An evening with Cheryl and Wade Hudson
An evening with Cheryl and Wade Hudson, publishing pioneers
Wednesday, December 7th at 6:30pm
Free and open to the public
Publishing pioneers Wade Hudson and Cheryl Willis Hudson will give a public presentation as part of their visit to the Gordon School on Wednesday, December 7th at 6:30pm.
The visit coincides with the school’s annual book fair and the twentieth anniversary of the school’s library. Under the leadership of librarian Frances Martindale, Gordon’s Joukowsky Family Library has grown into a world-class collection of young people’s literature that includes a rich range of multicultural perspectives.
Cheryl Willis Hudson and Wade Hudson are pioneering publishers who created Just Us Books in 1987, which publishes Black interest and multicultural books for children and young adults. They were moved to establish Just Us after discovering a limited number of children’s books that reflected the diversity of Black history, heritage, and experiences. The Hudson’s combined their professional experience in marketing and graphic design to develop several manuscripts including AFRO-BETS ABC Book, which teaches the alphabet with Afrocentric themes and images. Thirty-four years later, Just Us Books remains one of very few Black-owned publishers.
Wade Hudson and Cheryl Willis Hudson were 2022 Eric Carle Mentor Honor winners, and the books and authors they have published have garnered a variety of industry awards. In 2018, Just Us Books partnered with Crown Books to publish the anthology We Rise, We Resist, We Raise Our Voices. Edited by Wade Hudson and Cheryl Willis Hudson, and hailed a "love song from children's literature's brightest stars" (Kirkus Reviews), it features contributions from more than 50 award-winning children's book creators including Jason Reynolds, Jackie Woodson, Kwame Alexander, Rita Williams-Garcia, Floyd Cooper, Nina Crews and George Ford.
More about Just Us Books at justusbooks.com
More about Gordon's Book Fair at bookfair.gordonschool.org
Help celebrate!
The Hudsons' presentation will be preceded by a short reception at 6pm celebrating the twentieth anniversary of the Joukowsky Family Library. Light snacks, brief remarks and birthday cake will all be part of the festivities, in Gordon's Commons.