Scene 2 Seen: LaDarrion Williams Talks ‘Blood At The Root’, The Fantasy Genre & The Publishing World
14.05.2024 - 18:51
/ deadline.com
Hello, and welcome to the Scene 2 Seen Podcast!
I am Valerie Complex, an associate editor and film writer at Deadline. Well, the good news is this is the second episode of a special two-part episode series taking place this month. Don’t worry, though! The show will be back for its third season officially on Fridays soon!
Today, I’m chatting with writer and author Ladarrion Williams. His debut novel, YA, magical fantasy Blood At The Root, dropped in bookstores on May 7. The story follows a teenager on the run from his past who finds the family he never knew existed and the community he never knew he needed at an HBCU for the young, Black, and magical. This fresh fantasy debut is unlike anything you’ve seen before.
As an avid reader, LaDarrion noticed that Black boys are basically non-existent in the YA fantasy section. He hopes this book and series helps change that, adding much needed diversity to both the genre and your local bookstores. His goal is to cultivate a new era of Black fantasy, providing space and agency for Black characters and stories in a new, fresh, and fantastical way.
He is currently a resident playwright creator of the black creators collective is currently a resident playwright/co-creator of The Black Creators Collective, where his play UMOJA made its West Coast premiere in January 2022, and produced North Hollywood’s first Black playwrights festival at the Waco Theater Center. His viral and award-winning short filmbased on the same concept, is currently on YouTube and Amazon Prime.
More about Blood At The Root:
Ten years ago, Malik’s life changed forever the night his mother mysteriously vanished and he discovered he had uncontrollable powers. Since then, he has kept his abilities hidden, looking