Bread and representation
Back on October 15, we had a book launch up at the local indie bookstore where our Head Alien hangs one of his many hats on the regular. He arrived to have a fellow bookseller exclaim “Hey! Did you know you’re in the book?”
No, no he did not.
The book in question was The Only Way to Make Bread, written by Cristina Quintero, illustrated by Sarah Gonzales, and designed by Sophie Paas-Long. And there was no reason for him to be in the book.
But yes, yes he was!
Only he wasn’t, actually.
Having a chance to meet both the author and illustrator at the launch, we discovered that in fact this character, who appears twice in the book, was based on a friend of the illustrator. Confirmed, this was the first time anyone involved in the book had ever met our Head Alien.
His reaction was to post on social media that:
I am now of the opinion that incidental (accidental?) representation is the best kind of representation…
Thank you Cristina Quintero and Sarah Gonzales for unknowingly including me so powerfully in the launch of The Only Way to Make Bread! That’s not me but IT IS TOTALLY ME. #RepresentationMatters
Happy Reading, Book Friends!
