How working with an editor changed A.M. Dassu's approach to her writing
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How do you discuss tough subjects like becoming a refugee and starting over again in a new country, bullying, or the possibility of your friend getting deported with your children? How do you help children find their voice and to understand the influence they can be for good? Author A.M. Dassu expertly weaves these subjects into her books for middle grade readers (ages 8-12) by deeply understanding children’s emotions as they deal with big changes in their lives.
Stacy, who edited three of Az’s books, sits down with Az to talk about those books and how Az approaches her writing, how working with Stacy changed the questions she asks of herself as she writes, and how so many kids find themselves in her books, despite their very different circumstances from the characters.
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A. M. DASSU is the internationally acclaimed author of Boy, Everywhere, Fight Back and Kicked Out, which have collectively been listed for over fifty five awards, including the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize, The Week Junior Book Award, the Carnegie Medal, the Indie Book Awards, the Little Rebels Award for Radical Fiction, the American Library Association Notable Book List and Jane Addams Peace Book Award.
She is a director at Inclusive Minds, which is an organisation for people who are passionate about inclusion, diversity, equality and accessibility in children’s literature; a patron of The Other Side of Hope, a literary magazine edited by immigrants and refugees,
which celebrates the refugee and immigrant communities worldwide, and one of The National Literacy Trust’s Connecting Stories campaign authors, aiming to help inspire a love of reading and writing in children and young people.
A. M. Dassu grew up in the Midlands dreaming of becoming a writer but studied economics instead and worked in marketing and project management before realising her dream. She writes books that challenge stereotypes, humanise the ‘other’ and are full of
empathy, hope and heart. Her book, Boot It! was a bestselling World Book Day novella, published in March 2023. You can also find her on X: @a_reflective or Instagram: @a.m.dassu.
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