Best of Author Series with Kaitlyn Greenidge: Real Talk about What it Takes to Be a Writer

Reed, Write, and Create

On episode 14, I have another episode from my “Best of…Author Interviews.” This week I am sharing my 2021 interview with award-winning novelist, Kaitlyn Greenidge.

Kaitlyn Greenidge's debut novel We Love You, Charlie Freeman (Algonquin Books), was one of the New York Times Critics' Top 10 Books of 2016. She is currently Features Director at Harper’s Bazaar as well as a contributing writer for The New York Times. Her second novel, Libertie, was published by Algonquin Books and it had just come out at the time of our interview.

Liberite is an exquisite novel about a young Black woman, the title character Libertie, who is coming of age during the era of reconstruction. She has never known the personal sting of slavery yet she yearns to be truly free. The novel begins in upstate New York, but the story makes its way to Haiti and beyond. And believe it or not, Libertie is actually based on real-life characters.

In addition to discussing Kaitlyn’s experience writing Liberite, we also dive deep into the writing life and how to make it work. We talk about:

• How to balance writing with a full time job and motherhood.
• The truth about writer’s block and how to overcome it.
• Why writers don’t need solitude to create.
• The importance of writing Black characters who are not exceptional.
• A missive from Alice Walker that inspires Kaitlyn’s work.
• The fascinating real-life characters Libertie and her mother are based on.

This is an insightful and inspiring episode, with lots of actionable advice for writers to use in their own writing practice. I hope you enjoy it.

Links from the Show

If you want to know more about Kaitlyn Greenidge, visit her website at KaitlynGreenidge.com.

You can also follow Kaitlyn on Instagram.

If you’d like to buy a copy of Libertie, please consider purchasing it from the Read, Write and Create Online bookstore. By doing so, you’re supporting Kaitlyn, the production of our show, and independent booksellers everywhere.

Don’t forget you can find the full show notes for this episode as well as a heap of useful and fun literary resources including all the info and updates about our first writing retreat for BIPOC women writers on the Read, Write and Create website at ReadWriteandCreate.com We have only two spots left and registration is ending on July 31 2023. So, if you want to come write with me in the South of Spain in October 2023, get all the details , including how to register, on the RWC website.

Sign up here for the new and improved Read, Write and Create newsletter. In addition to my monthly updates and resources, once a month you’ll get a curated list of contests, grants, jobs, submission requests and more, targeted for BIPOC writers to help you get your words out into the world.

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Remember, this is the last episode for the summer. I’ll be back in September.

Until then, keep writing.