On the Queens Book Festival Young Adult Stage, from l to r: Daniel José Older, Carola Dibbell, Dominque Taylor, and me

Last Sunday’s panel: “Expanding the Landscape of Fantasy and YA Imagination,” was a really nice event. It was hot and shade was at a premium at Kaufman Astoria Studios outdoor space, but folks of all ages turned out for a lively discussion about challenges and opportunities in the realm of young adult fantasy.

The panel included Daniel José Older who writes stories from Latino perspectives (Shadowshaper, Bone Street Rumba), Carola Dibbell, whose début novel The Only Ones portrays teen motherhood and economic class in a near future, dystopian world, and me. We were moderated by vlogger Dominique Taylor, founder of The Storyscape, who had us talk about our works, read from them, and comment on how marginalized voices and cultures fit into fantasy worlds.

I spoke about the need for LGBT experiences to be reflected in YA fantasy, and some of the themes that emerged from our discussion were how personal experience and culture informs our work, the importance of sharing information with young readers, and the problem of withholding information on critical topics like sexuality.

The panel was videotaped for The Storyscape, and I’ll be sure to share it when it goes live.

Many thanks to Sherese Francis, Johanne Civil and all the volunteers at the Queens Book Festival who made the event happen. And thanks to Dominique for hosting a great discussion.