“Writing and storytelling is such a powerful tool for building confidence in young people,” novelist Mariama J. Lockington tells So Booking Cool in part two of our conversation. This statement arrives when we ask the “For Black Girls Like Me” author about the story behind her passion for leading youth. Lockington, who noted in part one that her work with middle schoolers contributed to the dialogue for her book, says young people are resilient, brave, and unfiltered.
Essentially, the education consultant believes adolescents need writing and reading as much as writing and reading need them. She mentions the mentality she encourages youth to employ. “You don’t like the books that you’re reading right now, well, what would you like to read? What types of stories would get you excited?” The idea is not just for youth to fall in love with reading and stories, but for them to become storytellers.
Check out part two to learn more about Lockington, including her favorite way to add a new word to her vocabulary, her experience in publishing as a debut author, the challenges she overcame when writing Like Me, some of her favorite debut novelists right now, what she hopes her book will mean for black girlhood, and her playlist/soundtrack for Like Me and more! For more information, visit Lockington’s official website.