A Quick Chat with Brooklyn's Own Tiffany D. Jackson

If you were to scour the twitter account of best-selling YA author Tiffany D. Jackson (Grown), you’d surely come across a few readers who adamantly cuss her out for ripping through their emotions with her characters and plot twists (see: Allegedly and Monday’s Not Coming, especially). You’d also notice that she revels in the reactions. But more than that, you’d notice that, since her first novel debuted (and even before), Jackson has been a champion, advocate, and vocal supporter of Black stories and their right to be heard.

I met her about a decade ago in a writing workshop she was running out of the now-closed Brownstone Books in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn. She was a child of the Borough, same as me, having grown up on State Street before it became a tony address. She loved (loves!) books, the horror genre, was (is!) deeply invested in storytelling—on screen or on the page—and had (has!) the chutzpah and work-ethic to back up her talent, plus the quick-witted Caribbean attitude that I love to find in kindred spirits.

COVID restrictions have forced us to rely on texts messages and social media to stay in touch, but on the tails of the release of her latest book, The Awakening of Malcolm X, written with Ilyasah Shabazz, I invaded her inbox for a quick Q&A-slash-check-in with one of my favorite literary people.

You recently posted the 1.2 trillion projects you have coming out this year: Blackout, White Smoke, and Santa in the City. Are these all products of the COVID quarantine?

TIFFANY D. JACKSON: I wish! Publishing is notoriously the "hurry up and wait" game. Some of those projects are three years in the making. But I did have to tie up a lot of loose ends and write during the pandemic, which was incredibly stressful and challenging. You'd think I would've been more productive, being stuck at home. Fear of the unknown was my biggest enemy.

So far, your novels have put Black girls in the forefront of readers' minds, tackling subject matter that may be swept under the rug or overlooked. Do you feel a responsibility to tell these stories? What has been the response from the YA community?

TDJ: I don't necessarily feel responsible for telling these stories but it's an honor to do it and I don't take it lightly. In fact, it wasn't until my third book (Let Me Hear a Rhyme) that I realized I'd been writing stories for my younger self all along, wishing I had these type of books to eat through as a teen.

As for the YA community, in the beginning, the response was mixed. The children's lit world had just started to increase the number of books published by POCs and I was a new kid doing something new. But the only people's opinions I concern myself with are those of the kids I write for.  

Everyone in my house was like “OH SNAP WE KNOW HER!” when we heard about the Malcolm X book. How did that project come about? And did you just die at the opportunity to tell his story and work with his daughter?

TDJ: When I was first approached about this project, I thought they had the wrong person, or it was some type of prank. I never thought I would be considered for such a high honor—writing about one of the most iconic civil rights leaders of our time. Ilyasah Shabazz and I worked in tandem for several months hammering out the outline and plot. I combed through online resources and spent hours at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture transcribing all the letters he received from family members and the Nation of Islam. I also read some of the books he did while in prison, to put myself in his shoes.

How have you been able to create and maintain during quarantine? And more importantly, how have you been able to create and maintain during the previous administration?

TDJ: I don't know a writer alive whose quality of work wasn't affected by the energy of 2020. This is the first time in my adult life that I experienced REAL writer's block; I didn't know what that felt like prior. Thus, every project was slow, straining, and draining. But I've given myself grace through these unprecedented times, allowing myself to take frequent breaks, eat cookies, binge Netflix, take naps, or listen to books on Libby, which are all ways of refilling my creative well. 

A while back you blogged about getting up at 5 am to write. Are you still an early morning writer? What's your current writing schedule?

TDJ: Well... I'm no longer apart of the #5amwritersclub. Now that being an author is my full-time job, I've pushed that time back to 10 am, spending my early mornings brainstorming from my bed or on social media.

My current process consists of hitting my word count or chapters that day to make deadlines, using the SCRIVNER writing program, and sticking to hard dates in my editorial calendar. But if I'm honest, I kind of miss the quiet and solitude of 5 am. That's when the best creative juices get flowing. I encouraging anyone starting out to try that magical hour of thinking. 

You came from a film/TV production background--any plans to pivot back into that world as another means for storytelling? When can we see Allegedly or Monday's Not Coming, or Grown, on the big or little screen? 

TDJ: Some of my projects are optioned (can't say which yet) so I'm excited to return to that familiarity. Even after all these books, I still feel like I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing in publishing. LOL! 

Jackson may not know what she’s doing in this industry, but her fans and colleagues do. She recently had the opportunity to host a virtual conversation with one of her literary heroes, R.L. Stine, and an op-ed she wrote for Cosmopolitan in 2020 was featured during a March Girl Chat segment of the talk show The Real. Trust me, she belongs here!

Find all of Jackson’s books in our catalog or at your local bookstore.

Tiffany D. Jackson is The New York Times Bestselling author of YA novels including the Coretta Scott King — John Steptoe New Talent Award-winning Monday’s Not Coming, the NAACP Image Award-nominated Allegedly, Let Me Hear A Rhyme, GROWN, and her forthcoming 2021 titles BLACKOUT, WHITE SMOKE, and SANTA IN THE CITY. She received her Bachelor of Arts in film from Howard University, her Master of Arts in media studies from the New School and has over a decade in TV/film experience. The Brooklyn native is a lover of naps, cookie dough, and beaches, currently residing in the borough she loves, most likely multitasking.