How to Make a Living Writing YA Fiction: A Conversation with Ibi Zoboi

Reed, Write, and Create

On episode 22 of the podcast, award-winning author, Ibi Zoboi is my guest. Ibi is the New York Times Bestselling author of the YA novel, American Street, which among other distinctions, was a National Book Award finalist. Ibi is the editor of the anthology Black Enough: Stories of Being Young and Black in America. She co-authored the Walter Award and L.A. Times Book Prize-winning novel-in-verse, Punching the Air, written with Exonerated Five member, Yusef Salaam. Her debut picture book, The People Remember, received a Coretta Scott King Honor Award. And her most recent books include Star Child: A Biographical Constellation of Octavia Estelle Butler, Okoye to the People: A Black Panther Novel for Marvel, and her new novel, Nigeria Jones.

During our conversation, Ibi shares her unique journey to publishing success, as well as the sacrifices and compromises she had to make in order to get her foot in the door of the mainstream publishing industry. She also shares her experiences writing for a book packaging company early on in her career.

If you’re a fiction writer looking to break into the mainstream publishing industry, this is an important and informative episode to listen to and take notes.

Writing Resources Mentioned in this Episode

Ibi mentioned a lot of great resources within this episode. Here are a few you might want to check out.

• Ibi Zoboi’s website
• VONA Writing Workshop
• Clarion Workshop for Sci-Fi and Fantasy Writers
• Forbidden Planet Comic Bookstore in New York City
• Nikki Giovanni’s iconic poem Ego Trippin
• Alloy Entertainment
• If you want to learn more about Octavia Butler and her work, listen to our episode of the podcast on Octavia Estelle Butler. It’s really great.

BIPOC Writers, We Got You!

If you are a BIPOC woman writer looking for a supportive and active writing community, where we support and celebrate BIPOC women writers who want to get published and get paid, visit ReadWriteandCreate.com and click on the The Sanctuary tab.

You can also sign up for the Read, Write and Create newsletter, which is the first place where you’ll find out about my latest classes and creative offerings. Sign up on the Read, Write and Create website.

The RWC Gift Guide for BIPOC writers and readers was created for you! There are some really unique gifts listed on the guide that your writer and reader friends will love, plus the guide is not too long so you can quickly find the perfect gift and then get back to writing.

Be sure to visit The Read, Write and Create online bookshop, where you’ll find a whole shelf of books that make great gifts. You will also find the books of all of the guests who have appeared on the podcast highlighted there as well. Remember a purchase from our bookshop goes to support this podcast and independent booksellers everywhere.

We’ll be back in February. Until then, keep writing and keep creating. Happy Holidays!