Interview with Sope Martins - Picture Book Debut Hairstory

PB KidLit ALERT!

Sope Martins

Picture Book Debut

Hairstory

Good day, Authors and Creatives,

Today we talk with Sope Martins about her PB debut, the power of poetry and white space, trusting ourselves as writers, and the importance of finding the people who support us along the way.

I met Sope in my novel-and-verse intensive at VCFA (Vermont College of Fine Arts), where she first told us about her upcoming debut release, Hairstory. I fell in love with the idea of this book and the magic we find in something as ordinary as hair. The history it carries, the stories it tells, and all that it symbolizes and represents.

Sope is a magician with words. She creates space for African stories, supports readers & writers, and builds a creative community through her books, blog, online courses, and The Kid Lit Foundation. I'm so excited for you to meet her and support her work.

Hello Sope,

Thanks for being on Teazurs Blog. We met in a novel-in-verse intensive at VCFA. And during that first week, you had a book release for Hairstory.

Hair carries history—and magic, too—how did you research this project? What unexpected tidbit did you uncover that's not in the book?

Ah, yes, those were some good times at the novel-in-verse intensive! And thank you for seeing the magic in Hairstory.

Research-wise, I started off just talking about hair with my friends and family. We all had such distinct and indelible memories of the times we spent at the salon, so that was a revelation in itself. Then I started reading blog articles, following up on things that came up in those conversations. The next stage was books like Emma Dabiri’s Don’t Touch My Hair. I found a couple of surprising things.

One was this lovely connection between my Igbo and Yoruba heritage: in both cultures, the earth is viewed as a female deity. In Yoruba, she is Ilẹ̀, and in Igbo, she is Ala. That was a fun find.

 

We learn a lot about symbolism in poetry. What's your process for turning something like hair into a symbol kids can understand?

I think children understand symbols better than we sometimes give them credit for.

Things carry

stories.

So with Hairstory, I didn’t really even have to turn hair into a symbol. All of that meaning was already there. My job was just to make the connections a little bit clearer so they could discover them too.

 

Was it easy or difficult to balance teaching cultural history and keeping the book playful for children?

It was a little difficult because I had so many stories I wanted to tell with Hairstory, that it went in lots of different, sometimes competing directions.

Then my editor asked me a very necessary question:

what story did I actually

want to tell?

The answer was connection. In what ways does our hair connect us? Once I knew what I was trying to say, the format became much, much easier to nail down.

What do you hope kids understand and feel after reading Hairstory?

I hope it makes them curious.

• If something as everyday as hair has all these stories behind it, what else in their lives does?
• What are the stories behind the food they eat, the clothes they wear, the things their families do?
• What other stories are sitting right there, waiting to be discovered?

 

If I gave you a megaphone and the whole world would listen—what is the one word or sentence you would shout?

BE KIND!

TO YOURSELF

AND TO OTHERS!!

 

When you are working on poems or a verse novel, how do you decide what not to say and trust the reader to fill in?

Oh, this is an ongoing conversation I have with myself because I am a chronic overexplainer! You probably wouldn’t guess that from my writing because, before I show my work to anyone else, I as a reader have to be happy with it.

Once Writer Sope

can make Reader Sope happy,

I’ve done my job.

So I don’t have a concrete rule. I think you have to trust your instincts as a reader of your own work. If your eyes keep jumping over your words, sit with the piece a little longer. There’s probably a more truthful way you can tell that story or write that piece.

 

What has been a big takeaway so far from your VCFA MFA program?

Trusting myself. I came into the programme wanting to become a better writer, which I think I have, but the bigger lesson has been learning to trust the writer I already am. You can learn craft, take feedback, and revise endlessly, but at some point you have to know what you want your story to be and stand by it.

Recently, my agent asked if I wanted to rethink a format choice I’d made for a character. I’m not precious about my words, but this particular choice was so inherently tied to who the character was that, without it, I didn’t think I could tell their story properly.

So I explained my thinking to her, and she understood where I was coming from. That confidence comes from my time at VCFA.

What is your next move on your writing journey? 

I have a lot of projects in the mix, but now is the time to tackle my great white whale: the YA novel.

As a bona fide, self-certified pantser, I sit down to a blank page each day and try to create this sprawling world with many characters (primary and secondary), storyworld rules, desire lines, and…and…it can get a little messy in my head! But I’m trying it out to see where it takes me. No matter how long it takes me.

 

You are a very busy author – how do you find time to write? How do you organize it all?

I’m an early bird. Writing is usually the second or third thing I do when I wake up. Those early hours, when I’m freshest, are what I devote to my writing practice. Because I know that the moment the day really gets started, I won’t write a dang thing!

 

What are your favorite novels in verse, and how have they influenced your writing?

Ah, you’re asking me to pick favourites from all the beautiful babies out there?! I can’t! But if you held me over a fire,

Sarah Crossan’s Moonrise

K.A. Holt’s House Arrest

Joseph Bruchac’s Rez Dogs

are all firm favourites.

The two that have probably influenced my writing the most, though, are Ibi Zoboi’s (S)Kin and Laura Amy Schlitz’s Amber & Clay. Both lit up parts of my brain that are directly connected to what I’m working on now.

 

On your website, you share writing tips, so I am curious about your writing process. Is there something newer writers could use?

My new watchword is: write from your characters’ emotions. It’s been my saving grace and has elevated my writing from plot to story. A lot of the time, what I think is writer’s block is actually my characters pushing back because the plot isn’t coming from their needs and wants. And that makes for leaden writing.

Now, when I get stuck, the first thing I do is take a break and look at the situation from inside my character.

• What do they want?
• What do they need?
• What's their knee-jerk reaction to this immediate situation?

Since I started doing that, I haven’t feared the blank page nearly as much.

 

When did you first learn about SCBWI, and what does being a part of that writing group entail?

I am actively involved in branch activities. I was introduced to SCBWI by my friend, who is the regional advisor for Nigeria, and boy, am I glad she did!

A lot of my original book-writing knowledge came from the conferences and The Book, which is SCBWI’s guide to the ins and outs of writing and publishing for children. When I was still trying to figure out how this whole industry worked, those resources were invaluable. And now I get to be involved in the community here in Nigeria, which feels a little full circle.

What advice do you have for writers looking to join the SCBWI community?

Writing can be a lonely endeavour. Having a community like SCBWI can help make the journey a lot less so. I’ve learned so much from being a member, made such good friends, and found what I think will be a forever community.

And as a community builder yourself, what do you see writers needing most from community right now?

To know that our work is seen and our struggles are acknowledged. That we’re not lost in this grand sea of words, but buoyed up by the friends and colleagues we meet along the journey.

 

Why write for kids? What makes you want to write for the young in our world?

Because you’re never more than a hop, skip, or jump away from magic with a child. I can unleash my wildest imaginings, and I know they’ll be along for the ride!

 

You are currently working on a YA story; what themes or ideas are you excited to explore next?

I’ve been working on a young adult manuscript for a while now. More than a decade, actually! It was one of the first stories I ever wanted to write, but I’ve only just gotten to grips with the voices that need to tell it.

It’s one of those stories that has somehow grown more urgent in my mind with time, so I’m very excited to finally be writing it properly. I can’t wait for the day I have a workable finished draft in my hands!

 

You founded the Kid Lit Foundation with a vision for telling and sharing African stories by African writers. Why is this important to you?

There is no dearth of African stories. There’s a gap between the number of stories we have and the number of people with the tools and opportunities to successfully bring them into the world. For a long time, other people have dictated how African stories are told. There’s a reason we’ve had to keep saying, “Africa is not a country!” If you want stories that capture a culture in all its specificity and complexity, then you’re going to need people from within that culture telling them. I’m just trying to get them started young.

 

What advice do you wish you had heard earlier in your writing career?

Don’t be afraid to write stupid.

After the stupid comes the good stuff.

But you’ll never get to the good stuff if you’re too afraid of being seen as stupid. Younger me, if only I could send this note back in time to you!

 

Where will you be next so that my readers can meet you? A conference? Book signing?

I’m leaping out of my writing cocoon and leading workshops wherever I can! You may have seen me at an SCBWI workshop, online or in person, and I’ll be leading a workshop at the Leaf Journal On Writing for Young People conference in November.

I love sharing what I know and talking craft with other writers. I’m based in Nigeria, but the wonderful thing about virtual events is that I get to pop up all over the world, so who knows where I’ll be next!

 

Is there anything else you want to share with us today?

Read on. Write on. Make candles. Or cupboards. Do what you love, and forgive yourself if you aren’t there yet.

You still have time.

It’s been a pleasure. And an honour.

Oh Sope!! It's been my honor and pleasure, too. Thank you for sharing so much of yourself with us. I love your writing advice. I'm going to write from my character's emotions from now on!!!

I'm excited to see where your verse, prose, & white space take you next. I'm so glad we met at VCFA.

Readers, you can support Sope by checking out her picture book debut, Hairstory, visiting her social media pages, the KidLit Foundation, or signing up for one of her amazing workshops.

Links here:

Sope on Instagram

Hairstory

The KidLit Foundation

Sope Martins Author Website

___________________________________

If you would like to be interviewed, reach out at angazur @ gmail - or find me on Instagram.

That's a photo of my hubby and me on a hike in Asheville.

Interview with Evan Griffith - Award Winning Author, Editor, Teacher & Nature Advocate

MG KidLit ALERT!

Evan Griffith

Author, Editor & Teacher

and Nature Advocate

Hello Readers, Writers, Creatives of all sorts,

This next interview matters to me because Evan Griffith is part of my own writing journey. Evan advised me during my third semester in the Writing for Children and Young Adults MFA program at Vermont College of Fine Arts. He was also a co-teacher for the novel-in-verse intensive semester I took---which feels more than fitting now that his debut middle-grade novel-in-verse, NOT A DOG, is coming in 2027!

Evan is an author, editor, teacher, and mentor whose work returns again and again to something I care deeply about too---our connection to the natural world. He wrote the middle-grade novels Manatee Summer & The Strange Wonders of Roots (a favorite of mine), as well as the picture-book biographies Secrets of the Sea & Wild at Heart. 

His books receive star reviews and many honors, including the Green Earth Book Award and the Sigurd F. Olson Nature Writing Award. 

And after working with Evan for a semester, I have one more honor to add: 

The Deep Roots Award - for offering steady support, kindness, and encouragement that helped me find my voice & recognize my own strengths. I am forever grateful. 

In this interview, I talk with Evan about what happens when all those parts of a writing life- author, editor, teacher, mentor, nature-lover- begin talking and sharing with one another. We talked about all these things and what it actually means to build a writing life that lasts. This is especially important to me right now as I finish my fourth and final semester at VCFA!

Welcome to Writing Teazurs---Evan!

You've been an editor, an author, a teacher, and a mentor. How has each of those roles changed the way you read another writer's work? And which role is the hardest for you to turn off when you sit down to write your own stories?

I like to think that my work as a writer—one who receives plenty of rejection and many intensive edits!—helps me connect to the vulnerability of sharing work when I’m wearing my editor or advisor hats. I always want to honor the courage of opening work up for feedback.

It’s a special thing

to be trusted

with someone’s work.

It can definitely be tricky to toggle between these various roles—in particular, it’s hard to quiet the inner editor when I’m drafting my own work. I also draw a distinction between editing and advising. When I’m editing a project—say, for a publishing house—my primary duty of care is to the project itself.

When I’m mentoring a writer—like in the Writing for Children and Young Adults MFA program at Vermont College of Fine Arts—my primary duty of care is to the growth of the writer. It’s more holistic, I think. I certainly want to help mentees shape up specific projects, but I’m more interested in their long-term journey as creatives.

You return again and again to nature throughout your stories. What do you think nature can do in a story that a character cannot?

Nature is a big part of our context! And our main characters’ context, by extension. A character might feel belonging with another character, a friend group, or a family, but there’s a different and perhaps deeper sense of belonging that can come with recognizing our interconnectedness to nature.

I mean… nature is so vast!

It’s the biggest family to belong to.

And on a craft level, the natural world can play just about any role. It can be a setting, of course, but it can also act as a character (or many—think of all the non-human character possibilities) or shape a story’s conflict and plot (it might be the thing at stake, or the thing the character is trying to survive). It can inform a story’s themes, too (I played around with this in my middle-grade novel THE STRANGE WONDERS OF ROOTS).

If I gave you a megaphone and the whole world would listen–what one word or sentence would you yell?

Curiosity!

I’ve become interested in the neuroscience of curiosity in recent years, and I’m trying to cultivate more of it in my own life. I think that intentionally nurturing curiosity can lead to a deeper and more fulfilling relationship with the world around us (and more story ideas!).

You write both prose novels and novels-in-verse. What do you think verse can do that prose cannot? Or maybe can't do in the same way?

Verse gives you more tools to play around with on the page. The placement of text—including spacing, alignment, shape, and white space—can be incredibly evocative and used to amplify feelings and themes.

Verse lends itself to interiority, so it’s a good way to bring readers super close to a character’s mind and heart. I find that verse also allows for stories to slip into vignettes, flashbacks, or internal reflections more naturally than prose, which can open up some fun structural opportunities.

But prose has its strengths, too! Dialogue and longer scenes are two that come to mind. Having now written fully prose novels and a novel entirely in verse, I’d be curious to try a prose/verse hybrid at some point.

After working with so many writers and writing books of your own, what do you believe young readers need from us right now? Not the market, but for the kids themselves?

I think a lot of what kids need from us right now is what kids have always needed from us—honesty in storytelling; authentic representations of what it’s like to be a kid or a teen; stories that spark curiosity and reveal the bigness and wonder of the world; and, even in the darkest stories, a dash of hope (but only if it’s genuine).

I think the experience of reading a story crafted by a human, and feeling that human-to-human connection that transcends time and space through the magic of books, is only going to become more important as we head into an increasingly uncertain future. But I also have to remember that I’m not a kid anymore, so I’m making my best guesses here! Part of the value of school visits is connecting with young readers and hearing what books they’re loving and why.

When you choose to write a new story, what makes you think, "This is worth spending several years of my life on?"

It’s a well-worded question, because any book truly is a multi-year endeavor! I start a lot of projects that I end up setting aside. The ones I see through are usually the ones that maintain my interest over a period of several months. If, as I explore an idea through early scene writing or research, it feels like the idea is blossoming and I’m stepping into a fuller world that I’m eager to explore, that’s a good sign.

I also suspect that the projects that really hook us are the ones that connect somehow to themes that run through our own lives—questions we grapple with, fears we face, dreams we carry. There has to be some personal resonance for me to see something through, even with nonfiction projects.

What are you hoping for in the next stage of your career? What type of writer do you see yourself becoming? What part of the industry will you try next?

Above all, I hope for sustainability and endurance on this journey. I want to keep making and sharing books for a long time, whether I have the good luck to continue doing that through traditional publishing, or whether I end up exploring other outlets. I’d like to explore genre more fully.

As a lover of fantasies and mysteries, it’d be lovely to work in those areas. I also have some growing curiosity about trying my hand at adult fiction sometime. And—as a fan of collaborative storytelling games—I’d love to pursue more collaboration in my writing life. It’d be fun to participate in an anthology, for one thing.

What have you learned about building a writing career that you wish you would've known when you were starting out?

My expectation early on was that an author career would be a steady ramp-up of momentum—that, publication by publication, I’d be moving ever closer to full-time writing and financial survival based on that full-time writing. I placed an enormous amount of pressure on myself as a result… which left me feeling rough when I hit periods where I couldn’t place projects at publishers, or when a book that was published didn’t get much traction. I think the reality is that, for most of us, this path has some serious ebbs and flows, and there are necessarily going to be long periods where things seem to be slowing down.

And a lot of that is outside our control, right? I mean, the industry has its own ebbs and flows! So, I’ve had to figure out how to be adaptive and responsive to these shifts, and to detach my personal sense of success from industry validation. Honestly, I’m still working on this, and learning to have grace with myself along the way.

Do you have any announcements, conferences, or book signings where my readers can meet and support you?

Yes! On December 1, I’ll be teaching an online class through Whale Rock Workshops on how to create and raise a story’s internal stakes. Then I’ll be at the VCFA WCYA residency in January, where I look forward to celebrating an incredible graduating class.

If any of your readers

would like to know more

about our VCFA program,

I’m happy to chat with them.

And in 2027, I have two new books coming out.

First, my middle-grade verse novel NOT A DOG, about a boy dealing with intense anxiety who begs his parents for an emotional support dog… only to be given a skittish kitten instead.

Second, a nonfiction picture book titled SWAMP: THE WONDROUS WORLD OF WETLANDS. This one is being beautifully illustrated by Kenda Binney. It’s a celebration of wetlands through the eyes of a baby alligator.(This is a public service announcement that baby alligators are adorable.)

Anything else you want to share?

My gratitude for the thoughtful questions! Thank you.

If you would like to know more about Evan or reach out to him to discuss VCFA-- click the links below.

Evan's Author Website

Evan on Instagram

This was amazing, Evan! And I have to agree---baby alligators ARE adorable...But I actually held one once, and it made the cutest little sound that scared me half to death!! Cute with sharp teeth.

Note to readers---Evan has four new books heading into the world!! Two in 2027 and two in 2028. I can't wait to see how he keeps growing in themes, genres, and format. Check his website below. Sign up for his newsletter to stay in the know.

And thank you, Evan, for sharing your curiosity, wisdom, and nature-loving spirit with all of us. You will always be an ancient tree to me! I'm so grateful that our writing paths crossed.

Readers, keep watching for Evan's upcoming books, and meanwhile get outside, climb a tree, listen to the wind, go barefoot on moss, and remember---we are all part of this big, wondrous, wild world.

Write~on,

Angie

And if you would like to be interviewed... reach out.

angazur @ gmail

Keep creating!!

This is a photo of a bonsai tree at the Asheville arboretum.