COLUMN | Young Seattle Authors Find Their Voices Through the Storybook Project

If given the chance, would young people in our community like to become published authors? What stories can children read that will help them feel like they belong? Is seven weeks enough time to write a children's book?

These were just a few questions posed by the staff of Allies in Healthier Systems for Health and Abundance in Youth (AHSHAY) before they launched the Storybook Project.

What began with a pilot program with two cohorts of young authors from the Academy for Creating Excellence (ACE) and the Greater Seattle Business Association (GSBA) will culminate in a 20-book launch and celebration for the youth and their families on June 23 at the Northwest African American Museum. 

Through AHSHAY, with support from Young Authors Publishing, 20 local youth ages 16 to 26 have successfully penned children's books. The stories are currently in the process of being illustrated by professional artists and will be published through World Reader, a digital platform for books with worldwide reach.

Nace Hailey, 17, a member of the cohort based at ACE, always knew that he was a great writer but chose to participate in the project to sharpen his skills. 

"The most challenging part for me was tapping into that creativity. Eventually, I did get to that, and I did absolutely thrive," said Hailey. "But in the beginning, I was nervous. It was difficult to come up with the draft of what I wanted my book to look like, and coming up with new ideas, you know?"

Hailey's book is titled A Hero's Journey.

Dr. Benjamin Danielson, the director of AHSHAY, said he thinks the beauty of the Storybook Project is that it shines a light on youth who are already on a path toward feeling "less than" and instead making them feel "embraced."

"Some of the harm that has been built in there to those lives — sometimes very early on, in my sense — being trans, being a young Black male that society is starting to see as somehow at risk for criminalized activities, you know, all of those tropes that get thrown at them," Danielson said.

AHSHAY is a subsidiary of the South End-based Tubman Center for Health and Freedom, an innovative clinic that supports holistic health care in historically marginalized communities.

"We started AHSHAY with this prospect of trying to unbuild the fortifications, like incarceration, that harm our young people and build up the fortifiers that promote the health of young people," explained Danielson, recounting his experience of working at a clinic near the youth detention center and becoming hyper aware of the "powerful set of systems that were pulling our youths towards those horrible places of incarceration." He wanted to do something to disrupt that.

The inaugural partnerships with the GSBA and ACE were chosen intentionally to elevate the voices of young people from historically marginalized communities. Both cohorts were led by AHSHAY's program manager Janell Jordan with support from two author consultants — Jodi-Ann Burey and me — researcher Malcom King, and public information specialist Adrian Arizmendi.

"One of the things magical about Storybook, and that is also one of our AHSHAY values, is around the importance of intergenerational spaces," said Danielson.

In addition to two cohorts of young authors, there was a cohort of very special author consultants called "the Littles." They were children ages 4 to 5 who visited the young authors throughout their process to share their opinions on what kinds of books they enjoyed. They were also the beta readers of the first drafts, providing the authors with real-time feedback on what worked well in their stories or what needed to shift to be more engaging. 

"These are necessary programs," said Zoe Solaris, 26, a member of the GSBA cohort of the Storybook Project. "They give us the opportunity to fully express what it means to be a marginalized member of society, and I'm proud of it." Solaris describes herself as a nontraditional student searching for a place to call home. 

Solaris' book is called Jellyfish, Jellyfish, I Have a Wish. 

"It's about a chain of different jellyfish, each wanting to be the next jellyfish in the sequence, and it reaches a climax where you get to the universe of jellyfish," Solaris explained. 

Jackson Scott Comes, 26, is currently a Ph.D. student in chemical engineering at the University of Washington. He is passionate about making science feel creative and approachable for people of all ages.

"That's a huge part of why I joined the Storybook Project. I care a whole lot about science communication, and I think synthetic biology can sound so intimidating and abstract," said Comes. "But at its core, it's really just about understanding and reshaping living things, so I loved the idea of introducing these ideas to children through imagination and storytelling."

Comes hopes his book helps children feel curious about biology, plants, gardening, and scientific reasoning. He wants to help kids understand that science starts from a place of curiosity and understanding. His book, The Garden of Living Recipes, uses the idea of recipes as a metaphor for DNA.

"It follows this child discovering a magic book of living recipes that can create unusual plants and creatures, and as this story unfolds, different combinations lead to glowing flowers, strange mushrooms, and various unexpected creations," Comes said.

The youth express deep gratitude for the opportunity to put their books into the world. The adults are proud to offer the experience.

"I think youth deserve to be able to just try things on," said Jordan. "Whether it's experiences, programs, or it's a sport. They should have a breadth of different pathways so that they know what is possible for them."

When asked what she is most proud of Jordan answered: "Getting 20 books done in seven weeks. And for the youth to feel like they were seen and heard and cared for in such a short time. And not knowing a single one of them beforehand. It feels meaningful. I think I'm proud of that. I think I will be most proud when I get to see that act of them holding their books for the first time, and what that will mean for them."

Reagan E. J. Jackson is a Seattle-based writer, facilitator, book doula, and author of "Still True: The Evolution of an Unexpected Journalist," poetry collections, children’s books, and more than 100 articles.