First Draft Episode #247: Jennifer de Leon

Jennifer De Leon is Assistant Professor of Creative Writing at Framingham State University, and a GrubStreet instructor and board member. Her debut young adult novel, Don’t Ask Me Where I’m From, is out from Atheneum/Simon & Schuster on August 4, 2020.

This episode was sponsored by HIGHLAND 2, a better way to write, and by didnt-ask-for-this.html">We Didn’t Ask For This, the newest novel by Adi Alsaid, out from Inkyard Press April 7 (listen to his First Draft interview here).

Links and Topics Mentioned In This Episode

• Herb Kohl was Jenn’s professor at USF while she was getting her master’s degree

• Ben Brooks, author and senior writer in residence at Emerson, taught Jenn in a continuing education class

• GrubStreet in Boston is the country’s largest and leading independent creative writing center

• Christopher Castellani, Artistic Director, Stage and Convenings at GrubStreet

• The Bread Loaf Writer’s Conference

• VONA, the Voices of Our Nation Arts Foundation

• The Macundo Foundation, founded by Sandra Cisneros, author of The House on Mango Street

• Junot Diaz, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

• The Vermont Studio Center

• Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA)

• We Need Diverse Books

• team.html">Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books

• Jason Reynolds, author of Ghost, Long Way Down, and Look Both Ways (listen to his First Draft interview here)

I want to hear from you!

Have a question about writing or creativity for Sarah Enni or her guests to answer? To leave a voicemail, call (818) 533-1998.

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