Jason Reynolds—award-winning author and National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature—discusses his prolific writing career that inspires young readers to discover their own stories. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jason Reynolds, a New York Times bestselling author and 2024 MacArthur Fellow, sheds light on his latest YA novel, *Twenty-Four Seconds From Now*. He discusses his motivations for exploring boyhood and masculinity, shares the rhythmic style of his writing, and reflects on the profound impact of a dedicated high school teacher. Reynolds emphasizes the importance of empowering young voices and recognizes the challenges in the education system post-pandemic, ultimately conveying hope for the next generation's narrative journeys.

On this special episode of Design Matters, we take a look back at the collective brilliance of fiction writers interviewed in 2022. Best of Design Matters 2022 with Brad Listi, Jason Reynolds, A.M. Homes, Candice Carty-Williams, and Min Jin Lee is live! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Original broadcast date: September 17, 2021. Jason Reynolds is an award-winning author and National Ambassador for Young People's Literature. This hour, Jason speaks with Manoush about reaching kids through stories that let them feel understood.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Jason Reynolds is the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature of the Library of Congress — and a magnificent source of wisdom for human society as a whole. He’s driven by compassion and the clear-eyed honesty that the young both possess and demand of the rest of us. Ibram X. Kendi chose him to write the YA companion to Stamped from the Beginning. In his person, Jason Reynolds both embodies and inspires innate human powers of fortitude and imagination. Hear him on “breathlaughter”; the libraries in all of our heads; and a stunning working definition of anti-racism: “simply the muscle that says humans are human… I love you, because you remind me more of myself than not.”Jason Reynolds was appointed National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature by the Library of Congress in January, 2020. His body of writing about what it is to be a Black young person growing up in the U.S. has been received as a godsend by teachers and librarians — including the award-winning Ghost, Long Way Down, and Look Both Ways. His most recent work of nonfiction, together with Ibram X. Kendi, is Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You.Find the transcript for this show at onbeing.org.This show originally aired on June 25, 2020.