Literary Birthday – 20 September – Angie Thomas

Happy Birthday, Angie Thomas, born on 20 September 1988.

Angie Thomas Quotes

1. I look at books as being a form of activism. Sometimes they’ll show us a side of the world that we might not have known about.
2. I wrote a book, rewrote it, queried it to literary agents, rewrote it again, and queried it. Then I wrote another book (The Hate U Give) and reached out to an agency on Twitter during a Q&A to see if it was something agents may be interested in. An agent responded and said yes, and asked to see it.
3. The key is to write, write, write, and be prepared to re-write, re-write, re-write. Also, read, read, read, especially books that are in the same category and genre as yours.
4. Find good critique partners and beta readers—they can help you see things that you may not notice in your manuscript. When you’re ready to query literary agents, read the Query Shark Blog in its entirety and then write a letter.
5. The biggest key, though, is to never give up. Ne-ver. I don’t care how many rejections you get (and believe me, there will be a lot of them). Keep writing, keep querying.
6. Books and film adaptations are like fraternal twins—they’re being raised by two different parents. The book versions are raised by my publisher, and the film version is raised by the movie studio. They parent different, their kids are different and will even look different, but they still share genetics. As the author, I’m like the grandparent rooting for both kids. I don’t make decisions, but I do advise.
7. Write fearlessly. Write what is true and real to you.

Source for quotes: FAQ

Angie Thomas is an award-winning American author of young adult fiction. She is an inaugural winner of the Walter Dean Myers Grant awarded by We Need Diverse Books. Thomas’s novels explore racism, police violence, inequality, identity, and activism, while giving young Black characters the opportunity to challenge injustice and find their voices. Her award-winning, acclaimed debut young adult novel, The Hate U Give, is a #1 New York Times bestseller and major motion picture. Her second novel, On the Come Up, is a #1 New York Times bestseller as well, and Paramount’s film adaptation was directed by Sanaa Lathan, with Angie acting as a producer. In 2020, Angie released Find Your Voice: A Guided Journal to Writing Your Truth to help aspiring writers tell their stories, and in 2021, Angie returned to the top of the New York Times bestseller list with Concrete Rose, a prequel to The Hate U Give. Her middle-grade series, Nic Blake and the Remarkables, is Angie’s first foray into the fantasy genre. Follow her on Instagram and Facebook.

Source for photograph: Author’s Press Kit

by Amanda Patterson
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