Quick Summary
"Where We Come From" was chosen for the 13th iteration of Minnesota’s state-wide book club, One Book | One Minnesota. This title presents a picture-book collaboration in which four authors explore where they each come from, literally and metaphorically. Shannon Gibney is one of four co-authors. Shannon is an award-winning author of novels, anthologies, essays, and picture books for readers of all ages, known for amplifying overlooked voices and telling powerful, often untold stories that confront difficult truths.
What was the most rewarding part of writing this book?
I think the challenge of writing something powerful and important that really hadn't been said before in this way, in this genre (children's picture book) was my favorite part. Having to squeeze everything into 850 words between four writers was really compelling to me, and I learned so much in the process. With constraints come development and creativity.
What were some of the challenges you encountered while writing, and how did you overcome them?
I like to have a general idea of where I'm going with a manuscript, and at least early on I had to abandon that, and surrender myself to the process. However this book was going to unfold with my talented and knowledgable co-authors would take months to discover through the pandemic, meeting weekly over Zoom, and working independently on our sections otherwise. As the draft started to take shape, I became really excited and proud of what we were doing: Four writers from very different racial and cultural backgrounds, exploring the truth of personal, ancestral, and cosmic origins.
What do you hope readers take away from your book, and what impact do you envision it having in your community?
Whatever I write, whether it's an adult literary memoir, YA fiction, or children's picture book, my first and greatest wish is that people feel less alone after reading it. Especially if they come from historically marginalized communities that haven't really been represented on the page for the most part, I want them to see that their stories and identities are valuable and important, and that others needs to hear them too, in order to gain a fuller picture of what it means to be human.
What book are you currently reading?
I'm just finishing up "Chain-Gang All-Stars", by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah. It's a brutal, visceral novel, about a prison gladiator entertainment television show in a world disturbingly close to our own, and the two queer Black women and their allies who disrupt it. I'm reading it with my Contemporary African American Lit students at Minneapolis College, so it's fun and disturbing to analyze it with them in terms of our carceral system.
Read the Book
"Where We Come From" will be available from March 10 through May 5, via Ebooks Minnesota. Ebooks Minnesota's unlimited simultaneous use model makes it perfect for book clubs!
