🌈 Happy Pride! Charlotte Sullivan Wild here, and I’m thrilled to share this interview with picture book author Joëlle Retener. They are about to receive a Stonewall Honor for their picture book Marley’s Pride (illus. by DeAnn Wiley) at the American Library Association conference next week.
💜 Last year, one of my happiest surprises was when Joëlle asked to trade work, and we became fast friends. We connected through the Facebook group Disabled Kidlit Writers, hosted by Lillie Owens Lainoff (another star!). In addition to both being LGBTQ+ picture book authors, we have the same chronic illness. ME/CFS blocks a body’s ability to produce energy correctly or recover from exertion (physical, mental, emotional, and sensory). Finding a creative friend who doesn’t mind recording video messages while lying in a dark room is a gift! Now, I’d like to share the gift of Joëlle’s interview!
📚 → Learn more about Joëlle’s recent and upcoming books.
!["Especially at a time when there is so much struggle within our community... To be reminded [of] radical joy... is a gift."](https://charlotteswild.com/wp-content/uploads/4-300x169.png)
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Joëlle Retener is the author of Marley’s Pride a Stonewall Honor book, which received starred reviews from Kirkus, Publisher’s Weekly, and Booklist, and OUR WORLD: USA. Their forthcoming books include MADINA’S BIG, FABULOUS, WIN and its sequel (Disney Hyperion ’26), and BELLY GROWLS (Henry Holt 27′). As a Black Kreyol, disabled, nonbinary creative, Joëlle believes that art is a vehicle to rewrite and reimagine outdated narratives about historically marginalized communities. Joëlle is a proud graduate of Spelman College and American University. They are represented by James McGowan at Bookends Literary Agency. Learn more: www.joelleretener.com
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