Meet Troupe 21’s Brittany J. Thurman
Meet Troupe member Brittany J. Thurman! Brittany began writing for children while working as a children's librarian in Pittsburgh, PA. A story time pro, Brittany now has her own picture book to share with young readers. Her debut book FLY, illustrated by Anna Cunha (Simon and Schuster/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books), publishes in Spring 2022.
In Brittany’s picture book debut, a girl named Africa wants to compete in a double Dutch competition. She'll have to learn the winning moves, but it's the birthmark in the shape of her name that tells her she's a winner. Here’s the announcement in Publishers Weekly!
Want to learn more about Brittany and her journey to publication?
Check out the Q&A below!
Get to know Brittany!
Name three picture books that you adore.
Thank You Omu, The Snowy Day and Bark George! I used to work in a children’s library and read these three books ceaselessly! While reading Ezra Jack Keats, The Snowy Day, preschoolers and I retold Peter’s story using felt cutouts that I handmade. The Snowy Day is a classic, and I am so thankful this book was around while I was growing up. Ezra chose to show Peter as a Black kid. Trauma free. Full of play. Happy. Lively. Human. Thank You Omu by Oge Mora is the gift that’s under my Christmas tree each year. I loved their reactions when trying to predict which community member brought certain items to Omu. Bark George is that silly story I still get a kick out of. No matter how many times I read Jules Fieffer’s story, it’s always a surprise. I can still hear the toddlers laughs. I’m in love with unsuspecting picture books.
What was your favorite story as a child?
There’s a little-known book called, Shake It to the One that You Love the Best. It’s a collection of African American songs and hand clap games. I received the book as a gift when I was a kid and learned the songs by heart. Many I already knew. I would sing Short’ning Bread in my grandmothers’ driveway. I jumped rope to Miss Lucy Had a Baby up and down our street. My cousin and I danced to Little Sally Walker. But my all-time favorite memory from loving on this book was when my great-grandmother came to stay with us. One day I asked if she knew the song on page 21, Hambone. I thought I was singing her something ‘new’, but my great-grandmother had me beat. She knew the song by heart and taught it to me, without the book. I still have her voice in my head. If I think hard enough, I still hear the rhythm she made to create the beat.
Besides the songs, it was the illustrations that captured my attention. Illustrations of girls with twisted ponytails, and pearl earrings, and bright colored clothes signature of the 80’s/90’s. Cousins next to cousins, next to aunts, next to uncles, next to mommas, beside pops, beside grandmomma, beside grandpoppa. This book was family.
What picture book authors inspire you?
Daria Peoples Riley, for her endearing spirit and insightfully wise words. She is a pillar of knowledge in this industry, and always has a way of looking at situations from different perspectives. I am often not the most vocal person, and I appreciate that Daria has seen me even when I don’t have the right words.
Sharon Flake for her generosity and time. Sharon has always been giving of her resources as an author, she’s been a mentor and friend. There were many times early on when I felt like giving up, and even though I may not have expressed this to Sharon, she never failed show me why giving up was not an option.
What themes and ideas will readers find in your stories?
I come from a tight knit family. I considered my cousins to be siblings. In my stories, readers will always find an elder in the family that I hope reminds them of their own grandmother, aunt, uncle or grandfather. During family gatherings food was a constant topic of discussion, so food, recipes and feasts crop up in my work, too. Get ready to be hungry!
I also love to listen to the words of those same elders. My grandmother and aunts are always spewing sayings. Sometimes, I am convinced they have old-fashioned sayings stored up in their mind, ready to release a new one each day. My favorites: If it were a snake it would have bit you; Fit to be tied; Okie dokie pokey!
What advice can you share with pre-published authors?
I am learning to be gentle with myself. To not take rejection personally, and to know that there is and will always be more around the corner. I hope that pre-published authors can be gentle with themselves, too. Does rejection stop when you sign with an agent? Absolutely not. It is and will always be an aspect of publishing, but what it has taught me is that sometimes it’s great to toss old ideas and begin something new. Please don’t ever let rejection stop you from reaching your writing goals. Yes, it makes the road bumpier, but more often than not, those bumps yield gold. (I’m trying to be poetic here!)
Brittany’s picture book debut FLY will be published in Spring 2022. Want to be among the first to see the cover and pre-order details?
Follow Brittany on Twitter at @janeebrittany
Connect with Brittany on Instagram at @britjanee
Come back to PB Debut Troupe 21 soon for Brittany’s cover spotlight!
Until then, happy reading!
