Story Seeds | “I want readers to feel seen and understood:” A Conversation with YA Author Autumn Allen
We checked in with Autumn to learn more about her process, inspiration, and the impact she hopes to have as a writer.
Her picture books, STEP ON BOARD: SCULPTING A MEMORIAL TO HARRIET TUBMAN, illustrated by Ekua Holmes, and ANSWERED PRAYERS, are forthcoming from Knopf.
Autumn is a senior editor at Barefoot Books and she teaches literature, writing, and publishing to students of all ages. Autumn grew up in Boston and lives in Massachusetts with her family.
Connect: @autumnallenbooks on Instagram
Autumn Allen’s debut historical young adult novel, All You Have To Do (Kokila/Penguin, 2023), is a beautifully written intergenerational story confronting the racial tension of the late sixties and the nineties. Against the backdrop of the assassination of Dr. King and the energy of the Million Man March, Autumn juxtaposes the lives of two young Black men who are coming of age in similar ways during very different times.
Allen, a Boston native, splits her time between bringing books to life as a senior editor at Barefoot Books and sharing her passion for children’s literature at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education. She also serves on the faculties of Kweli, Grub Street, and the Highlights Foundation.
What inspired you to become an author?
I’ve always loved to read and write, and I was always fascinated with family history. I never thought of becoming a professional author until I started homeschooling my children and had a hard time finding books that depicted our realities as Black American Muslims. I saw the need for children's books that affirmed our identities, and I learned there was a graduate program in writing for children right in Boston. I wasted no time applying!
What was the inspiration for your most recent book?
My brother and his friends were the main inspiration for All You Have to Do. Their paths after private school were very unexpected. Whereas private schools groom students to assimilate into mainstream (white) middle-class culture, both of my brothers took dramatically different paths. I started writing this book to learn how the experience of private schools affected Black boys who came of age in the 1990s. I knew that the country's racial issues as they affect different generations would be important, so I also wanted to make this an intergenerational story.
Describe your writing process.
I start with a character; I just have to know their main attitude and beliefs, how they interact with their environment, and their voice. I start writing in their voice, and try to feel around for their central issue in the story. I populate their world with family and friends in each scene and feel my way to the end of a first draft. Once I have a first draft, I put it away for a while and then reread it with an eye for major plot points. I decide how/ if I want the character to grow in the course of the story and who they should be by the end. I make a detailed outline before writing the next draft. Once I have a draft I don't know what else to do with, I get others to read it - my agent and editor, sometimes my sister, some friends, or one of my daughters. I take the feedback and sit on it for a few months before going back in to make changes.
How does what’s happening in the world impact your work as a writer?
It influences my work as an author more than as a writer! As a writer, I'm still excavating the past for the stories I write. But as an author doing author visits, sometimes I am challenged because of my engagement with world issues. It can be demoralizing at times, as it results in censorship and the outcome is similar to the book-banning trend. Kids lose out the most when adults shut down conversations.
How do you want your work to impact your readers?
I want readers to feel seen and understood, to learn about the past and humanity, and to have a lot to think about as they continue their journeys in this world. I hope they will find inspiration and comfort in the pages of my book while also grappling with hard realities.
Who are other Black American Muslim authors whose work you highly recommend?
Jamilah Thomkins-Bigelow, Ilyasah Shabazz, and Ashley Franklin.
What are you most excited about?
Publishing different kinds of books and meeting different kinds of readers. My next books include picture books and a very different kind of YA novel. I can't wait to see the art that will accompany my words in the picture books! And I'm nervously excited about sharing another story about the family in All You Have to Do.
Thank you for supporting us in big & small ways since 2015! Raising Mothers is an independent literary magazine, run by a single person—me. Join us as a monthly or annual sustaining member & keep Raising Mothers ad-free. Paid memberships allow us to pay our contributors and create a sustainable future. Help us reach our first mini goal of 100 paid annual members. Invest in amplifying the parenting & personal narratives of Black, Asian, Latine(x), Indigenous and other voices from the global majority at our many intersections.
Before you go, leave us some love by tapping the ❤️. Also, restack & share! Help others find us. We’re @raisingmothers all over social media.
Another way you can support Raising Mothers is by shopping our Bookshop.org booklist! Find new titles and help keep indie bookstores alive!
This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through the links above, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.