Former US Ambassador for Young People’s Literature and author of books for children, adults, and adolescents, Jacqueline Woodson will be in Jamaica from May 1 to 5 where she will join the Book Industry Association of Jamaica (BIAJ) and the US-based GrassROOTS Community Foundation during a special week of activities in their continued efforts to bring more diverse books to children and young people in Jamaica.

On May 2, in particular, Woodson will do a special read and meet session with students from schools across the corporate area. Additionally, that afternoon, she will do a pop-up signing at the Kingston Bookshop’s Liguanea store from 2:30 to 3:30pm. The books being signed are: ‘The Day You Begin’, ‘Before the Ever After’, and ‘The Year We Learned to Fly’.

Speaking with Our Today Latoya West-Blackwood, director of special projects at the BIAJ said, “We believe that these [book] titles hold special value in the potential to resonate with young audiences who need hope, inspiration, and practical emotional tools to handle challenging situations.”

Their week of activities will also include a celebration of educators on May 3 where they will visit the Bustmante High School in Clarendon, and a special author and community event on May 4.

Since 2018, The BIAJ and GrassROOTS Community Foundation have been in collaboration as champions for literacy improvement in Jamaica. This year, they will focus specifically on the power of libraries and supporting related projects to help young people and their communities increase access to literature.

Woodson is best known for her National Book Award-Winning memoir, ‘Brown Girl Dreaming’, and her Newbery honour-winning titles ‘After Tupac’ and ‘D Foster, Feathers’, and ‘Show Way’. Her picture books ‘The Day You Begin’ and ‘The Year We Learned to Fly’ were New York Times bestsellers.

After serving as the Young People’s Poet Laureate in the US from 2015 to 2017, she was named the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature by the Library of Congress for 2018–19. Woodson was awarded the Hans Christian Andersen Medal in 2020. Later that same year, she was named a MacArthur Fellow.

Focus on libraries

The GrassROOTS Community Foundation says that libraries play an essential role in our liberty by providing free safe and inclusive spaces to learn, connect and gather.

“[Libraries] maintain history and facilitate access to learning. [They] are equitable spaces, for regardless of age, income, and other identities, all are welcomed. Additionally, they are often the only space where there is open access to the internet,” says the GrassROOTS Foundation in a statement on their website.

The organisation adds that “according to the Jamaica Library Service (JLS), there are 124 public libraries and 333 mobile libraries among the parishes of Jamaica”.

They stress that libraries often do not receive the resources they need. This is usually evident where books are outdated and are sometimes too few for the growing youth population.

With that realisation, they are collecting 2,000 books for young readers. This year the parishes of St. Mary and Manchester will be the beneficiaries, where literacy initiative ‘Di Cawna’ plans to establish libraries. GrassROOTS says that they will also donate books and other resources to 10 school libraries in five economically disadvantaged areas within these parishes.

Fundraising efforts

GrassROOTS Foundation has indicated that they are on a mission to raise funds dedicated to the year-round literary efforts coordinated by the BIAJ as well as to local libraries in St. Mary and Manchester. Their

Connect with BIAJ on Instagram @bookindustryja and connect with GrassROOTS Foundation via their website grassrootscommunityfoundation.org.

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