Race Matters: “How does it feel to be one of the few blacks in your industry?” – Wired PR Lifestyle Story

BY PHOTO PHOTO OF NICOLE MONDESTIN

Have you read it Another black girl according to Zakiya Dalila Harris? The best-selling novel is about a black girl who works in the horrible white world of book publishing, and the tension that arises when hiring another black girl. The micro-attacks are palpable against other evil forces playing out in this crooked genre thriller, which has received rave reviews calling it “subversive”, “excellent” and “smart whip”.

Our part for this Race Matters column, Sat down with author Christine Pride Zakiya Dalila Harris speaking, writing and publishing in the race.

Christine: I’m glad to talk to you today for a variety of reasons, especially among the blacks we do in the post. In a recent interview with Robin Roberts at GMA, you said you were very young when you found out you were a writer. How did you know?

Zakiya: I loved writing stories as a child. My father is a writer – he wrote a newspaper column and taught college journalism. So my reading and writing skills were great in my home. When I was 12, I submitted a story to a competition promoted by American Girl magazine. The request was an illustration of a girl holding a letter in her hand and two girls standing with her, oh my God. So I wrote a story about a girl who has to win two tickets to a concert and decide which friend to bring. He won and appeared in the magazine – my first official publication. I wasn’t very sure when I was young, so it was valid. Later, after majoring in English literature at the university and earning a master’s degree in New School, I became an editorial assistant at Random House.

I have a curiosity to go from being an editor to being a writer, made by myself. How is it to be on the other side?

I enjoyed working in publications, but it’s hard to be a writer and editor. There is a great deal of fatigue involved in managing the production process and trying to make everyone happy. In addition, there was fatigue in being the only black woman in the editorial department and not knowing if anything would ever change. After rising to the rank of assistant editor, I should have been happy, but … I wasn’t. I realized that I would have to sacrifice my creative outlets to focus on the work of others. By that time, I had already started writing Another black girl and so it was. Leaving the position was a tough decision – I felt guilty about leaving the bosses, and I’ve been fixing myself for years – but as if I was, I have to do that for myself.

What a bold decision to refuse fixed salary and health insurance. Did you know that I was able to make this moment?

I certainly had my doubts. I started writing the novel in January 2019 and left the job there in April. I was doing part-time work, and I felt like I had a lot to prove to myself and others. When my draft was ready, I asked the agents and one of them told me he liked the book but basically said, “I think you should change the industry from being a publication to something else.” He didn’t think the publishing industry was capable of tackling some of them or calling them to tasks. I cried because I thought it would be the answer I would follow from the agents. Luckily it wasn’t – I met my wonderful agent Stephanie a few weeks later, and we sold the book in February 2020.

In a huge auction! Congratulations. One of the best parts of your book is how much it means to be the only person in any category in the room. Did you have a moment when you felt like I can’t get into that real example?

Overall, I had a really good experience in publishing, but there are moments like that, aupa – For example, not attending diversity meetings and circular conversations, “What does diversity mean too?” Also, those conversations about it: ‘Is there a book for certain audiences?’ Lots of dog whistles, coded language. It was wonderful. Even beyond race, I asked, why were there so many men at the top? That scratched my head. So I wanted to express what the novel does to you in an environment like this, which doesn’t make you feel in a way to speak. Also, wanting to make yourself feel small or confused and what it’s like to be outside. Navigation is very complicated.

Who was your book while you were writing it? Was it written for black readers, exactly?

I certainly hoped it would match black readers, especially black women, which is why I didn’t “translate” the black cultural references that appear in this book. I wanted my characters to feel realistic and sound in front of black readers. And I hoped this book would have a white audience as well. I wanted readers who didn’t understand these conversations (e.g., about black hair textures, for example) to look at these things. And while the novel mostly follows black characters, many of the problems facing these characters are influenced or influenced by a highly unbalanced power structure based on 400 years of white dominance. My hope is that this book will encourage people to better understand their prejudices and blind spots.

Another thing we have in common is that we have the editor himself, the wonderful Lindsay Sagnette who is wonderful. I’m curious, given the topic of your book, did you have any strong feelings about your editor’s race?

As I was writing the book, I would be happy if a person, white or black, could fit into this novel. And in reality, seeing how many more white editors there are, I knew it was likely that the editor was white. So in the end I was less concerned with the race than I was with the overall atmosphere. Another thing was that I already had a lot of black readers for the manuscript – my father, my friends – so I thought it would be helpful to have a white editor to get that perspective. I enjoyed working with Lindsay; this book has been very passionate from the beginning and his critical eye has become so strong. I was also lucky enough to receive the second round of the Chelcee Johns edition from the publisher Black, who was a bidder for the book. Although I ended up signing with Lindsay, Chelce still wanted to get involved Another black girl, and to my great happiness, Simon & Schuster did just that.

Speaking of editors, what advice do you have for people who want to start publishing Black or POC?

The publication is gaining the necessary impetus to recruit more POC people. In addition to focusing on official job offers, a network is a key. Social media is a good tool for building relationships; you can participate in online conversations between writers, editors, and agents. Today, there are also tutoring programs designed to give access to people of color People of color in publications. Don’t be afraid to email an industry person. Sending a nice note to the agent or editor of the book you love can open a door or start a conversation.

Okay, last question: first novels are personal in some way. What items in your book are the most you?

I would say, the anxiety of Nella not being “black enough”. I grew up in Connecticut, it was pretty white and then I went to university in UNC-Chapel Hill, at least in the morning, I had mostly white friends. We would go to fraternity parties and feel out of place. I had a desire for a black community, but I also felt like I wasn’t getting into that because I was surrounded by so many whites. There was this push / pull. For a small year, I found my people, and I lived with a group of black women for the last year, amazing.

Let’s close with a quick round of quick fire:

What keeps you up at night?
I have been eager to be able to pass on my book to other people the way I wanted. I am constantly worried about saying the wrong things.

What was the first book you loved as a kid?
Gail Carson Levine by Ella Enchanted.

You are the perpetrator, alive or dead.
I’ve read so much about Stephen King at different stages of my life, and he’s always talked to me about his work and interviews about writing.

If you were to tell people to read a book, not just yours, what would it be?
Worship Made by Amanda Montell. It’s about language, trends, and human nature, how we move around the world and see ourselves, and how society develops certain terms and groups and why. I found it fascinating and important; it has changed the way we see the world.

Favorite snack or ritual for writing.
Coffee and a pomegranate.

Thank you, Christine and Zakiya. Another black girl It was released on June 1, 2021.

PS More Race Matters columns, and I want to tell white friends five things.