Faridah, Kalynn, Kendare, H. E., Lamar, Chloe, Alexis, Tiffany, Adiba, Naseem, Mark, and Karen—it has been a privilege and an honor to work with each of you. Thank you for lending your light and your talent. And to Mark, especially—thanks for gifting me the title! <3
Ali Fisher, I couldn’t have imagined a better partner to edit this anthology with than you. Thank you for your impeccable trust and guidance as we waded through the terrifying realm of anthology editing together. It was a grand time, as always.
Dianna Vega, it continues to be an honor and privilege to work with you each and every day. I appreciate you very much for all you do.
Patrice Caldwell and Trinica Sampson-Vera, thank you for championing me and this collection from the very beginning. We couldn’t have done it without you.
Many, many thanks to the brilliant teams at New Leaf Literary, Tor Teen, and Macmillan Audio for bringing another project of mine to life in such an amazing way.
Much appreciation goes out to all the booksellers, librarians, and educators who’ve worked and continue to work tirelessly to put this and other stories into the hands of the kids we write for. I couldn’t do this without you.
And to the readers and everyone who blurbed, reviewed, or shared this collection—thanks for rocking with me this long. Be easy now.
Terry J. Benton-Walker