I’ve also written some nonfiction works for young adults, intended for school libraries. One book, Collapse! The Science of Structural Engineering Failures, is out of print now. What a project, though–I learned so much!
In 2016, I published LGBTQ+ Athletes Claim the Field: Striving for Equality, with Twenty-First Century Books/Lerner. This book holds a really special place in my heart, because the introduction is written by Alex Jackson Nelson, the man who helped me understand Gabe to make him believable (Alex also helped me with Transgender Lives: Complex Stories, Complex Voices, another nonfiction book I published in 2014). It’s a shame this book can’t be updated every year—there are so many fantastic stories of LGBTQ+ athletes, and more are emerging every day.
LGBTQ+ Athletes Claim the Field was a Junior Library Guild selection, a 2017 American Library Association Rainbow List selection, a 2017 Best Children’s Books of the Year selection from Bank Street College, and a 2017 Minnesota Book Award finalist for Young Adult Literature.
In April 2022, I published this title, again with Lerner.
If you’d like to read more about why I wrote the book, you can look here. The destruction of Roe v. Wade overshadowed the fiftieth anniversary of Title IX–you CANNOT tell me it was an accident the decision to rescind Roe was announced the day after the 50th anniversary–so book promotion went out the window, because nobody cared anymore. : ( I’m still glad the book is making its way into school libraries, even if it didn’t make a splash. Women have fought hard to gain ground in sports, but there’s still a long, long way to go. If you’d like to read it, the Kirkus review is here.
A pull quote from the Children’s Literature Comprehensive database review (Sept ’22): “All in all, a helpful tool for understanding the history of the Title IX law and its impact on sports communities.” From the Booklist review (May ’22): “A thought-provoking look at women’s history and its ongoing debates.”
I like writing nonfiction books because it keeps me close to my students–my Lerner books help me identify with their pain as they write long projects (they don’t believe, but it does!). But it also satisfies my desire to dig into subjects that are important. I know these titles aren’t as glamorous as fiction, but they still bring me deep satisfaction.
This photo just arrived from a high school bestie who runs a high school library, who lives where I grew up in Nebraska. She opened her box and texted me this photo–it made my day!
When books go out and do things in the world–that’s what I love.