Kiley Reid was still a graduate student when her debut novel was scooped up by Lena Waithe for adaptation.
Over a year later, its finally hitting shelves.
Kiley Reid doesn’t love being photographed.
Kiley Reid is a Booker prize-nominated author.
“It’s been a little [overwhelming].
She’s hardly the first author to favor unpacking complex literary themes over posing for a photo shoot.
But for Reid, 32, much of this is new.
But enough about all that excitement.
Reid wants to get into thework.
She started writing the novel back in 2015, during a time of heightened racial tensions in America.
“I had been to a few Black Lives Matter marches,” she says.
“A lot of these police-brutality events were happening to low-income black Americans.”
Reid interrogates tropes of the white savior and unknowing racist as they play out in everyday life.
And yet the novel feels bound for book-club glory, due to its sheer readability.
The dialogue crackles with naturalistic flair.
The plotting is breezy and surprising.
Briar, for one, is about as believably adorable a toddler as you’ll find in a novel.
“I just wanted [Briar] to be a child.”
Reid could do this all day.
She discusses her struggles balancing comedy and drama, then goes deep on the spiky ending (no spoilers!
), sure to get readers talking.
“I got off of a flight, and [my agent] said, ‘Your book leaked.’
I thought I was in trouble!”
Reid has to keep mum on the details, but the adaptation is progressing.
She’s ecstatic for the creative challenge, for reaching a wider audience, for collaborating with other artists.
But mostly for what this opportunity represents.
More discomfiting, more entertaining, more unique sounds true toFun Age’s trailblazing spirit.
