6 popular Black authors co-write teen romance ‘Whiteout’ | Books and Literature News,The Indian Express
In 2021, the six authors teamed up on “Blackout,” a romance about Black teens during a power outage in New York. The Obamas' Higher Ground production company is adapting the book into a Netflix series.
Opinions differ over her personal style:
“A tiny tyrant,” jokes novelist Tiffany D. Jackson, whose books include “Monday’s Not Coming” and “Let Me Hear a Rhyme.”
“A little pushy,” says Ashley Woodfolk, author of “When You Were Everything” and “The Beauty That Remains” among others.
Or, as Clayton likes to describe herself, “the ringmaster,” “the center of the circus,” practitioner of the art of “tender leadership.” “They say I bullied them into this. But I have leadership skills, and I was persuasive,” she says.
Clayton thought of a group narrative after seeing the 2019 romantic comedy “Let It Snow” and wanted to create a story centered on the lives, and loves, of Black teens. She brought in not just Woodfolk and Jackson, who agreed despite having a background in thriller writing, but fellow bestsellers Nicola Yoon (“Everything Everything”), Nic Stone (“Dear Martin”) and Angie Thomas, whose “The Hate U Give” is among the most talked about young adult books of recent years.
Rating: 5