Dhonielle Clayton
Dhonielle Clayton is a New York Times bestselling author of The Conjureverse series, The Belles series, and Shattered Midnight. She’s also co-author of Blackout, Whiteout, The Rumor Game, and of the Tiny Pretty Things duology, a Netflix original series. She hails from the Washington, D.C. suburbs on the Maryland side. She taught secondary school for several years, and is a former elementary and middle school librarian. Dhonielle is Board Chair of the non-profit We Need Diverse Books. She is the President and founder of Cake Creative and Electric Postcard Entertainment. IP story companies creating diverse books for all ages. She’s an avid traveler, and always on the hunt for magic and mischief.
Dhonielle Clayton has spent her career speaking to publishing professionals, writers, educators, librarians, students of all ages, and readers. She has designed and taught multiple professional workshops—Reese Witherspoon’s LitUp Program, SCBWI, Madcap Retreats, Kweli Conference, Writing in Italy, and more. In addition, Dhonielle has visited hundreds of schools across North America and the United Kingdom. She’s made countless appearances at book festivals across the world from YALLFEST, YALLWEST, Brooklyn Book Festival, North Texas Teen Book Festival, LA Times Book Festival, YALC, and more.
She has a BA in English from Wake Forest University, an MA in Children’s Literature from Hollins University and an MFA in Writing for Children from The New School. She teaches children’s literature in the graduate program Hollins University and fiction in the graduate program at Alma College.
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Hardcover
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Fly into this revelry filled with tricksters, lovers, monsters, and the like, in this exciting collection for those who love faeries and those who are experiencing them for the first time!...Read More
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Hardback
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The fantasy adventure sequel to the instant New York Times and #1 Indie Bestseller, The Marvellers by Dhonielle Clayton! Return for Year Two at the global magic school in the sky in The Memory Thieves. "The Marvellers deserves the highest compliment I can give a book: I want to live in this world." —Rick Rior...Read More
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Trade Paperback
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Dhonielle Clayton makes her middle-grade debut with a fantasy adventure set in a global magic school in the sky —an instant New York Times and #1 Indie Bestseller!
"The Marvellers deserves the highest compliment I can give a book: I want to live in this world." —Rick Riordan, #1 New York Times be...Read More
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So You Want to Be a Writer?
Dhonielle Clayton will discuss her career as a writer, and author of over fifteen books and creator of over fifty packaged books, with students who have interests in publishing, writing, TV/film, and the arts.
The Radical Power of Children’s Books: The responsibility of truth-telling in Children’s Literature
The #weneeddiversebooks movement in children’s literature exposed institutional racism in the industry and spurred change in the children’s book market. With an influx of diverse books for young readers being published, the community is at a nexus point—welcome new voices, prioritize expert voices, and shift who gets to be the hero. But change isn’t comfortable. Author and Board Chair of the non-profit We Need Diverse Books, Dhonielle Clayton will discuss the responsibilities of scholars and writers to be beacons of truth for all readers. The talk will include a roadmap for how we can come to understand the current climate of diversity and inclusive representation in the publishing industry, how to understanding the publishing industry‘s growing pains, including “cancel culture,” and how to ensure your writing and reading choices reflect the world.
Striving for Better
In the spring of 2014, We Need Diverse Books started as a viral hashtag on Twitter, but why exactly do we need these stories? What are the benefits of inclusive literature, and what are the effects of harmful representation? And as publishing professionals, how do we create a responsible business model that reflects our diverse readership? In this workshop, Dhoielle will not only cover how to publish diverse books with care and respect, she will also focus on how to build an inclusive publishing culture that will empower readers from all backgrounds.
The Recipe of Big Ideas: What are the ingredients of a big idea?
Join bestselling author and packager to discuss how she finds inspiration, creates commercial ideas, and weighs and measures which ideas have the most gas to go far and sustain the publishing machine.
“The Book World Still Isn’t Diverse. Dhonielle Clayton Is Trying to Change That.”
The Marvellers is a New York Times Bestseller, Kirkus Best Book of the Year, a School Library Journal Best Book of the Year, a Texas Bluebonnet Award Winner, a Charlotte Huck Honor Book, an Indiana Young Hoosier Award Nominee, an Amazon Best Book of the Year, an Evanston Public Library’s Great Book for Kids and a Project LIT Community Book Club Pick.
Praise for The Memory Thieves
“Clayton continues building a world that is intricate, captivating, and sure to satisfy. A wonderfully well-developed sequel.”
— Kirkus Reviews, starred review“Mysterious, thoughtful sequel.”
— BCCBPraise for The Marvellers
“The Marvellers deserves the highest compliment I can give a book: I want to live in this world.”
— Rick Riordan, #1 New York Times bestselling author“A marvelous gift of a novel! With fantastical twists at every turn, Clayton has created a world that readers won’t want to leave.”
— Angie Thomas, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Hate U Give and Concrete Rose“This is the fantasy adventure the world needs. The Marvellers is a cultural reset, the kind of thorny, exciting, and magical story that I’ve needed my whole life. Clayton’s detailed and heartfelt world—all seen through the eyes of the brilliant Ella Durand—is going to capture the imagination of readers in an instant. Where’s book two? I already need it!”
— Mark Oshiro, author of The Insiders“An enthralling fantasy adventure full of bravery, love, and humor.”
— Kirkus Reviews, starred review“[A] myriad [of] global cultural traditions with an intersectionally inclusive, fantastical adventure.”
— Publisher’s Weekly, starred review“An exemplary example of diversity with a Black girl protagonist, and characters representing a variety of cultures, skin tones, gender identities, sexual orientations, and religious affiliations. This fun, immersive tale is a must-purchase.”
— School Library Journal, starred reviewBook This Speaker
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