I woke at 4am today–again. It’s supposed to hit 107 degrees here in Chicago so I got out for a run at 7am and now it’s not even 10am and I feel like I’ve done all I want to do for the day! I was also up early on Friday but then my 8:30am flight was delayed three hours so I got into DC later than expected. Shadra and I had arranged to attend the NBF author dinner together but she was tired after the first week of classes and I was weary, too…so I skipped the dinner and went to the National Portrait Gallery instead, which was amazing. Having my portrait painted has been on my bucket list for a while and I find the many different styles of portraiture fascinating—especially this quilted portrait of Octavia Butler by Bisa Butler (no relation). I’ve always been dazzled by Mickalene Thomas’s portraits of Black women, which glitter with Swarovski crystals. I try to take new head shots every year and there are only four months left in 2024…portraits seems to combine how you see yourself with how you want the world to see you. But what if being your authentic self means you don’t “look good?” The UK royals have had some appalling portraits done in the past few years, but not all portraits are meant to be displayed in public. If I was going to be the only one looking at my portrait, how honest would I need it to be?

Saturday was a whirl but my amazing author escort Andrea made everything easy—she got me to every session on time despite the crowds, and captured everything including my unexpected encounter with Carla Hayden, 14th Librarian of Congress! Story time was a little intense because the kids ranged from 2-12 and the carpet with beanbags was set in the middle of the bustling exhibit hall. I felt like I was shouting and asked to be moved closer to the kids but ultimately think it went okay. I never know how A Place Inside of Me is going to be received; with two unsuccessful challenges fresh in my memory, I try to be upfront about the content to avoid any potential unpleasantness…but several parents thanked me for my reading and copies were given away afterwards. We’re out here sowing seeds…

Before story time I sat down with a Library of Congress staffer and answered questions about the impact their collections have had on my writing. I got to gush about the amazing black and white photographs of Aldine Square that I found online—including blueprints of the row houses. I gave Ms. Hayden the short version of that story along with a copy of The Oracle’s Door. I gave another to my escort, which left 8 for the festival attendees. Folks seemed excited about the prequel, so that’s encouraging! Now if only I could get past these last few hurdles and get the paperback, ebook, and hardcover DONE…

There was a line of eager readers waiting to attend our afternoon session. Almost all of them were there to see JC Cervantes, I think, but I still appreciated the chance to be in conversation about mining our cultures for magic. Our moderator Ashleigh asked some really rich questions, which made that one of the best festival sessions I’ve ever done! I grumble about how Random House never sends me anywhere to promote the dragon series but I really was grateful to have been sent to DC. I love the city, the mix of Black people, the abundance of art…but I can’t afford the coast any more. My friend Deborah was born in DC and has lived there her entire life; she admits that the relatively recent spike in rents/home prices makes DC less accessible than before. But where there’s a will, there’s a way…