Osiyo! Here’s a little about me . . .
Before my career in publishing, I worked in food, television, and then food in television. I still cook . . . a lot, but books and research are where it’s at these days.
Represented by Linda Camacho at Gallt & Zacker, I write children’s and adult fiction. I am also an essayist and poet. My picture book Kanuchi Day (Scholastic) and middle grade romance Hedge Over Heals (Scholastic) are set for publication in 2022. My picture book The Little Red Bakery (Abrams) is set for publication in 2023 along with my short story Cannibal at the Door will be published in the middle grade anthology Calling the Moon (Candlewick Press).
I’ve had the pleasure of working in children’s book publishing since 2012 and as an editor since 2017. As an editor, I work for Lee & Low Books and most specifically their middle grade and young adult imprint Tu Books. As a consultant, I’ve had the opportunity to work with many publishers on some great projects (Macmillan, Scholastic, DC, Outland Entertainment, HarperCollins, and more), helping Indigenous voices and topics get more traction and respect in the industry.
As a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, I focus a good deal of my editorial work on publishing Indigenous authors, but I also prioritize working with authors from other marginalized communities. In 2019, I coedited the middle grade novel Indian No More (Tu Books), the first children’s book to highlight Native American history in the 1950s. Also in 2019, I contributed to the picture book Fry Bread (Roaring Brook Press), whose end pages feature the names of 665 Native Nations within U.S. borders.
Some recent and books I’ve edited for Tu Books are Julieta and the Diamond Enigma (2019), young adult novel Black Was the Ink (2021), and middle grade novel The Shadow Prince (2021).
My most recent adventure is that I’m working on my Masters in Food Studies at NYU Steinhardt.
These days, I live in New York City with my husband, a large personal library, and an open kitchen. Pies and fried chicken are my specialities. :)