By Page Leggett

Cindy Clemens comes from a family of readers. “My mom is an over-doer when it comes to reading,” she said. “She was always reading at least two books – one at home, one in the car. And sometimes a paperback in the bathroom ‘just in case I have a few extra quiet moments.’”  

Naturally, Clemens became a voracious reader, too. She also became a writer.

When she was a teen, not many young adult (YA) books addressed LGBTQ+ teens discovering their sexuality. “If there had been a book that had a character like me, that would have been awesome,” Clemens said. “Everybody needs to see themselves in books.”

Toni Morrison said, “If there’s a book you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.” That’s just what Clemens did.

And while the 12-year-old heroine of her YA novel isn’t a stand-in for Clemens, she and her protagonist have a few similarities.

“Many of the main character’s observations and feelings mirror mine,” she wrote in her application to the ASC for a $10,000 ASC Emerging Creators Fellowship. “I’m a leader and role model for the LGBTQ+ community in my church, neighborhood and former career, and it’s rewarding and powerful to take on this role in my creative life.”

When she applied, her middle-grade novel, Camp Do-Over, was 60% complete. “Imagine the movie Groundhog Day, but at camp with a 12-year-old protagonist who’s having strange feelings for another camper,” is how she described it in her application.

It’s now finished, and Clemens hopes to find a publisher for her story about sixth grader Liza Mulligan, who’s going to the camp everyone in her family attended and loved. But she ends up getting caught in a time loop when Camp Dover becomes Camp Do-Over.

Clemens went to camp the summer before sixth grade, and all the activities Liza takes part in – fishing, hiking, tennis, swimming – were activities she did herself.

In her application, Clemens wrote about the difficulty of being gay in the American South. She and her wife rarely discuss those challenges with others. “Instead, we made it look easy,” she wrote, “by being easy – by getting along, not pushing for equal rights or naming discrimination when it occurred. However, as lesbian parents to a brown child, we knew it was important to speak up … I began writing stories that were more personal to my rainbow family.”

Clemens’ “rainbow family” includes her “best friend, partner and spouse of 40 years” – they met on their first day of college – and their adopted son, who’s now 24 and a math teacher in Asheville.

Before Clemens retired last year, she spent her career as a writer, photographer and graphic artist. She wrote newsletters and press releases before she took on novels.

She aims to get her manuscript in front of publishers in September, which she called “the ideal time for editors to consider new work from debut authors.” Thanks to her ASC fellowship, she’s on track. (“It’s amazing that ASC includes writers in their emerging artists program,” she said. “I feel like this is going to propel my novel to the next level.”)

What it takes to get published

Clemens has cultivated friendships in the publishing world, so she had no illusions that the path to publication would be easy. She’d heard many times it’s a marathon and not a sprint.

For the first few years of what’s become a 15-year journey, she learned all she could about the craft of writing and the business of publishing. She now has a finished manuscript of about 55,000 words – or 175 pages.

But writing and revising are only a small part of the process. Aspiring novelists need literary agents.

Clemens was signed by Allison Remcheck of The Stimola Literary Studio – the same agent who represents publishing heavyweights Suzanne Collins (The Hunger Games) and Donna Barba Higuera (The Last Cuentista, winner of the 2022 Newberry Award, which Clemens called “the Academy Award for middle-grade novels”).

Since writing is a solitary endeavor, connecting with other writers is important. Clemens joined the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators (SCBWI) and is active in the Carolinas chapter. She’s currently serving as co-critique coordinator for her chapter, and she served as Diversity, Equity & Inclusion co-coordinator from 2019-22. She describes the global organization as being “committed to the creation of quality children’s books, as well as opening doors for everyone with a story to tell.”  

And she’s been to many writing classes and retreats, which she enjoys as much for the camaraderie as she does for the instruction.

She’s part of a critique group called The Write Brainers. All five members of the group are writing YA novels. “This group has probably helped my writing more than anything else,” she said.

Clemens has been methodical in her approach to getting published. And she’s been willing to play the long game. Now that she has a finished manuscript and an agent, it’s time for the last leg of the marathon.

She identified two workshops to help with that final phase – finding a publisher. She met “some great writers and made connections with two editors” at SCBWI’s Southern Breeze two-day intensive.

The Highlights’ Foundation’s Whole Novel Workshop – coming up later this month – lasts a full week, and it’s held in the retreat center of the Highlights Foundation, the publisher of the monthly children’s magazine you may have read at your childhood dentist’s or pediatrician’s office.

The Whole Novel Workshop allows participants time for revision, plus opportunities to connect with other writers and industry professionals. Before the workshop, writers submit a draft of a completed novel, which Clemens called “great motivation.” Highlights staff provides authors written feedback through private and group consultations.

Advice for aspiring authors

Now that Clemens is retired, she writes whenever she wants to. The self-described night owl is most productive after sundown, so that’s generally when she’s writing.

But when she was working, she wrote whenever she could carve out time.

“I wrote everywhere,” she said. “I took a class from Maureen Ryan Griffin, who encouraged us to keep notebooks or journals with us. I wrote when I was in the car pool line. I wrote in the parking lot at soccer games. I was always writing.”

Clemens advises any aspiring novelist to do the same – and to read as much as you can in your chosen genre. “I read a lot of adult fiction, but I began reading middle-grade fiction when I started writing it,” she said. “If you want to write a thriller, read a bunch of thrillers. You don’t just start writing the next great thriller without doing your homework.”

She also suggests “surrounding yourself with people who support and encourage you.” The Write Brainers have been cheering her on for years. 

They’ll be there to celebrate when Clemens’ book lands on bookshelves, in libraries and on tablets. Young LGBTQ+ readers will get to see themselves in a book. And that’s invaluable.

Although Camp Do-Over isn’t strictly an LGBTQ+ book (“It’s an adventure romp and a mystery,” said its author), it will likely be pigeonholed as such. And the joy Clemens will surely feel over holding her own book in her hands will be tainted. 

“I fully expect that once the book is published,” she said, “it’ll be banned by certain organizations and communities.”

And when that happens, it won’t be all bad. Because Camp Do-Over will join Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye, Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird, Dav Pilkey’s Captain Underpants and many other important and worthwhile reads on that list. And that’s heady company for any first-time author.

Learn more about Cindy Clemens and her children’s book at her website, cindyclemenswrites.com.

2024 ASC Fellowship Recipients 

The FY24 ASC Emerging Creators Fellowship recipients are: 

• Cindy Clemens. The writer will strengthen and expand her writing, networking and presentation skills through participation in national workshops and conferences.
• Nicole Driscoll. The photographer and videographer will attend a residency at the Walkaway House in North Adams, MA, to create a photography/video series. 
• Jennifer Geyer. The dancer will use the fellowship to support the development and mastery of Afro-Cuban folkloric dance forms by serving as an apprentice with master instructor Marisol Blanco from Cuba.
• Melvin D. Nix. The visual artist will use the fellowship to participate in drawing and oil painting classes through the North Carolina Academy of Art. 
• With the fellowship, the music artist will establish Queens Collective as a songwriting and music production group to record new music with Charlotte artists.

The FY24 ASC Creative Renewal Fellowship recipients are:

• de’Angelo DIA. DIA plans to use the award to learn a new creative expression and creative renewal, as a means of humanizing hope, through workshops with Penland School of Craft, the Omega Institute for Holistic Studies and Charlotte Lit.
• Sarah Hayes Harkins. The dancer plans to explore Argentine tango by training with world-class tango dancers and traveling to global tango destinations.
• Abel Jackson. The visual artist will use the fellowship to travel to Kenya to participate in an immersive exchange program which combines cultural exchange, community involvement, wildlife exploration and relaxation.
• Herman Nicholson. The photographer plans to use the fellowship to immerse himself in learning the wet plate collodion process, a historic photographic technique.
• Sir Hodge. The multidisciplinary creative director and producer will participate in an apprenticeship program under creative director Oghalé Alex, based in London.

ASC Fellowship recipients are able to nominate Mecklenburg County creatives to receive ASC SEED Grants to provide mentorship opportunities or awards to recognize the quality of their creative work. Each recipient receives $3,000. 

The FY24 SEED grant recipients are:

• Emily Avery —To purchase supplies and materials to update home studio.
• Davis DeNeer—To support the “Sowing seeds” project to share creative inspiration and knowledge with youth.
• Parker Duncan— To support the “Dear Future Single Mother” project.
• Junior Gomez —To enhance creative business technology.
• Milagros Urgueto—To support “Celebrating Afro-Diasporic Rhythms” through dancing and storytelling.
• Zechariah Lange—To support work focused on queer love and relationships in the South.
• Anna Mains—To support continued education and growth of artistic and technical skills in dance.
• Xavia-Margrith Miles—To support writing workshops, a spirit and dance-centered practice retreat and a laptop.