(Photo courtesy Mrs. Goldbeck)
By The Journalism 1 Staff
Young adult author Tiffany Jackson spoke about her upbringing and accomplishments as an author in a virtual visit to Jonathan Law on May 3.
Jackson has written four books: “Grown,” “Allegedly,” “Monday’s Not Coming,” and “Let Me Hear a Rhyme,” and has won the Coretta Scott King Award and the NAACP Image Award. She met with Jonathan Law English and Journalism students via Google Meet during Periods 4, 6, and 8.
Jackson began the conversation with a story about her inspirations and why she decided to be an author. She told a story about playing with letters as a kid and spelling words – her first word was “n-o-s-e” – and that is when she knew she wanted to become a writer.
Her parents, however, were not so sure.
“My family wasn’t totally on board with me being a writer,” Jackson said. “It came from a place of tenderness. I come from an immigrant family – my mother is from Jamaica and my father is from Trinidad – and typically when immigrant families come to this country, they want their children to chase the American dream and become doctors, lawyers, evil scientists, as long as you make money. The idea of being an author is fleeting. It seems so unattainable when you look at it from the outside. It’s like a rap career – they didn’t want me to be a starving artist. But luckily I was able to find that balance and realize that becoming a writer was 100% possible.”
As a teenager, Jackson was inspired by authors like R.L. Stine and Stephen King. She wrote her first book while she was in high school, admittedly mostly during her chemistry classes.
“I was reading R.L. Stine, Stephen King, and everything in between,” Jackson said. “But when I was a kid, I didn’t have stories that I could necessarily truly identify with.”
When she began her own writing career, Jackson noticed a lack of representation of people of color in the novels she read. She vowed to change that, and in all of her novels, the main characters are girls of color.
“I didn’t see books about kids growing up in the city and what it was really like,” Jackson said. “I didn’t see stories that talked about my peers and what they were going through – they were in group homes, they were missing kids, they were dealing with the death of a friend. So I want to write stories not just for my younger self but for everyone, young and old, and to have people be able to see themselves in the pages of my books.”
Early in her writing career, Jackson worked for various television networks and shows. During that time, she decided to move from TV to writing novels full time.
Her first book, “Allegedly” is loosely based on a true story about a nine-year-old girl that allegedly killed a baby under her care. After spending six years in prison, the main character, Mary, discovers she is pregnant and must survive life in a group home.
“Allegedly” was written as a true crime novel, but at the advice of one of Jackson’s friends, it was eventually marketed as young adult fiction.
“I didn’t even know what ‘young adult literature’ was,” Jackson said. “Then when I found out what it was, I thought what I wrote was too dark to be considered ‘young adult literature.’ But I did some research and realized, ‘Maybe this could be young adult literature’ and I started tailoring my books so that the voices of the characters matched that.”
Her next novel, “Monday’s Not Coming,” is also based on a true story of a group of teenage girls of color who go missing and the surprising lack of concern amongst law enforcement and the media to find them.
“Studies have been done that show that when black girls go missing, black communities don’t always have the resources to print thousands of flyers or enough volunteers to help search or the connections to get on Good Morning America,” Jackson said. “One of the reasons I wrote (“Monday’s Not Coming”) is that if you know a child is missing, I hope you would advocate for that child, send a flyer through a group chat, do something on Instagram or Tik Tok or Snapchat or other social media platforms so that you can be part of helping to bring these girls home.”
“Let Me Hear A Rhyme” is a work of historical fiction about two teenagers who promote their friend’s rap music after he is murdered. During the writing of this novel, Jackson met with artists Jay-Z and Beyonce to learn more about life as a musician and the life of rapper The Notorious B.I.G.
“Grown” is also based on a true story about an aspiring black singer names Enchanted Jones who is a suspect in the murder of her music producer.
This year, Jackson has three more novels scheduled to be released – “Blackout,” “Santa In The City,” and “White Smoke.” “Santa In The City” is a children’s book about Christmas.
Jackson’s virtual visit was arranged by Law’s English Department Head Mrs. Goldbeck.
“Prior to COVID, it was an English department priority to have students go to the theater and view plays so they could see live performances of works they’ve read,” Goldbeck said. “Currently we were unable to take students out of the building and I thought about potential experiences that would brighten students’ days. I looked for several authors to come to Law. Ms. Kelly turned me on to Tiffany Jackson after she read ‘Monday’s Not Coming.’ I read that book and ‘Grown’ and thought she would be a great author to talk to our students.”
At the end of her presentation, Jackson answered questions from the students and teachers in attendance. The topics ranged from her writing process, dealing with writer’s block, her motivation to write, advice for young writers, meeting celebrities, and the marketing and promotion that goes into each novel she writes.
“She was very fun and sweet,” sophomore Journalism student Ben Rossi said. “She answered all of our questions and you could tell that she loved every second she was talking with us.”
Goldbeck hopes that students took away an inspirational message.
“My hope for our students is they see writing as a potential, viable career,” Goldbeck said. “I want our students to tell their story if they feel compelled to tell it. Lastly, I want them to see their first career or job may not be their passion and they should pursue what makes them happy. Our kids can achieve their dreams if they work to make it happen.”
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