It was a nice treat for me to get off work and go to NYU Skirball for the 2024 National Book Awards Finalist Reading in November. It is always a good feeling to be in the midst of people who write because they read and read because they write.

I must admit however that I missed The New School’s atmosphere and location. NYU was a long trip from the boogie down! It didn’t help that my phone battery was low and I didn’t know exactly how to get to the Skirball building. My gps let me through a walk in the park that I hated but it turned out to be the best route.

As soon as I got there, I walked to the book selling table and was surprised that I knew no one on the finalist list. I normally would know at least one author but all of the author’s were new to me. The topics were new too which almost peeved me.

The book sellers from McNally Jackson Book Store were not sure which authors were there so I flipped through all the books. I brought The Unboxing of a Black Girl by Angela Shante, Buffalo Dreamer by Violet Duncan, and James by Percival Everett.

After listening to the authors read their works, I was happy with my selection. Angela Shante is a writer from the Bronx. The Unboxing of a Black Girl had a lot of topics I could connect with. The selection she read about schools and education was perfect. She even invited herself to my school while signing my book! Violet Duncan’s work I brought to share with my fifth graders. I was looking for work by a Native American writer and once I came across the story, felt it was perfect. Percival Everett’s work I thought reminded me of writing by James McBride and Sadeqa Johnson. His work used old black dialect which is something I enjoy.

During the intermission, I ran into professor and children book author, Dr. Michael Datcher. I met him in Philly last year and was happy to see him again. He spoke life over our writing and craft.

During the reading, I made a mental note to check out some books from the library just because the author read their books so well! Ghostroots by ‘Pemi Aguda, Whiskey Tender by Deborah Jackson Taffa, and Mother by m.s. RedCherries. The best reading (according to me) though came from the Translated Literature selection- The Villain’s Dance by Fiston Mwanza Mujila. The author was so animated I wish I’d taken my French classes more seriously in college. Even the translator, Roland Glasser, didn’t sound as convincing as the Frenchman.