ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: What is the first thing ever that you remember writing?
DERRICK BARNES:Well… the first thing that I ever wrote wasnt mine.
My Uncle Manny had a huge record collection.
Credit: Penguin Young Readers Group (2)
The teacher knew that it was Stevie, but those 8-year-olds didn’t have a clue.
I was a child prodigy!
I don’t think Ive ever cried after reading a novel.
The brilliance, fire, and focus of these children, of all different nationalities, was very inspirational.
Which book is at the top of your current to-read list?
Currently, and finally, Im readingWe Dream of Spaceby Erin Entrada Kelly.
Next up will probably beSing, Unburied SingbyJesmyn Wardor All the Things We Never Knewby Liara Tamani.
Where do you write?
I incorporated myself about a year and a half ago.
Which book made you a forever reader?
Hughes short story collection,The Best of Simple, created a curiosity that I had never felt before.
I wanted to create parameters the way he did, making Harlem so tangible.
I wanted to see if I could create characters that would have such rich and rhythmic dialogue.
I wanted the same superpowers that Langston Hughes had.
What is a snack you couldnt write without?
If you could change one thing about any of your books what would it be?
Im a firm believer in leaving things “as is.”
I am constantly trying to improve my “voice.”
You know, become a better writer.
What is your favorite part ofI Am Every Good Thing?
He, like most children, is just a living embodiment of fascination, contradictions, wonderment, curiosity.
Those things should not make him any more of a threat than any other boy in America.
I do my best to display the beauty that I see every day in my four sons.
What was the hardest plot point or character to write?
