Stacey Lee On Uncovering Untold Stories

Tochi Onyebuchi on Finding Joy in your Writing Process

Warm welcome, Storytellers!

If you’re looking for a super intimate space where you can meet fellow storytellers and experience what it’s like to be a part of our community, come hang out with us in our private Facebook group at facebook.com/groups/88cupsoftea. We check in with each other on the daily, and have weekly threads where you can update each other about your work-in-progress, along with swapping recommendations for books and tv shows, and there’s a whole lot more that happens in there. Join us at https://www.facebook.com/groups/88cupsoftea/!

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We are thrilled to announce we are beginning the process of building out 88 Cups of Tea’s volunteer positions and would love to hear from you if you’re passionate about 88 Cups of Tea and want to be a part of building out our future. Fill out our application here: https://88cupsoftea.com/volunteer/ 

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Tochi Onyebuchi is the author of Beasts Made of Night, its sequel Crown of Thunder, War Girls, Riot Baby, and its sequel and his newest novel Rebel Sisters. In our conversation, we explore Tochi's writing process, the ways it’s evolved over time, and how he continues to find joy in the process. Tochi shares how to cultivate a specific kind of confidence that enables us to bring our story ideas to life, and how to maintain that confidence to pave way for equity in publishing. Join us for a conversation filled with crafting advice from overcoming your writing fears to plotting intricate threads in your stories and much more.

Please say 'Hi' to Tochi on Twitter! https://twitter.com/tochitruestory

Head over to his shownotes page at : https://88cupsoftea.com/tochi-onyebuchi to download his writing prompt and to find the resources and books mentioned in his episode, tweetable quotes, and the timestamps of highlights throughout the entire conversation. 

Stacey Lee On Uncovering Untold Stories

Warm welcome to our new listeners, let's continue and build upon the momentum surrounding the active work to create a just and equitable system for the black community. Head over to our page of resources of recommended learning: https://88cupsoftea.com/learn/

If you’re looking for a super intimate space where you can meet fellow storytellers and experience what it’s like to be a part of our community, come hang out with us in our private Facebook group at facebook.com/groups/88cupsoftea. We check in with each other on the daily, and have weekly threads where you can update each other about your work-in-progress, along with swapping recommendations for books and tv shows, and there’s a whole lot more that happens in there. Join us at https://www.facebook.com/groups/88cupsoftea/!

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We are thrilled to announce we are beginning the process of building out 88 Cups of Tea’s volunteer positions and would love to hear from you if you’re passionate about 88 Cups of Tea and want to be a part of building out our future. Fill out our application here: https://88cupsoftea.com/volunteer/ 

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Stacey Lee is an award-winning author of historical and contemporary young adult fiction, including Outrun the Moon, Under a Painted Sky, The Secret of a Heart Note, and her most recent novel, The Downstairs Girl. In our conversation, Stacey reflects on how she cultivated her inner confidence as a storyteller at a young age and how it's continued to grow throughout her writing career. She opens up about the invaluable writing strategies she learned as a lawyer that helps her see the importance of every single word on the page and craft authenticity in her characters. Filled with crafting advice on detailed research processes, using metaphors to write strong protagonists, finding critique partners, and more, our conversation will be sure to spark inspiration and joy.

Please say 'Hi' to Stacey on Twitter! https://twitter.com/staceyleeauthor

Head over to her shownotes page at https://88cupsoftea.com/stacey-lee to find the resources and books mentioned in her episode, tweetable quotes, and the timestamps of highlights throughout the entire conversation. 

Kat Cho on Writing as a Source of Solace and Joy

Warm welcome to our new listeners, let's continue and build upon the momentum surrounding the active work to create a just and equitable system for the black community. Head over to our page of resources of recommended learning: https://88cupsoftea.com/learn/

If you’re looking for a super intimate space where you can meet fellow storytellers and experience what it’s like to be a part of our community, come hang out with us in our private Facebook group at facebook.com/groups/88cupsoftea. We check in with each other on the daily, and have weekly threads where you can update each other about your work-in-progress, along with swapping recommendations for books and tv shows, and there’s a whole lot more that happens in there. Join us at https://www.facebook.com/groups/88cupsoftea/!

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We are thrilled to announce we are beginning the process of building out 88 Cups of Tea’s volunteer positions and would love to hear from you if you’re passionate about 88 Cups of Tea and want to be a part of building out our future. Fill out our application here: https://88cupsoftea.com/volunteer/ 

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Kat Cho is the international bestselling author of Wicked Fox and Vicious Spirits and the co-host of the Write or Die Podcast. In our conversation, we reflect on our experiences navigating the pandemic as a human, a creative, and an author. Kat shines a light on the act of writing as a transformative source of solace and joy in the most challenging of times as we discuss her journey moving through grief, and fleshing out her stories that emerged from the rawest heartbreak that evolved into the most powerful form of hope. In a conversation lined with transparency and vulnerability, Kat shares wisdom on the human experience beyond her years. 

Please say 'Hi' to Kat on Twitter! https://twitter.com/KatCho 

Head over to her shownotes page at https://88cupsoftea.com/kat-cho to find the resources and books mentioned in her episode, tweetable quotes, and the timestamps of highlights throughout the entire conversation. 

Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam In Conversation With Lelina Chang

Warm welcome to our new listeners, you can follow us on Instagram @88CUPSOFTEA to keep up with our latest posts and Instagram stories where we announce new episodes and essays, feature our favorite quotes, and host Instagram Story takeovers by some of your favorite authors. And join our private Facebook group to experience the warmth and encouragement of our community first-hand! 

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In this special edition 88 Cups of Tea podcast episode, we feature National Book Award Finalist Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam of The Exonerated Five in conversation with 88 Cups of Tea guest-host Lelina Chang, an advocate whose work is focused on the intersection of racial equity and environmental justice.

In 1989, Dr. Yusef Salaam was just fifteen years old when he was tried and convicted in the “Central Park Jogger Case” along with four other Black and Latino boys. The Exonerated Five spent between seven to 13 years behind bars, until their sentences were overturned in 2002. Since then, they received a multi-million-dollar settlement from the City of New York for its injustice and were profiled in award-winning films, including The Central Park Five documentary from Ken Burns, Sarah Burns, and David McMahon and the award-winning Netflix limited series When They See Us, written and directed by Ava DuVernay.

In our podcast episode, Lelina interviews Yusef and Ibi about their newest co-authored novel in verse Punching the Air and how the book came to fruition. Yusef talks about the power of self-purpose and hope and how his spiritual journey was mirrored through the main character Amal while Ibi shares how she embraced and holistically weaved Yusef‘s stories and philosophies to craft a story told from a young Muslim, Black boy’s point of view. Further in, they break down and analyze two influential poems in the novel that speak to Yusef’s experience being boxed in with his thoughts and his own devices in his jail cell, and the power DNA has to tie individuals to the collective injustices of the past. Ibi shares how crafting her poems in different shapes and forms helps bring to life the meaning of the poems on the page. And later, they discuss what it means to bring about diversity with diversity and the crucial work that still needs to be done to create a holistic representation of communities of color in the literary world.

Please say 'Hi' to Yusef Salaam on Twitter! https://twitter.com/dr_yusefsalaam

Please say 'Hi' to Ibi Zoboi on Twitter! https://twitter.com/ibizoboi

Head over to their shownotes page at https://88cupsoftea.com/yusef-and-ibi/ to find the resources and books mentioned in their episode, tweetable quotes, and the timestamps of highlights throughout the entire conversation. 

Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam In Conversation With Lelina Chang

Warm welcome to our new listeners, you can follow us on Instagram @88CUPSOFTEA to keep up with our latest posts and Instagram stories where we announce new episodes and essays, feature our favorite quotes, and host Instagram Story takeovers by some of your favorite authors. And join our private Facebook group to experience the warmth and encouragement of our community first-hand! 

---------------------------------------

In this special edition 88 Cups of Tea podcast episode, we feature National Book Award Finalist Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam of The Exonerated Five in conversation with 88 Cups of Tea guest-host Lelina Chang, an advocate whose work is focused on the intersection of racial equity and environmental justice.

In 1989, Dr. Yusef Salaam was just fifteen years old when he was tried and convicted in the “Central Park Jogger Case” along with four other Black and Latino boys. The Exonerated Five spent between seven to 13 years behind bars, until their sentences were overturned in 2002. Since then, they received a multi-million-dollar settlement from the City of New York for its injustice and were profiled in award-winning films, including The Central Park Five documentary from Ken Burns, Sarah Burns, and David McMahon and the award-winning Netflix limited series When They See Us, written and directed by Ava DuVernay.

In our podcast episode, Lelina interviews Yusef and Ibi about their newest co-authored novel in verse Punching the Air and how the book came to fruition. Yusef talks about the power of self-purpose and hope and how his spiritual journey was mirrored through the main character Amal while Ibi shares how she embraced and holistically weaved Yusef‘s stories and philosophies to craft a story told from a young Muslim, Black boy’s point of view. Further in, they break down and analyze two influential poems in the novel that speak to Yusef’s experience being boxed in with his thoughts and his own devices in his jail cell, and the power DNA has to tie individuals to the collective injustices of the past. Ibi shares how crafting her poems in different shapes and forms helps bring to life the meaning of the poems on the page. And later, they discuss what it means to bring about diversity with diversity and the crucial work that still needs to be done to create a holistic representation of communities of color in the literary world.

Please say 'Hi' to Yusef Salaam on Twitter! https://twitter.com/dr_yusefsalaam

Please say 'Hi' to Ibi Zoboi on Twitter! https://twitter.com/ibizoboi

Head over to their shownotes page at https://88cupsoftea.com/yusef-and-ibi/ to find the resources and books mentioned in their episode, tweetable quotes, and the timestamps of highlights throughout the entire conversation.