“You don’t get special points or any kind of pass for saying, ‘Oh, I’m against systemic racism.’ Okay, what are you going to do about it?” –Calvin Baker

“This woman felt defeated, felt she was given no choice in life. Ultimately the US provides this new chapter for her to find herself, to actually take charge of her destiny.” — Nicole Denis-Benn

“That’s what I love about the graphic novel process, everyone gets to have their voice heard as much as anyone else.” — Roxane Gay

“It’s a particular kind of irony to be trapped in this place that is so beautiful and comfortable that ultimately becomes a place of imprisonment.” — Rumaan Alam

Amanda finds out which books Neil Gaiman and Team Bookable are giving to family and friends this holiday season!

“The tension comes from the various moments in their lives when they both want or need more from one another than the other is capable of giving.” — Lynn Steger Strong

“Seeing characters struggle with their place in this country as part of the existential circumstance of their lives becomes a political statement” — Ayad Akhtar

“Fiction can restore the real horror of our economic systems and expose our complicity. It’s not an exaggeration to say that we’re siphoning off the dreams of children or the horizon light of a generation.” — Karen Russell

“This is a transformative genre. Who you are going into it is not who you are going to be on the other side.” — Saeed Jones