Scholastic

When I decided to write my newest novel The Bridge, I was opening a door that I hadn’t opened yet. Instead of coming out as gay, which I had done in my first young adult books, this time I was coming out about my mental health issues. In some ways, this was actually harder for me.

Taking pride in a job well done is a professional triumph—and when the hard work is honored with an award nominated by one’s esteemed peers, the gratification is that much sweeter. Here’s what three past winners have to say about the award and their dedication to their work.

Scholastic has long embraced the power of story through our simple mission to encourage the intellectual and personal growth of all children, a growth that we believe begins with literacy. We know that stories empower, stories transport us to new worlds and introduce us to new characters, but perhaps most important of all, stories have the power to connect us.

Stories are genuine. Stories can feel real, even when we don’t feel real to ourselves. Stories reflect who we are back at us and make it easier for us to know it’s true. This is especially important for those of us who aren’t cisgender, heteronormative, non-disabled white men from traditional families. That is, for most of us.

When I was young, I was bullied and isolated and felt no hope for my future. It was through reading that I felt I had friendships with the characters, that I felt someone saw me and loved me, even if none of my peers did. As an author now, I can see that someone did see me and love me—the authors of those books, who had perhaps once felt the same pain that I did.

One of the reasons I wrote The Forgotten Girl was so that little girls who look like Avery and Iris and little boys who look like Daniel can see themselves on the page, and not have to spend their lives proving they are worthy of recognition from people who should realize their greatness anyway.

Now I know that I identify as aromantic bi-gray-asexual, and I never would have known if not for writing Tarnished Are the Stars. There’s inherent power in seeing yourself in the pages of a book, but there is power, too, in writing yourself onto those pages, in making sure your story is told.

On July 9th at Nerd Camp Michigan, Scholastic sat down with New York Times Bestselling, award-winning author Jason Reynolds to discuss the Power of Story.

Truly Madly Royally follows goal-getter Zora Emerson, who, at a la-dee-da university’s summer program, meets and falls for an actual prince. She has to learn to navigate a privileged world so different from her own, while sticking to her mission to build an aftercare program for the children in her town.