Just Us Books and Crown Books for Young Readers Team Up for Their Second Project: The Talk

-Award-winning Kidlit Creators Including Derrick Barnes, Adam Gidwitz, Rudy Gutierrez, Grace Lin, Meg Medina, Traci Sorell, and Renée Watson, Tackle Tough Social Issues in Middle Grade Anthology-

Wade Hudson, Cheryl Willis Hudson, Torrey Maldonado, Phoebe Yeh,
Tracey Baptiste and Adam Gidwitz at a November 2019 presentation of The Talk

Just Us Books is partnering with Crown Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, on a middle grade book called The Talk: Conversations About Race, Love & Truth. Edited by Wade Hudson and Cheryl Willis Hudson of Just Us Books and acquired by Phoebe Yeh of Crown, The Talk is an illustrated anthology featuring 30 award-winning authors and artists who offer frank and honest stories, essays, and poems about race, class, heritage, privilege, and other important issues.

The Talk is the highly anticipated follow up to the publishers’ 2018 collaboration: We Rise, We Resist, We Raise Our Voices, which was named a 2019 Jane Addams Honor Book. The Talk is scheduled for release on September 29, 2020.

“We created The Talk to stimulate conversations that will help children as they are learning more about who they are and navigating their way in the world,” says Wade Hudson, co-editor of The Talk and CEO of Just Us Books. “Our contributors provide honest perspectives about important issues such as bullying, prejudice, and privilege. These are issues that young people face earlier and earlier; issues that both they and adults must address head on as we work to become more culturally and socially aware.”

When considering the project VP & Publisher Phoebe Yeh says, “The Talk offers so many entry points to talking about race, affirming our children’s experiences, and increasing empathy among all children. Crown Books for Young Readers is proud to partner with Wade Hudson and Cheryl Willis Hudson and their contributors by publishing this important, much needed book.”

The Talk features a diverse team of authors and illustrators: Selina Alko, Tracey Baptiste, Derrick Barnes, Natacha Bustos, Cozbi A. Cabrera, Raúl Colón, Adam Gidwitz, Nikki Grimes, Rudy Gutierrez, April Harrison, Wade Hudson, Gordon C. James, Minh Lê, E.B. Lewis, Grace Lin, Torrey Maldonado, Meg Medina, Christopher Myers, Daniel Nayeri, Zeke Peña, Peter H. Reynolds, Erin K. Robinson, Traci Sorell, Shadra Strickland, Don Tate, MaryBeth Timothy, Duncan Tonatiuh, Renée Watson, Valerie Wilson Wesley, and Sharon Dennis Wyeth.