During the 2024, New York City Comic Con, I attended a panel discussion called “Writing for Change where writers speak about how and why did they get started writing in their niches. The authors were:

Louis Hancox, he writes about trans-teens, self-discovery and wanted to be a resource for anyone going through something like he went through. He grew up as a trans-teen during the 2000s in the Northern United Kingdom with limited resources.

Sacha Lam writes fairy tales centered around 20th-century queer and Jewish immigrants. She shared that as the Jewish population dwindled and the rising issues of immigration and border control came up, she was inspired to write to show these perspectives.

David Walker writes comic books, graphic novels and novels, and is known for writing for the DC Universe. His latest graphic novel, Big Jim and the White Boy is a retelling of Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

Tonya Bolden has written 50 young adult books but has just recently published her first non-fiction graphic novel on black lives in the sciences. She wanted to let young readers know about the vast possibilities in professions that ranged from black paleontologists to ornithologists to physicians. “There is a power in the past.”

When it came to why they started writing, Louis explained that he wrote the book he needed as a teen but that there is still a lack of representation.

Sacha shared that her new book is about banned books because many times, in Jewish history, their books have been banned in the past and her books also have been banned in certain places. She was inspired and wanted to write about that experience.

David noticed that what was out there was not of the people of color he knew. “As I got older, I created what I did not see was being written but I also wanted to destroy also what is out there.” Hence his inspiration to write Big Jim, from the perspective of the black boy in the famous story.

An audience member asked what they do when they see people who do not share their views and still stick with their racism or misogyny or homophobia. They all admit it is difficult but Tonya came with the best advice, “Start with love and empathy, instead of coming from a place of conforming someone.”

David agreed that it is not easy but you would be surprised,

“Many readers were not who I thought was my target audience. One person at a time…you never know who will read and connect with your book.” 

Another question was how do the writers balance diversity without falling into the stereotypes.

Louis shared that he felt so much pressure to perfect his writing because there are so few on transpeople but then, he got over it and just wrote what he knew and knew what he would have needed. When he went to his hometown for a book signing, he saw the line of teenagers and families. He saw that he did accomplish what he was set out to do and that was a great feeling.

David shared advice that he uses: to ask people you respect to see if you are meeting the stereotypes for no reason.  He shared himself as an example: he is a black man who loves watermelon and is not afraid to eat it in public but is also a college professor. The stereotypes fits that black people love watermelon but if the scene also calls for an educated discussion, he is fit to be there too because he has the credentials as well.

As the audience laughs and agrees, Tonya quickly points out that watermelon was historically, a Southern tradition, regardless of color, pointing out the importance of the history of information.

These writers came from different backgrounds and different reasons and experiences that led to their books. They do have what was in common: they filled a gap that wasn’t there before, giving a chance to help others see from another’s point of view. It was a great panel discussion and I leave you with this quote from Toni Morrison:

“If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.”

TOni morrison