and the critical acclaim that I got, and this is, you know, well I'll actually show this. So this is the actual Newbery Medal. So that this actually means something so that the Gatekeepers that, in the past, may have said oh, you know what? That's not realistic for, you know, his dad to be a doctor. Let's have him, you know, separate it from the mom and he's down on his luck, you know, that kind of thing. So I'm hoping that one, there are more black editors that come in, who actually understand this, and say, you know what, this is--we can do this. And once that happens, you know, just open it up a little bit, and then books are books that, you know, they're not the black books, not in the black section, or they only blow the dust off in February, you know, because one of the things I always say is, you know, that a lot of times the stereotype that black kids don't read, but if the only books that white kids got were on Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton, and not the one who raps, but Alexander Hamilton [laughter], and Teddy Roosevelt, like you know? Are they really going to go to bed--no offense to Teddy Roosevelt--but are they going to go to bed reading that, waking up, and "I want a Teddy Roosevelt hat, or T-shirt"? Or I want to dress up as, you know, FDR for Halloween? You know? That doesn't happen, and I just really implore everyone to give us more of a chance to do regular stories [sigh], okay. >> Thank you. Thank you for that answer. A lot of work to be done. >> There's a lot of work to be done. >> David wants to know, how can teachers and librarians help open up the world of Children's publishing to more authors and illustrators who are people of color. >> You know, so again, you know, when you look at books like, you know, Octopus Stew, by Eric Velasquez, that is a boy with his family, you know, that is using its imagination, wonderful book, you know? King of Kindergarten, you know, just a lot of the books, you know, Renee Watson and Elizabeth Acevedo, [inaudible]--where kids are just kids. You know? That have families, that do stuff, and it's just--it is such a different kind of story that again, when you give it to a white child, also, they don't think that, you know, every black kid that they meet is suffering. There are black kids that live in gated communities, you know? So it just puts a different mindset on them, you know, and you know, even at schools, when sometimes the only time that they'll see black people are when the school will take them for community service day, you know, and take them to a homeless shelter, or stuff like that, and so they'll feel like any time that they see someone like me, they have to go and stick a sandwich in this hand, you know? And it's like, listen, have us in the--you know, have Jason Reynolds, and [inaudible], and Elizabeth Acevedo, Renee Watson, you know, that and go to places where, you know, you see us in action. Where it's not just always the community service that we need help, you know? So, but you're going to wear me out with all these questions [laughing]. >> We're going to send you-- >> I don't mind the number, but I'm like all like, hype and stuff, but okay. >> No, that's great. We love to see your passion. But here's a fun one for you from Karen. It's actually a question from one of her students, Samir. If you were not an author, what job would you have? >> So, author and I guess illustrator, I can't be either of those? You know, when I went to the school of visual arts, I studied advertising, so my first job was writing radio commercials, and drawing storyboards, and things like that. So I thought that was going to be my life, and then the ad business when I got out of school just really, it was decimated. And I was like well, then we've got that cartooning thing, and I got a job with a woman named Barbara Slate, who kind of taught me the ropes. ^M00:30:08 And she had written art scene--we worked on New Kids on the Block, and Sweet 16, I was like her background artist. Then I worked for King Features, working in the comic art department, and then I worked at Sports Illustrated for kids, where I interviewed athletes. I did like flash animation. So I always had cool jobs, where I got to draw and write and interview people and interact. So any of those. You know, but they--I've had a really fun career being creative. But this is by far the best. >> And we are so glad that you are here with us, and that you wrote these fabulous books, and you clearly have very passionate readers. Thank you for your hard work. Unfortunately, we have come to the end of the Q&A session, the time really flew by today. Thank you so much, Jerry, for sharing your time with us so generously. This has been wonderful. Everyone, this has been Jerry Craft, his latest book is New Kid, with an upcoming title of Class Act. You can find his presentation on the Children's Stage of the National Book Festival, and you can go to loc.gov/bookfest, to access. And thank you so much to our audience out here for your thoughtful questions. I hope all of you take the time to explore our many programs and enjoy the remainder of the National Book Festival. ^M00:31:37 [ Music ]