Meet We Need Diverse Books’ Program Director before you see her at Walking on Water
This November’s Madeleine L’Engle event — the inaugural Walking on Water Conference — won’t merely a retrospective and celebration of Madeleine. Instead, organizers have a vision that the conference would also look ahead, amplifying and empowering artists and writers for a new generation.
Enter We Need Diverse Books, a grassroots nonprofit of children’s book lovers who advocate for a world in which every child would see themselves in a book. This vision is the reason Conference Director Sarah Arthur sees WNDB as an important collaborator.
(Read more from Sarah about WNDB in the latest edition of the Madeleine L’Engle newsletter!)
We’re fantastically honored that several WNDB authors will be participating in the L’Engle Conference at a panel titled “WNDB Presents: The New Generation of Meg Murrys—What Fantasy & Speculative Fiction Inspire.” Moderating that panel: WNDB Program Director Caroline Tung Richmond (The Only Thing to Fear).
We’re thrilled to feature Caroline today on the Madeleine L’Engle blog. Let’s get to know her better, shall we?
What excites you about the Madeleine L’Engle Conference?
I’m very excited to moderate a panel at this conference because A Wrinkle in Time was one of my favorite books when I was a girl! I’m really looking forward to celebrating the life and legacy of Madeleine L’Engle, who helped spark a deep love of science fiction in me as a kid.
Do you have a Madeleine story/quote/moment that has inspired you?
“A book, too, can be a star, a living fire to lighten the darkness, leading out into the expanding universe.” I love the imagery of this quote, how reading can take us on journeys not only across our own world, but throughout the cosmos. Growing up, I often felt like I’d been born in the wrong century — I wanted to live at a time when humans could explore the galaxy. I’ll likely never be able to do that in person (never say never though!), but I can still take journeys into space via books like Madeleine L’Engle’s.
In what ways does a legacy like Madeleine’s inspire the way you create art for a new generation?
Meg Murry is one of the most inspirational characters in children’s literature. She has inspired generations of girls to dream big, to be brave, and to take pride in their intelligence. I hope that my own books will similarly inspire young women to become the heroines of their stories.
What are you working on now?
My next novel is a Cold War alternate history that’s set in Washington, D.C. and that features a lot of high-tech robots. It should be out from Scholastic in 2020!
Where can we read more?
If you’d like to read more diverse SFF, feel free to check out the OurStory app!
Thanks, Caroline!
Meet her and the rest of the WNDB panel in NYC this November — Special early bird pricing ends August 31, so register today!
–Erin F. Wasinger, for MadeleineLEngle.com.
