‘My people have no skin tone’: author Jeff Kinney on his new book and writing inclusively
The HinduIt is Saturday morning and Jeff Kinney is on the road for his socially-distant book tour; the GPS is heard faintly in the background of our call, directing him to East Sandwich, Massachusetts. The author of the hugely-popular Wimpy Kid series is promoting his new book, Rowley Jefferson’s Awesome Friendly Adventure. “I’ve noticed that everyone seems a lot happier than usual; parents and children are glad to be doing something that is outside the quarantine,” he says, adding that he too shares the sentiment. Kinney’s graphic novel recommendations Dragon Hoops by Gene Luen Yang New Kid by Jerry Craft Raina Telgemeier’s books While he does not comment on the episode, he talks about writing inclusively and having diverse characters. Giving us a teaser, he says, “They have to live in their grandmother’s basement and they go through what we are going through now.” In the author’s case, this involved writing in a cemetery.
Discover Related
