CMD welcomes Zetta Elliott
Zetta Elliott
Zetta is a Black feminist writer of poetry, plays, essays, novels, and stories for children. Her plays have been performed across the US, and her early books earned nominations, awards and accolades such as: the Honor Award in Lee & Low Books’ New Voices Contest and the Paterson Prize for Books for Young Readers, a Booklist Top Ten Sci-fi/Fantasy Title for Youth, and the Phillis Wheatley Book Award finalist in the Speculative Fiction category of the 2017 Cybils Awards.
Zetta is a Black feminist writer of poetry, plays, essays, novels, and stories for children. Born and raised in Canada, Zetta has now lived in the US for over 20 years, and earned her PhD in American Studies from NYU. Her plays have been performed across the US, and her early books earned nominations, awards and accolades such as: the Honor Award in Lee & Low Books’ New Voices Contest and the Paterson Prize for Books for Young Readers, a Booklist Top Ten Sci-fi/Fantasy Title for Youth, and the Phillis Wheatley Book Award finalist in the Speculative Fiction category of the 2017 Cybils Awards. Her bestselling middle grade fantasy novel, DRAGONS IN A BAG, was named by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) as a Notable Children’s Book, and selected for the 2021 Global Read Aloud. Its sequel, THE DRAGON THIEF, was named a Best Middle Grade Book of 2019 by CBC Books. SAY HER NAME, a young adult poetry collection was named a 2020 Book of the Year for Young People by Quill & Quire and a 2020 “Best of the Best” YA Title by the Black Caucus of the American Library Association; it was also a nominee for the YALSA 2021 Excellence in Nonfiction Award and a Top Ten title for Rise: A Feminist Book Project. A stage adaptation of SAY HER NAME is underway. A PLACE INSIDE OF ME: A POEM TO HEAL THE HEART from FSG was named an ALA Notable Book and a Notable Poetry Book by the National Council of Teachers of English; it won a 2021 Skipping Stones Honor Award and Noa Denmon won the Caldecott Honor Award for her stunning illustrations.
The third book in her DRAGONS IN A BAG Series, THE WITCH'S APPRENTICE (Random House, Jan 2022), is out now. Zetta has three new books coming in the next two years: THE ENCHANTED BRIDGE (Random House 2022/23), MOONWALKING (FSG 2022), and A SONG FOR JUBILEE (LBYR 2023). Zetta is honored to be a 2022 nominee for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award. We are honored to be working with you, Zetta, and cannot wait to see what is on the horizon from this category and genre-crossing important voice of fiction, and non-fiction.
Zetta is represented by Rachel Letofsky.