Author Using Imprint To Highlight Black Joy And Resilience Through Storytelling
Author Using Imprint To Highlight Black Joy And Resilience Through Storytelling
By Tia Carol Jones
Kwame Mbalia wrote a lot as a child. He was shy and talking was difficult, but writing allowed him to process complex emotions, feelings and frustrations. People encouraged him to become a published author so that other people could read his work.
Mbalia has been championing reading and books, especially books by Black authors. Four years ago, he created a weekly newsletter that featured a list of books by Black authors titled, Black By Popular Demand. After the success of his book, Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky, and the rest of the series, Mbalia wanted to continue to work with Disney. Disney wanted to start a new imprint and Mbalia and Disney thought focusing on books by Black authors from the African diaspora was a wonderful investment. The name of the imprint is Freedom Fire, which Mbalia said embodies Black joy, Black resilience and Black storytelling.
“I know the stories are out there. I also know readers want to read more of those stories, so it really only made sense,” Mbalia said.
“Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky” was Mbalia’s debut novel. He always wanted to tell a story involving the folk tales he grew up listening to, but bringing them to the current day. A good friend of his encouraged him to write the story. It went from a two-book deal to a three-book deal to a graphic novel. Mbalia recently released “Jax Freeman and the Phantom Shriek.”
Mbalia said it was a tough road to go through the process of finding a literary agent and getting published. He said he was fortunate that he found his literary agent, Patrice Caldwell. They both understand the need for Black storytellers and Black stories, and how to get that to a wider audience.
“Knowing that my agent has my back and we have the same vision for the type of stories we want to tell, or the type of stories we want to publish on the imprint, it’s incredible,” Mbalia said. To get an agent, Mbalia said a person has to put themselves out there and put their work out there.
“Jax Freeman and the Phantom Shriek” follows a young Black boy Jax Freeman moving from North Carolina to Chicago and discovers he can channel powers from his ancestors. He learns that he is going to attend a school that teaches young summoners to handle and channel that power responsibly.
Mbalia said the response for the book has been very positive. Mbalia was visiting schools and talking about the book and said the students love the book, they enjoy it and hearing the story and the inspiration about it. Students from Chicago were enthusiastic about the book and its references to local landmarks like the Metra, the “El” and the Shedd Aquarium. The inspiration for the book came from Mbalia reading Isabel Wilkerson’s “Warmth of Other Suns,” which is about the Great Migration, where African Americans moved from the South to the North in search of better opportunities.
“I had this idea that if someone could practice magic and they were moving from the South to the North, I just envisioned them on this train practicing, maybe learning, maybe being tutored from other magic users and I wondered what that community would look like when they arrived at their final destination,” Mbalia said.
Mbalia said that while he is writing and publishing stories for Black readers, they are not the only people who might enjoy the stories. He uses the analogy of someone attending someone else’s birthday party and having a good time, even though the day is not about them. He said he tells people all over the world they can enjoy a Freedom Fire book even if the book was written with a young Black reader in mind.
“This is an incredible opportunity for me to have my own imprint to continue to publish the types of books and stories I want to tell,” he said.
Other titles on Freedom Fire include “Black Girl Power” by Leah Johnson, “Moko Magic: Carnival Chaos” by Tracey Baptiste and “Kaya Morgan’s Crowning Achievement” by Jill Tew.
For more information about Freedom Fire and Kwame Mbalia, visit books.disney.com/imprint/freedom-fire and www.kwamembalia.com.
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