Online Author Meet-Ups
for Diverse Literature because WORDs build BRIDGES to Unite℠
KAUAKANILEHUA MĀHOE ADAMS
CHRISTINE HARTMAN DERR
HALEH MASSEY
LESLÉA NEWMAN
INTERSECTIONALITY PANEL
Saturday, October 24
11:00 am – noon ET
*Certificates toward CEUs provided*
ALL ARE WELCOME
*Certificates toward CEUs provided*
“A harrowing and empowering story of strength and persistence in the aftermath of sexual assault, written in stunning verse and based on the life of seventeenth-century painter Artemisia Gentileschi”
–Penguin Random House
“Haunting . . . teems with raw emotion . . . deftly captures the experience of learning to behave in a male-driven society and then breaking outside of it.”
–The New Yorker
Available August 18, 2026
“For readers of Know My Name by Chanel Miller and fans of Broadway’s John Proctor Is the Villain, a stunning memoir in verse about sexual abuse, survival, and sisterhood from the New York Times bestselling author of Blood Water Paint.
–Penguin Random House
Check out our latest Book Bridges podcast
LINDSAY & MARKEL HARALSON “Living in Your Purpose”
All Are Welcome! Join Us!
And Don’t Miss Out on All of Our Upcoming Authors
A sample of our sessions…
PAULA YOO on Racism, Research, & Representation
T.E.A.C.H.* Enrichment, Sept. 11, 2021
*Teachers, Educators, & Authors Collaborate against Hatred
All Are Welcome! Join Us!
- LIVE Online Meet-ups with Diverse Authors
- LIVE Online Speakers on Social Justice & Lifelong Learning
- “Food for Thought”: Teaching & Discussion Ideas from the authors’ books
- Certificates documenting professional development
- 14-day access* to recorded author meet-ups (*pending author permission)
- June Summer Siesta: In-Person WORDBridge Community Gathering
- Book Giveaways
- WORDBridge Now Newsletter
- Book Bridges podcast notifications
- Nourishment for mind, heart, and soul through our uplifting community
It was an honor to speak at Dr. Angie Beumer Johnson’s WORDBridge Now about my YA nonfiction book, FROM A WHISPER TO A RALLYING CRY: THE KILLING OF VINCENT CHIN AND THE TRIAL THAT GALVANIZED THE ASIAN AMERICAN MOVEMENT (Norton Young Readers 2021).
I was moved by Dr. Johnson’s passion to advocate the importance of not just young people’s literature but also social justice issues for our young readers, students and their teachers and educators. I was inspired by the WORDBridge Now audience’s insightful questions and desire to learn and grow. WORDBridge Now truly bridges the gap by raising awareness of the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion in youth literature. Thank you so much for this opportunity.
Thanks to Our Partners at Lee & Low Books
About Everyone For Everyone
Thank you to our Community Partners
SMALLWOOD EYE ASSOCIATES
COVER TO COVER BOOKS FOR YOUNG READERS
WORDBridge Now is pleased to partner with Star House Columbus
A safe space for youth experiencing homelessness
WORDBridge Now, LLC℠ was founded to help us learn, empathize, and increase civility and compassion for a more just world.
We are all human, and we are all different. Reading diverse literature reinforces both of these truths.
WORDBridge Now℠ Membership provides live online monthly T.E.A.C.H* Enrichments (Teachers, Educators, & Authors Collaborate against Hatred): inspiration from meeting diverse authors, epiphanies from knowledgeable guest speakers, and enthusiasm from our community of readers and learners.
Founder Angie Beumer Johnson and Author G. Neri
“Books are sometimes windows, offering views of worlds that may be real or imagined, familiar or strange.
These windows are also sliding glass doors, and readers have only to walk through in imagination to become part of whatever world has been created and recreated by the author. When lighting conditions are just right, however, a window can also be a mirror. Literature transforms human experience and reflects it back to us, and in that reflection we can see our own lives and experiences as part of the larger human experience.”
Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop
“Mirrors, Windows, and Sliding Glass Doors”
Meet Some of Our Past Presenters
Joy McCullough
Carrie Hayes
St. Clair Detrick-Jules
Doan Phuong Nguyen
Brian Lee Young
Guadalupe Garcia McCall
G. Neri
Lindsay Markel Haralson
Paula Yoo
Alessandra Narváez Varela
Patty Cisneros Prevo
Nisi Shawl
Cynthia Leitich Smith
Neal Shusterman
Christina Veiga
Gareth Hinds
Nancy Mack
Tarunjit Butalia
Aamna Qureshi
Sonia Patel
Greg Davis
Tony Medina
Xavier Garza
Elizabeth Santiago
David Bowles
Hilda Eunice Burgos
Ruta Sepetys
A.M. Dassu
Angus Fletcher
Lesléa Newman
Francisco X. Stork
Brendan Kiely
Jason Reynolds
Lyn Ford
Talon Silverhorn
Elizabeth Acevedo
Mahogany Browne
Mindy McGinnis
Stacey Robinson
Candace Fleming
Renate Frydman
Chris Crutcher
Rukhsana Khan
Cyndy Etler
“Thank you so much for inviting me! It was so uplifting to spend time with you and know that you’re fighting back against hatred using books. It was a real honour to have met such a brilliant group of dedicated educators and librarians. I left the session heartened and hopeful.”
–A.M. Dassu, author of Fight Back