There’s a memory forever etched in my mind—me, sipping a sweet mango smoothie in the back of my local Books-a-Million, flipping through the pages of “Poets & Writers” magazine in hopes of learning how to get a literary agent someday. I was fifteen years old at the time. Now let’s fast-forward two decades later…
I’m now on the cusp of thirty-five. During my undergraduate studies, I was nine hours shy of an English/Creative Writing degree before accepting that I was an awful poet who should pursue a more “practical” path. I’ve worn many hats since then—early childhood educator (especially in Montessori & Reggio-inspired classrooms), postpartum doula, curriculum developer, aimless wanderer. The list goes on…
Another memory: In 2016, I visited the magical City Lights Booksellers & Publishers in San Francisco. As I feasted my eyes on the shelves upon shelves of literary treasures, I started crying. I asked myself: How did you let your dreams (of becoming a writer) get so far away from you?
There were several years of my life when I didn’t write a thing. Not a single poem, essay, or article. It wasn’t until 2021 that I registered for the Children’s Book Writing class I’d been eyeing for years.
But once I wrote that first manuscript for children, I couldn’t stop…
Within a year of cultivating writing as a daily practice, I had drafted several picture book manuscripts (both fiction and nonfiction) as well as my first contemporary middle-grade novel!
Perhaps someday I’ll make a more detailed post about my ridiculously convoluted path to pursuing my dreams of becoming a published author in earnest, but for now I have an announcement—which feels utterly surreal—that I’d like to share…
I am honored and thrilled beyond measure to announce that I’ve signed with Tricia Lawrence at Erin Murphy Literary Agency!
Oh my goodness—I have a literary agent! EEEE! Okay, that’s all I’ve got for now. Thank you for celebrating with me.
May all of our wildest dreams come true…
xxxx,
Razan