Inside Scoop | 'Wonder' Author R.J. Palacio Supports LGBT Fans

Inside Scoop | ‘Wonder’ Author R.J. Palacio Supports LGBT Fans

by Rocco Staino

KidLit TV caught up with R.J. Palacio, the author of the New York Times bestselling novel Wonder (Knopf, 2012). She along with children’s book authors Phil Bildner, C. Alexander London, and Meg Medina crafted a letter to the young people of North Carolina in reaction to House Bill 2; noted for what many believe to be a discriminatory law impeding the lives of transgender people in the state.

More than 250 authors and illustrators signed the letter which has received heavy media coverage both in the United States and abroad.

But you have our word that we will never abandon our thousands and thousands of readers in North Carolina. We stand with those who share our guiding principles and fundamental beliefs of equality, inclusion, and fair treatment. Thus, we will continue to visit your schools and libraries. We will spread kindness and inspire compassion and hope, as we believe books, in their best moments, always have and always will.

Read the letter in its entirety, here.

Here is what R.J. Palacio had to say about the letter she helped pen.

ABOUT R.J. PALACIO

R.J. Palacio lives in New York City with her husband, children, and dogs. As an art director and book jacket designer she created and supervised the creation of covers for authors across genres, in fiction and nonfiction. However, she always had the urge to write. After more than twenty years of designing book jackets she came to the realization that the perfect time would never come; “It’s never the perfect time to start writing a book.” Wonder is her first novel.

CONNECT WITH R.J. PALACIO
Website | Twitter | #choosewonder

ABOUT ROCCO STAINO

Rocco is the charismatic host of StoryMakers, our interview show. A captivating and important figure in the book community, he is a prominent librarian, a contributing editor at School Library Journal, a contributing writer at The Huffington Post, and the Director of the Empire State Center for the Book, which administers the New York State Writers Hall of Fame. Rocco has interviewed such luminaries as Beverly Cleary, Judy Blume, and Jean Craighead George.

CONNECT WITH ROCCO STAINO
Instagram | Twitter

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