Janae Marks, author of middle-grade Nutmeg Award nominee From the Desk of Zoe Washington, visited Reed Intermediate School students to present “The Recipe to Becoming An Author” — and talk about her work.

The Fairfield resident compared writing to baking, which was the principal hobby of the protagonist in Zoe Washington. She began at the beginning of her writing journey with an elementary school bookmaking project.

Marks said she found a creative writing degree helpful but not necessary when becoming a writer. She said part of her process was reading craft books, joining a critique group, and “essentially always trying to become a better writer.”

Marks said Zoe Washington was not a true story about her own life, but was inspired by a podcast discussing a possibly wrong conviction. She said she turned to further research, turning to organizations such as the Innocence Project, which helps to exonerate incarcerated individuals, to help inform her story.

She wondered about what it would be like to be the child whose parent is wrongfully convicted of a crime, and gave a statistic about the number of incarcerated parents in prison.

“On average, that could be one kid in every class,” Marks said. She added that people of color are more likely to be wrongfully convicted.

Marks expressed that she was a fan of The Baby-Sitters Club series as a young reader, and wanted to reflect the type of friendships in those books but also wanted to reflect diversity — and her appreciation for baking.

“I especially love kids’ baking championships,” she said. “I am so inspired by them.”

Perseverance

Marks said she wrote three different books before Zoe Washington was finally published.

“All that practice helps you be a better writer in the long run,” she said. “I had to stay strong and learn some perseverance.”

In addition to the initial books that didn’t make the cut, Marks said she wrote five drafts of Zoe Washington, spending a lot of time on each one.

“The reason why revising is so important, is because that’s where the magic happens,” she said, adding that revision could include big changes like adding plotlines or small changes in details.

After finishing her book and experiencing rejections for other works, the tide shifted for Marks as multiple publishers expressed interest.

“I ended up having a choice of who to work with, which was a complete turnaround,” said Marks, who expressed that hard work pays off.

She said you have to take time to celebrate, along with milestones along the way. In her presentation, Marks concluded her “recipe” by saying success is not a straight line for everyone.

“The most important thing is to keep going,” she said.

To the crowd’s surprise, Marks revealed that Disney Channel is turning From The Desk of Zoe Washington into a movie. There was a collective gasp, and discussion ensued among the fifth graders.

“They were saying they want to keep it as close to the original as possible,” said Marks, adding she was confident they will.

She added she doesn’t know when it’s coming out, but it is in the works.

Reflections

During questions, one student asked Marks what she would say to her younger self.

Marks said she would tell herself “it’s okay that it’s taking so long” regarding the wait for one of her books to be published, as she said she spent a long time feeling bad about it.

“Keep going, and it’ll work out in the end. It’s hard to know that at the moment,” she responded.

Another student asked if Marks was currently working on a book, which Marks affirmed. She described it as “a little bit of a departure” from her current works, adding it was going to include “time-travel magic.” This announcement was met with appreciative sounds from the audience.

Between presentations to larger groups, Marks had lunch with the school’s book club formed around reading the book, to engage in discussion with them. Marks told The Newtown Bee she had signed books and answered specific questions during the event.

“Everybody here has been very enthusiastic, asked really great questions, and just seemed excited,” Marks told The Newtown Bee regarding her visit. She said kids have told her Zoe Washington is one of the only chapter books they’ve liked, as many prefer graphic novels.

Regarding the subject matter of incarceration, Marks said, “It’s not something that is really talked about, but a lot of kids are affected by it.”

The author said she doesn’t write to spread a message, but to inspire kids to use their voice for good. In addition to From the Desk of Zoe Washington, Marks has written two other books — the sequel to Zoe called On Air with Zoe Washington, and a standalone work called A Soft Place To Land.

Reporter Noelle Veillette can be reached at noelle@thebee.com.