Alice Walker writes, “To acknowledge our ancestors means we are aware that we did not make ourselves.” I often refer to my mother, grandmother, and ancestors as people who survived the unsurvivable. This makes my existence a miraculous one. Every child of a diaspora, every marginalized person has survived a global project which intended to kill them. I want people to remember that they are not, and have never been, alone. Everyone who knows me knows I talk to my ancestors all the time. I see and feel them everywhere because I remember to look for them, and in so doing, I remember myself.

The “Writing and Illustrating Picture Books” roundtable, moderated by Cheryl Willis Hudson of Just Us Books, provided a fun and insightful look into the creative process behind picture books. Joanna Cardenas from Viking / Penguin Random House detailed the publishing process for writers and illustrators, revealing that oftentimes the two parties do not have direct communication but collaborate through the book’s editor. This helps preserve the creative license of the illustrator without the writer controlling the process.