Liberation Literature: Virginia Hamilton’s Speeches, Essays, and Conversations

A monumental collection by one of America’s greatest authors of children’s literature -- and the launch of a new imprint, ReLIT, that republishes lost classics for a modern readership!

Virginia Hamilton (1936-2002) was not only one of the most magnificent writers who ever lived -- winning honors such as the Newbery Medal, Newbery Honor, National Book Award, and the Coretta Scott King Award for classics like The House of Dies Drear, The People Could Fly, M. C. Higgins the Great, and Her Stories -- she was one of the greatest thinkers we ever had on children’s literature. Born to a family of storytellers, she wove into her books and thoughts a deep concern with memory, tradition, and generational legacy, especially as they helped define the lives of African Americans from the days of slavery onward. Hamilton described her work as ’’liberation literature.’’ This landmark book -- since fallen out of print and now lovingly restored and repackaged in this gorgeous edition -- brings together her essays, speeches, and interviews into one thought-provoking, incisive, inspiring whole.

Presented in a high quality flexibound binding, Liberation Literature also features a foreword by Laura Pegram, founder of Kweli; an introduction by Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop, the ＂mother of＂ multicultural children’s literature; and a full-color frontispiece portrait of Virginia Hamilton, illustrated by Caldecott Medalists Leo & Diane Dillon. It is a must-have for anyone interested in writing, the history of African American representation, children’s literature, and literature overall.

Virginia Hamilton was the author of over 40 books for young people, including The House of Dies Drear, The People Could Fly, M. C. Higgins the Great, Her Stories, and the Planet of Junior Brown. She was the first Black writer to win a Newbery Medal and won many significant other awards including the Newbery Honor, Coretta Scott King Award, National Book Award, Boston Globe / Horn Book Award, Children’s Literature Legacy Award, and Hans Christian Andersen Award. She was the first children’s book author to be awarded a MacArthur Genius Grant, and in 2010 the ALA established the Coretta Scott King-Virginia Hamilton Award in her honor, to recognize an African American author, illustrator, or author/illustrator’s significant and lasting contribution to children’s literature. Hamilton passed away in 2002 at the age of 66.