After hundreds of query letters and nearly as many rejections notifications, the literary world is poised to embrace a new literary talent. Rochester native, Leslie C. Youngblood, has signed a two-book deal with publisher Disney-Hyperion for her middle-grade novel "Love Like Sky" and its sequel to be released in 2018.
"Love Like Sky" follows Georgie as she tries to find her place in her "blended-up" family, with both her parents remarried and a new teenage stepsister she'll do anything to win over. When a devastating illness strikes her stepsister, Georgie will do whatever it takes to make her better and bring her family together. Middle grade is fiction aimed at children between the ages of eight through twelve. Laura Schreiber at Disney-Hyperion bought Youngboold's debut property, while John Rudolph at Dystel, Goderich & Bourret orchestrated the deal for worldwide rights.
A former Atlanta Tribune Columnist, Youngblood grew up in the 19th Ward community of Rochester, New York, holds an BA from Georgia State University and earned an MFA from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She spent several years as an Assistant Professor of Creative Writing at Lincoln University in Iowa, lectured at Mississippi State University, UNC-Greensboro, and the University of Ghana at Legon in West Africa.
Dedicated to perfecting her narrative craft, Youngblood won the Go On Girl! Book Club Aspiring Writer Award in 2010. She attended the Norman Mailer Writers' Colony in 2011. In 2014, she was awarded the prestigious Elizabeth Ames Residency at Yaddo, where she became known for her literary productivity of writing 5,000 words a day. Youngblood also holds the Lorian Hemingway Short Story Prize, a Hurston Wright Fellowship, and is the recipient of the Room of Her Own Foundation's Orlando Short Story Prize. Her short story, "Poor Girls' Palace," was published in the Indiana Review, as well as Kweli Journal, which Youngblood presented at The Writers Room in New York City in March 2017.
"I write characters not genre. Wherever those characters fit. I create a platform for characters to come to life, have a voice, share a journey, and evolve a unique narrative. The only Plan B I ever had was working on my Plan A: Write. Agent. Deal." Currently, Youngblood resides in Rochester, where she is editing "Love Like Sky," teaching creative writing at Rochester's Writers and Books, and administrating the Samuel C. Griffin Memorial Fund in memory of her slain brother, which supports Family and Friends of Murdered Children, Victims of Violence, and Boys and Girls Club of Rochester.
Youngblood is represented by Flickeria. Flickeria is a New York City-based boutique production agency managing emerging artist, creating dynamic content, and strategizing a global presence for new voices and innovative vision in art and media.
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