L.L. McKinney

Leatrice "Elle" McKinney, better known by her pen name L.L. McKinney, is an American writer of young adult literature. Her debut novel, A Blade So Black, was released in September 2018. McKinney created the PublishingPaidMe Twitter hashtag in June 2020 to highlight racial disparities in writers' advance payments.[2]

L.L. McKinney
BornLeatrice McKinney[1]
35–36[1]
NicknameElle McKinney
OccupationWriter
LanguageEnglish
NationalityAmerican
Genrefantasy, science fiction
Notable worksA Blade So Black
Years active2018-present
Website
llmckinney.com

Career

McKinney enjoyed reading and writing from childhood.[1] She studied video game design in college and went on to work at Hallmark as a greeting card writer.[1] She held the position after the publication of her first book.[1]

McKinney published her debut novel A Blade So Black in fall 2018.[3] The book is the first in the Nightmare-Verse series and is a contemporary retelling of Alice in Wonderland with a Black teenage girl protagonist.[3] The second in the series, A Dream So Dark was released in September 2019 and a third is slated for 2021 release.[3][4]

In May 2020 she announced her forthcoming YA novel and first graphic novel, Nubia: Real One. It is a coming-of-age story about a Black girl with superhuman strength, and is an iteration of the character Nubia who debuted in Wonder Woman in 1976 as the DC Universe's first Black woman superhero.[5] The book will be released by DC in February 2021.[5]

Twitter activity

McKinney is an active member of the YA Twitterverse. In early 2019 McKinney was one of several writers who used Twitter to criticize the planned publication of Blood Heir by Amélie Wen Zhao due to its treatment of the book's African American characters.[6]

In February 2020, she used her account to protest Barnes & Noble's Diverse Edition collection, an initiative introduced for Black History Month featuring covers of classic books re-printed with people of color as the protagonists, including books like Frankenstein and Peter Pan.[7] She referred to the campaign as "literary blackface" and recommended that the bookstore instead release classic Black literature with updated covers.[7] The store cancelled the campaign in response to the criticism.

On June 6, 2020 McKinney created the hashtag #PublishingPaidMe for writers to share their advance payments from publishing contracts, and in particular to highlight racial disparities between Black and white writers.[8][9][10] She developed the hashtag in concert with the worldwide protests related to institutional racism that took place after the killing of George Floyd. McKinney was inspired by a Tweet from YA author Tochi Onyebuchi asking writers to share advance information for the sake of transparency.[8][9] A spreadsheet was also created based on survey data collected by McKinney through Twitter, which amounted to over 1,200 entries.[8] The data showed that Black writers often receive far lower advances compared to white writers, even after winning major awards, such as N. K. Jemisin.[9][11]

Personal life

McKinney resides in Kansas City, Kansas.[4][1]

Works
  • A Blade So Black. 2018. Imprint/Macmillan, publication date 25 September 2018. ISBN 9781250153890[3]
  • A Dream So Dark. 2019. Imprint/Macmillan, publication date 24 September 2019. ISBN 9781250153913[4]

References
  1. Kelly, Dan. "KCK writer's 'A Blade So Black,' reimagines 'Alice in Wonderland' with black heroine". Kansas City Star. Retrieved September 3, 2020.
  2. Barajas, Joshua (June 11, 2020). "Black authors knew they were being paid less This hashtag revealed how large the gap really is". PBS NewsHour. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
  3. Canfield, David. "'A Blade So Black' author L.L. McKinney teases next book, exciting adaptation news". EW.com. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
  4. Vashi, Sonam (September 24, 2019). "YA author L.L. McKinney re-imagines Alice in Wonderland—in Atlanta". Atlanta Magazine. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
  5. Stidhum, Tonja Renee (May 28, 2020). "Exclusive: A Cover Reveal of L.L. McKinney's Nubia: Real One—She's Much More Than Wonder Woman's Twin Sister". The Root. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
  6. Waldman, Katy. "In Y.A., Where Is the Line Between Criticism and Cancel Culture?". The New Yorker. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
  7. "Author L.L. McKinney: Barnes & Noble 'Diverse Editions' Are 'Literary Blackface'". NPR.org. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
  8. Gomez, Dessi. "#PublishingPaidMe puts book publishing's diversity in the spotlight". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
  9. Grady, Constance (June 17, 2020). "Black authors are on all the bestseller lists right now. But publishing doesn't pay them enough". Vox. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
  10. León, Concepción de; Harris, Elizabeth A. (June 8, 2020). "#PublishingPaidMe and a Day of Action Reveal an Industry Reckoning". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
  11. "Book Authors Are Getting Real About How Much They Are Paid". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
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