2024 Debuts (pt. 1): Marketing, Mental Health, and Managing Expectations

Kamilah Cole: Secret Publishing Goals, A Lot of Crying, and Plantains

Hey Afronauts! Our guest today is Indie-bestselling author Kamilah Cole. We had such a fun conversation, discussing everything from an alarmingly strict writing routine as a child, to the metadata she researches for her day job and writing, to plantains.

Thee Afronauts Black Writers Social is January 31, 2024. Kamilah Cole is the inaugral guest of honor, and will be do a reading of SO LET THEM BURN. Also, we'll be giving away a signed copy! If you're a Black writer, DM us (@theeafronauts) on social for an invite link. Our discord community is up and running! DM us for that link as well.

Kamilah Cole is an Indie-bestselling, Jamaican-born, American-raised author. By day she works in publishing and by night she frantically types words she hopes people want to read. In the past, she’s also worked as a journalist and at a hotel, two jobs that give you amazing stories to tell at parties. You know, if she went to parties.

A graduate of New York University, Kamilah is currently based in the Tri-State Area, where she’s usually playing Kingdom Hearts for the hundredth time, quoting early Spongebob Squarepants episodes, or crying her way through Zuko’s redemption arc in Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Self-Advocacy: Pushing Deadlines, Community Support, and an Announcement

In today's pre-chat, Thee Afronauts have some big announcements! We're opening a discord community for Black writers, starting a newsletter, and having our first-ever social! More info below if you're interested.

The meat of today's episode is about self-advocacy. We gave some examples of when we had to advocate for ourselves, discussed turning down opportunities (not easy!), and discussed the importance of community support.

This is the last Afronauts Podcast episode til this fall, but we're focusing on other exciting projects:

• Thee Afronauts Black Writers Social is an 18+ virtual event for Black writers. Attendees must email us at [email protected] for an invite link.

• Follow Thee Afronauts on substack! Our first newsletter will be published later this month.

• Join our Discord community! This is a space for and by Black writers, period. Email us at [email protected] for a link.

2024 Debuts Part 2: Edits, Marketing, and Protecting Your Energy

This is a fun one! Join us for a round table conversation with four 2024 debut authors: Sami Ellis, Ashton Lattimore, Avione Lee, and Rae Giana Rashad. We get into some honest discussion of the highs and lows of debut year, marketing plans, and protecting the integrity of your story through edits.

Support their books here:

DEAD GIRLS WALKING by Sami Ellis: https://store.abramsbooks.com/products/dead-girls-walking

ALL WE WERE PROMISED by Ashton Lattimore: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/722988/all-we-were-promised-by-ashton-lattimore/

MIN AND THE PERILOUS PIPE by Avione Lee: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/76536323-min-and-the-perilous-pipe

THE BLUEPRINT by Rae Giana Rashad: https://www.harpercollins.com/products/the-blueprint-rae-giana-rashad?variant=41059561472034

Kwame Mbalia: Writing, Publishing, and Making More Pie

Catch up with us in our pre chat, then listen as we talk to Kwame Mbalia about writing, publishing, and Freedom Fire Books, an imprint of Disney-Hyperion that will feature stories of black joy and resilience written by black creators.

Kwame is a husband, father, writer, a New York Times bestselling author, a former pharmaceutical metrologist, and a publisher with Freedom Fire Books, an imprint of Disney-Hyperion.

His debut middle-grade novel, TRISTAN STRONG PUNCHES A HOLE IN THE SKY was awarded a Coretta Scott King Author Honor, and it—along with the sequels TRISTAN STRONG DESTROYS THE WORLD and TRISTAN STRONG KEEPS PUNCHING—is published by Rick Riordan Presents/Disney-Hyperion.

He is the co-author of LAST GATE OF THE EMPEROR with Prince Joel Makonnen, from Scholastic Books, and the editor of the #1 New York Times bestselling anthology BLACK BOY JOY, published by Delacorte Press. A Howard University graduate and a Midwesterner now in North Carolina, he survives on Dad jokes and Cheez-Its.

Learn more about Kwame at https://www.kwamembalia.com/.

Follow him on social media @KSekouM on X (formally Twitter) and @mbalia1 on Instagram.

Samantha Fabien: Agent/Author relationships, Professional Taste, and Career Aspirations

We had a wonderful chat with Root Literary's Samantha Fabien about her personal agent taste, how she sets her client's submissions up for success, and her personal agent career goals.

Learn more about Samantha at https://www.rootliterary.com/agents