Welcome to Miami

Scroll to the bottom for the controversy <3

Whew, my friends, it has been a WEEK! I was home! My child had a wonderful birthday. And then I had an epic Storytime at Books Are Magic, where many children wore hats, and I made this face at all of them.

Then I got on a plane to Miami, where I had two of the most packed days of my tour. Day One was for grown-ups, starting with the truly fabulous Brickell Literary Society, which was my favorite kind of event: hundreds of (mostly) women is statement necklaces. For various reasons, I hardly took any photos on this trip, but just trust me—the ladies were CHIC. They were named LINDA and SUSAN and they were wearing incredible outfits and I loved them all, each and every one.

Just look at the jacket prints at this ONE table. One of the hosts, Debra, had a sweater that had buttons down the back AND the front. (Thank you to Daffodyle, their social media expert/resident youth for these photos!)

Give me a place where I can drink unlimited iced tea, cry in public, and talk to women about their outfits? I’m there all day every day. Brickell Literary Society, I am yours.

In between events, I bathed and did a very quick vintage shop, where I came very close to buying a vintage houndstooth Gucci suit but my lower half objected too mightily. Look at all these Very Good Hats, though!

Books and Books is a Miami institution, and Mitchell Kaplan is, as far as I can tell, the actual King of Miami? I thought I hugged a lot of people per hour, especially when at my bookstore, but Mitchell puts my hugs/handshakes per hour record to shame. This is the most well-liked man in Florida. He is certainly the man I most like in Florida, immediate family excluded. We recorded a podcast, which I hope you will all listen to.

This is a Lego model of Books and Books built by two actual children!

Cristina is one of Books and Books’ expert booksellers, and has been so supportive of me and my books for a long time. And we match. That’s amore. I had a terrific event with Chantel Acevedo, and had friends and family in the crowd, so it was all very convivial and I think I was operating as if I’d had two glasses of wine, even though I’d had none.

The next day, I did three school presentations, and not to brag, but I killed. These snacks helped. The moms who were there to help truly, truly expected me to eat all of these by myself, but I demanded assistance.

You know what else helped? When one kindergartener told me I looked like a clown. I said, yes, I do! He helpfully pointed out my orange shoes and my fruit necklace as particularly clown-y, and you know what, very correct assessment, young person! I leaned into my inner clown and had them rolling in the aisles. Well, they were already sitting criss-cross-applesauce, and so I guess they were already on the floor, but still. Another child kindly told me that her mother had the same shoes, but that her mother’s were clean. Buuuuuuuuurn!

Then back to Books and Books to sign a true mountain of Very Good Hats and This Time Tomorrow. With apologies to my husband and my booksellers and every bookseller I know who works in a cold climate, this is Mitchell Kaplan working. Outside. At his very good restaurant, in the middle of his very good bookstore. In January.

Piles of books, clown ensemble, clown attitude. If you need a signed book, Books and Books would be a great place to get one.

The Good News: I’m so pleased to say that Very Good Hats is #4 on the Indie Bestseller list, and is one several regional bestseller lists as well. Woo hoo! Thank you, SIBA, NAIBA, and GLIBA! You can get signed copies at Books Are Magic, at Blue Willow, at Books and Books, at Little Shop of Stories, and A Likely Story. If you have brought my sweet hats in your life, thank you! I hope you love it. The book also had a nice little write-up in the New York Times! They call me a rom-com novelist, which I am not, but at least it’s in the New York Times. Melting face emoji.

The Bad News, or rather, continued thoughts on last week’s bad news: as readers of this newsletter (or readers of the NY Post, the Daily Mail, the Houston Chronicle, Lit Hub…) know, I was uninvited from visiting two schools in Texas last week. This week brought some clarity on that front, which is that I was uninvited due to my use of the f-word (that would be fuck, not flibbertigibbet, or foolhardy) on Twitter. Another Twitter user helpfully posted the actual tweet in question, which was illuminating. It seems quite clear to me that the issue was not my language, which of course all adults are free to use in appropriate settings, but what I was so furious about, which was the Uvalde school shooting. I wouldn’t change a word. (If you want to donate to Everytown to help the battle against guns, please do so here.)

As I said last week, the school choosing to uninvite me isn’t a huge problem for me personally—I’m a well-paid bestselling author with a sizable platform and my own bookstore. What is worrying about this situation is how school boards and fear-mongering parents are wresting control away from librarians and booksellers and teachers. School libraries are safe spaces, and should be where kids are able to explore and discover and learn. Rooms that are filled with books are my favorite places in the world, because they make me feel comfortable, curious, and surrounded by possibility. That’s what we should all be worried about—that the books that will help kids understand that they are not alone in whatever they are feeling, or books that will help children better empathize with their peers—are no longer on the library’s shelf.

I so appreciate the enormous support everyone has been showing to me, but if I’m going to be at the eye of this storm for a few minutes, let’s just all take a breath and remember who is really getting hurt by the forces trying to keep books and authors out of kids’ hands. It’s not me. It’s the kid in Texas or Florida or North Dakota who is trying to figure themselves out, and walks into the library looking for answers. LGBTQ titles and books by authors of color are disproportionately banned, because the truths inside those titles are the ones that these conservative parents are the most afraid that their children will absorb.

I’ve gotten so many messages from parents in Texas who are upset, and if I may—parents, if you live in a place where this is happening, please direct your energy toward the school board, because you can help make sure that kids have the books they so desperately need, and access to authors and ideas that will open up their worlds. Don’t wait for Banned Book Week—look up the titles that are being challenged in schools and make sure that your kids have access to them. Here is one list of banned books that we made at Books Are Magic—you will note that it contains some of the greatest achievements in American literature.

I’m going to take a nap with my cats now.

love

Emma