by Jared Bias
Pete ends
April 6th, 2016
1. Your first two books are That Holy Anarchist and The Unkingdom of God. Not really kids lit. What was going on in your life that inspired you to take a crack at writing a children’s book?
When
I started writing it, I had a 6 year old who found books about war and
fighting and knights and pirates thrilling. Since I wanted to stir a
love for justice and peace in my son, I started looking for kid books
about nonviolence. Most of the ones I found weren’t very exciting. Since
I’ve been a fan of kid lit my entire life, I thought I’d tackle
writing an exciting book that promotes peace.
At the same time, I
was at a low point in my life as an activist and writer. I think I was
burnt out on trying to convince adults to take Jesus’ radical message
seriously. It takes an imagination to consider alternative ways of
seeing the world, which is essential if we’re going to work for
liberation. If an adult is unimaginative, it is extremely difficult to
reach them with a message of liberation. That led me to consider
focusing my creative energy on younger people. Not exclusively–I still
plan on doing some of the stuff I’ve been doing the past 15 years–but I
think writing for younger audiences is something I’m going to take much
more seriously.
Back to Mark Van Steenwyk’s Author Page | Back to Joel Hedstrom’s Illustrator Page
