Meet the Author: Dhonielle Clayton
Eatonville Branch • Friday, January 30 • 10:30 a.m.
Dive into the art of storytelling with Dhonielle Clayton, New York Times bestselling author of The Belles series and co-author of Blackout at the ZORA! Festival Education Day in historic Eatonville. Recommended for ages 13–18.
Dhonielle Clayton is a New York Times bestselling author of The Conjureverse series, The Belles series, Shattered Midnight and co-author of Blackout, Whiteout, The Rumor Game and of the Tiny Pretty Things duology, a Netflix original series. She hails from the Washington, D.C. suburbs on the Maryland side. She taught secondary school for several years, and is a former elementary and middle school librarian. She is COO of the non-profit We Need Diverse Books. She is the president and founder of Cake Creative and Electric Postcard Entertainment, IP story companies creating diverse books for all ages where she’s concepted and sold over 55 books, including the Tristan Strong series, Promise Boys, Love Radio, the Love Sugar Magic series and more. She’s an avid traveler, and always on the hunt for magic and mischief.
Dhonielle, you’re a bestselling author, nonprofit board chair, and president of two entertainment companies. Do you ever sleep?
Yes, I actually sleep quite a lot. Rest is very important to me because it allows my brain to work at full capacity. I’m also blessed with strong executive functioning, something I developed during my years as a teacher. Managing a classroom of thirty-five children, making sure they were safe, fed, happy, and engaged, taught me how to juggle multiple responsibilities at once. Doing that for a decade trained me to keep many pots on the burners. In addition, I have a wonderful team supporting me, which makes running everything possible.
All jokes aside, you have a very impressive résumé. What inspired you to start your nonprofit and companies?
I actually didn’t start We Need Diverse Books. I was one of the founding librarians. Ellen Oh launched the organization with a team of authors, and I was invited in before my first book came out to curate lists of titles featuring diverse characters written by authors from marginalized groups. I stayed for 10 years, helping Ellen run everything, and was eventually tapped to lead WNDB into its next decade. I started my companies, Cake Creative and Electric Postcard Entertainment, because of my students in East Harlem, New York. Many were first and second-generation children from immigrant families who struggled to find themselves in books. Their disconnect from stories was damaging their relationship with literature and impacting literacy rates. I wanted to create books that didn’t press down on the bruises of their backgrounds, but instead featured them as heroes – stories that would excite them about reading.
Where did you get your love for the fantasy genre, as evidenced by The Belles and the Conjureverse series?
My love of fantasy came from my dad, who is a huge science fiction and fantasy fan and a comic book geek. From the time I was born, I became his little buddy for weekly trips to the comic bookstore, the library, and the bookstore. I was spoiled. I got a book or two every week plus a comic book. I wanted to read as much as my dad, who was devouring several books a week. On the way to school, we listened to books on tape ranging from Stephen King’s The Gunslinger to Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire and Isaac Asimov’s Foundation series. I fell in love with fantasy because it allowed me to escape and let my imagination travel to magical places.
What was the collaboration process like working with five other authors on Blackout and Whiteout?
The collaboration process was so much fun. It felt like a big writing party. I had five brilliant minds to tap into, each creating characters and contributing to the story. We all got along so well; we became a little crew who loved books, especially ones that reflected the kids and teens we once were. We wanted to create joyful love stories that centered children and teenagers who don’t often get to be the main characters in these kinds of narratives.
How has your former career as a teacher and librarian impacted your career as a writer?
I would not be a writer if I hadn’t been a teacher and librarian first. My students are the reason I write. They are the characters in my books, the ones I think about every time I return to the page. I wanted to make books for them – stories that would excite them. Their requests for specific kinds of books pushed me to break into publishing and learn how to write compelling, powerful stories. There is no writing career for me without my teaching and librarian background.
Aside from visiting the Eatonville Branch for ZORA! Fest, is there anything you’re looking forward to doing or seeing while visiting Florida?
I’m looking forward to the Florida weather. In January, it will be wonderful to enjoy sunshine and warmth after coming from rainy London. I’m also excited for Florida hospitality and especially for experiencing the Black history rooted in Eatonville. I’m thrilled to stand in the same place where Zora Neale Hurston lived. She is a foundational writer for me and one of the shoulders I stand on in order to write the books I create today.
